—Lear.
The day had now fairly opened on the seemingly interminable waste of the prairie. The entrance of Obed at such a moment into the camp, accompanied as it was by vociferous2 lamentations over his anticipated loss, did not fail to rouse the drowsy3 family of the squatter4. Ishmael and his sons, together with the forbidding looking brother of his wife, were all speedily afoot; and then, as the sun began to shed his light on the place, they became gradually apprised6 of the extent of their loss.
Ishmael looked round upon the motionless and heavily loaded vehicles with his teeth firmly compressed, cast a glance at the amazed and helpless group of children, which clustered around their sullen8 but desponding mother, and walked out upon the open land, as if he found the air of the encampment too confined. He was followed by several of the men, who were attentive9 observers, watching the dark expression of his eye as the index of their own future movements. The whole proceeded in profound and moody10 silence to the summit of the nearest swell11, whence they could command an almost boundless12 view of the naked plains. Here nothing was visible but a solitary13 buffaloe, that gleaned14 a meagre subsistence from the decaying herbage, at no great distance, and the ass15 of the physician, who profited by his freedom to enjoy a meal richer than common.
“Yonder is one of the creatures left by the villains16 to mock us,” said Ishmael, glancing his eye towards the latter, “and that the meanest of the stock. This is a hard country to make a crop in, boys; and yet food must be found to fill many hungry mouths!”
“The rifle is better than the hoe, in such a place as this,” returned the eldest17 of his sons, kicking the hard and thirsty soil on which he stood, with an air of contempt. “It is good for such as they who make their dinner better on beggars' beans than on homminy. A crow would shed tears if obliged by its errand to fly across the district.”
“What say you, trapper?” returned the father, showing the slight impression his powerful heel had made on the compact earth, and laughing with frightful18 ferocity. “Is this the quality of land a man would choose who never troubles the county clerk with title deeds?”
“There is richer soil in the bottoms,” returned the old man calmly, “and you have passed millions of acres to get to this dreary19 spot, where he who loves to till the 'arth might have received bushels in return for pints20, and that too at the cost of no very grievous labour. If you have come in search of land, you have journeyed hundreds of miles too far, or as many leagues too little.”
“There is then a better choice towards the other Ocean?” demanded the squatter, pointing in the direction of the Pacific.
“There is, and I have seen it all,” was the answer of the other, who dropped his rifle to the earth, and stood leaning on its barrel, like one who recalled the scenes he had witnessed with melancholy21 pleasure. “I have seen the waters of the two seas! On one of them was I born, and raised to be a lad like yonder tumbling boy. America has grown, my men, since the days of my youth, to be a country larger than I once had thought the world itself to be. Near seventy years I dwelt in York, province and state together:—you've been in York, 'tis like?”
“Not I—not I; I never visited the towns; but often have heard the place you speak of named. 'Tis a wide clearing there, I reckon.”
“Too wide! too wide! They scourge22 the very 'arth with their axes. Such hills and hunting-grounds as I have seen stripped of the gifts of the Lord, without remorse23 or shame! I tarried till the mouths of my hounds were deafened24 by the blows of the chopper, and then I came west in search of quiet. It was a grievous journey that I made; a grievous toil25 to pass through falling timber and to breathe the thick air of smoky clearings, week after week, as I did! 'Tis a far country too, that state of York from this!”
“It lies ag'in the outer edge of old Kentuck, I reckon; though what the distance may be I never knew.”
“A gull26 would have to fan a thousand miles of air to find the eastern sea. And yet it is no mighty27 reach to hunt across, when shade and game are plenty! The time has been when I followed the deer in the mountains of the Delaware and Hudson, and took the beaver28 on the streams of the upper lakes in the same season, but my eye was quick and certain at that day, and my limbs were like the legs of a moose! The dam of Hector,” dropping his look kindly29 to the aged30 hound that crouched31 at his feet, “was then a pup, and apt to open on the game the moment she struck the scent32. She gave me a deal of trouble, that slut, she did!”
“Your hound is old, stranger, and a rap on the head would prove a mercy to the beast.”
“The dog is like his master,” returned the trapper, without appearing to heed33 the brutal34 advice the other gave, “and will number his days, when his work amongst the game is over, and not before. To my eye things seem ordered to meet each other in this creation. 'Tis not the swiftest running deer that always throws off the hounds, nor the biggest arm that holds the truest rifle. Look around you, men; what will the Yankee Choppers say, when they have cut their path from the eastern to the western waters, and find that a hand, which can lay the 'arth bare at a blow, has been here and swept the country, in very mockery of their wickedness. They will turn on their tracks like a fox that doubles, and then the rank smell of their own footsteps will show them the madness of their waste. Howsomever, these are thoughts that are more likely to rise in him who has seen the folly35 of eighty seasons, than to teach wisdom to men still bent36 on the pleasures of their kind! You have need, yet, of a stirring time, if you think to escape the craft and hatred37 of the burnt-wood Indians. They claim to be the lawful38 owners of this country, and seldom leave a white more than the skin he boasts of, when once they get the power, as they always have the will, to do him harm.”
“Old man,” said Ishmael sternly, “to which people do you belong? You have the colour and speech of a Christian39, while it seems that your heart is with the redskins.”
“To me there is little difference in nations. The people I loved most are scattered40 as the sands of the dry river-beds fly before the fall hurricanes, and life is too short to make use and custom with strangers, as one can do with such as he has dwelt amongst for years. Still am I a man without the cross of Indian blood; and what is due from a warrior41 to his nation, is owing by me to the people of the States; though little need have they, with their militia42 and their armed boats, of help from a single arm of fourscore.”
“Since you own your kin5, I may ask a simple question. Where are the Siouxes who have stolen my cattle?”
“Where is the herd43 of buffaloes44, which was chased by the panther across this plain, no later than the morning of yesterday? It is as hard—”
“Friend,” said Dr. Battius, who had hitherto been an attentive listener, but who now felt a sudden impulse to mingle45 in the discourse46, “I am grieved when I find a venator or hunter, of your experience and observation, following the current of vulgar error. The animal you describe is in truth a species of the bos ferus, (or bos sylvestris, as he has been happily called by the poets,) but, though of close affinity47, it is altogether distinct from the common bubulus. Bison is the better word; and I would suggest the necessity of adopting it in future, when you shall have occasion to allude48 to the species.”
“Bison or buffaloe, it makes but little matter. The creatur' is the same, call it by what name you will, and—”
“Pardon me, venerable venator; as classification is the very soul of the natural sciences, the animal or vegetable must, of necessity, be characterised by the peculiarities49 of its species, which is always indicated by the name—”
“Friend,” said the trapper, a little positively50, “would the tail of a beaver make the worse dinner for calling it a mink51; or could you eat of the wolf, with relish52, because some bookish man had given it the name of venison?”
As these questions were put with no little earnestness and some spirit, there was every probability that a hot discussion would have succeeded between two men, of whom one was so purely53 practical and the other so much given to theory, had not Ishmael seen fit to terminate the dispute, by bringing into view a subject that was much more important to his own immediate54 interests.
“Beavers' tails and minks55' flesh may do to talk about before a maple56 fire and a quiet hearth,” interrupted the squatter, without the smallest deference57 to the interested feelings of the disputants; “but something more than foreign words, or words of any sort, is now needed. Tell me, trapper, where are your Siouxes skulking58?”
“It would be as easy to tell you the colours of the hawk59 that is floating beneath yonder white cloud! When a red-skin strikes his blow, he is not apt to wait until he is paid for the evil deed in lead.”
“Will the beggarly savages60 believe they have enough, when they find themselves master of all the stock?”
“Natur' is much the same, let it be covered by what skin it may. Do you ever find your longings61 after riches less when you have made a good crop, than before you were master of a kernel62 of corn? If you do, you differ from what the experience of a long life tells me is the common cravings of man.”
“Speak plainly, old stranger,” said the squatter, striking the butt63 of his rifle heavily on the earth, his dull capacity finding no pleasure in a discourse that was conducted in so obscure allusions64; “I have asked a simple question, and one I know well that you can answer.”
“You are right, you are right. I can answer, for I have too often seen the disposition65 of my kind to mistake it, when evil is stirring. When the Siouxes have gathered in the beasts, and have made sure that you are not upon their heels, they will be back nibbling66 like hungry wolves to take the bait they have left or it may be, they'll show the temper of the great bears, that are found at the falls of the Long River, and strike at once with the paw, without stopping to nose their prey67.”
“You have then seen the animals you mention!” exclaimed Dr. Battius, who had now been thrown out of the conversation quite as long as his impatience68 could well brook69, and who approached the subject with his tablets ready opened, as a book of reference. “Can you tell me if what you encountered was of the species, ursus horribilis—with the ears, rounded—front, arquated—eyes—destitute of the remarkable70 supplemental lid—with six incisores, one false, and four perfect molares—”
“Trapper, go on, for we are engaged in reasonable discourse,” interrupted Ishmael; “you believe we shall see more of the robbers.”
“Nay71—nay—I do not call them robbers, for it is the usage of their people, and what may be called the prairie law.”
“I have come five hundred miles to find a place where no man can ding the words of the law in my ears,” said Ishmael, fiercely, “and I am not in a humour to stand quietly at a bar, while a red-skin sits in judgment72. I tell you, trapper, if another Sioux is seen prowling around my camp, wherever it may be, he shall feel the contents of old Kentuck,” slapping his rifle, in a manner that could not be easily misconstrued, “though he wore the medal of Washington,[*] himself. I call the man a robber who takes that which is not his own.”
[*] The American government creates chiefs among the western tribes,
and decorates them with silver medals bearing the impression of
the different presidents. That of Washington is the most prized.
“The Teton, and the Pawnee, and the Konza, and men of a dozen other tribes, claim to own these naked fields.”
“Natur' gives them the lie in their teeth. The air, the water, and the ground, are free gifts to man, and no one has the power to portion them out in parcels. Man must drink, and breathe, and walk,—and therefore each has a right to his share of 'arth. Why do not the surveyors of the States set their compasses and run their lines over our heads as well as beneath our feet? Why do they not cover their shining sheep-skins with big words, giving to the landholder, or perhaps he should be called air holder73, so many rods of heaven, with the use of such a star for a boundary-mark, and such a cloud to turn a mill?”
As the squatter uttered his wild conceit74, he laughed from the very bottom of his chest, in scorn. The deriding75 but frightful merriment passed from the mouth of one of his ponderous76 sons to that of the other, until it had made the circuit of the whole family.
“Come, trapper,” continued Ishmael, in a tone of better humour, like a man who feels that he has triumphed, “neither of us, I reckon, has ever had much to do with title-deeds, or county clerks, or blazed trees; therefore we will not waste words on fooleries. You ar' a man that has tarried long in this clearing, and now I ask your opinion, face to face, without fear or favour, if you had the lead in my business, what would you do?”
The old man hesitated, and seemed to give the required advice with deep reluctance77. As every eye, however, was fastened on him, and whichever way he turned his face, he encountered a look riveted78 on the lineaments of his own working countenance79, he answered in a low, melancholy, tone—
“I have seen too much mortal blood poured out in empty quarrels, to wish ever to hear an angry rifle again. Ten weary years have I sojourned alone on these naked plains, waiting for my hour, and not a blow have I struck ag'in an enemy more humanised than the grizzly80 bear.”
“Ursus horribilis,” muttered the Doctor.
The speaker paused at the sound of the other's voice, but perceiving it was no more than a sort of mental ejaculation, he continued in the same strain—
“More humanised than the grizzly hear, or the panther of the Rocky Mountains; unless the beaver, which is a wise and knowing animal, may be so reckoned. What would I advise? Even the female buffaloe will fight for her young!”
“It never then shall be said, that Ishmael Bush has less kindness for his children than the bear for her cubs81!”
“And yet this is but a naked spot for a dozen men to make head in, ag'in five hundred.”
“Ay, it is so,” returned the squatter, glancing his eye towards his humble82 camp; “but something might be done, with the wagons84 and the cotton-wood.”
The trapper shook his head incredulously, and pointed85 across the rolling plain in the direction of the west, as he answered—
“A rifle would send a bullet from these hills into your very sleeping-cabins; nay, arrows from the thicket86 in your rear would keep you all burrowed87, like so many prairie dogs: it wouldn't do, it wouldn't do. Three long miles from this spot is a place, where as I have often thought in passing across the desert, a stand might be made for days and weeks together, if there were hearts and hands ready to engage in the bloody88 work.”
Another low, deriding laugh passed among the young men, announcing, in a manner sufficiently89 intelligible90, their readiness to undertake a task even more arduous91. The squatter himself eagerly seized the hint which had been so reluctantly extorted92 from the trapper, who by some singular process of reasoning had evidently persuaded himself that it was his duty to be strictly93 neutral. A few direct and pertinent94 enquiries served to obtain the little additional information that was necessary, in order to make the contemplated95 movement, and then Ishmael, who was, on emergencies, as terrifically energetic, as he was sluggish96 in common, set about effecting his object without delay.
Notwithstanding the industry and zeal97 of all engaged, the task was one of great labour and difficulty. The loaded vehicles were to be drawn98 by hand across a wide distance of plain without track or guide of any sort, except that which the trapper furnished by communicating his knowledge of the cardinal99 points of the compass. In accomplishing this object, the gigantic strength of the men was taxed to the utmost, nor were the females or the children spared a heavy proportion of the toil. While the sons distributed themselves about the heavily loaded wagons, and drew them by main strength up the neighbouring swell, their mother and Ellen, surrounded by the amazed group of little ones, followed slowly in the rear, bending under the weight of such different articles as were suited to their several strengths.
Ishmael himself superintended and directed the whole, occasionally applying his colossal100 shoulder to some lagging vehicle, until he saw that the chief difficulty, that of gaining the level of their intended route, was accomplished101. Then he pointed out the required course, cautioning his sons to proceed in such a manner that they should not lose the advantage they had with so much labour obtained, and beckoning102 to the brother of his wife, they returned together to the empty camp.
Throughout the whole of this movement, which occupied an hour of time, the trapper had stood apart, leaning on his rifle, with the aged hound slumbering103 at his feet, a silent but attentive observer of all that passed. Occasionally, a smile lighted his hard, muscular, but wasted features, like a gleam of sunshine flitting across a ragged104 ruin, and betrayed the momentary105 pleasure he found in witnessing from time to time the vast power the youths discovered. Then, as the train drew slowly up the ascent106, a cloud of thought and sorrow threw all into the shade again, leaving the expression of his countenance in its usual state of quiet melancholy. As vehicle after vehicle left the place of the encampment, he noted107 the change, with increasing attention; seldom failing to cast an enquiring108 look at the little neglected tent, which, with its proper wagon83, still remained as before, solitary and apparently109 forgotten. The summons of Ishmael to his gloomy associate had, however, as it would now seem, this hitherto neglected portion of his effects for its object.
First casting a cautious and suspicious glance on every side of him, the squatter and his companion advanced to the little wagon, and caused it to enter within the folds of the cloth, much in the manner that it had been extricated110 the preceding evening. They both then disappeared behind the drapery, and many moments of suspense111 succeeded, during which the old man, secretly urged by a burning desire to know the meaning of so much mystery, insensibly drew nigh to the place, until he stood within a few yards of the proscribed112 spot. The agitation113 of the cloth betrayed the nature of the occupation of those whom it concealed114, though their work was conducted in rigid115 silence. It would appear that long practice had made each of the two acquainted with his particular duty; for neither sign nor direction of any sort was necessary from Ishmael, in order to apprise7 his surly associate of the manner in which he was to proceed. In less time than has been consummated116 in relating it, the interior portion of the arrangement was completed, when the men re-appeared without the tent. Too busy with his occupation to heed the presence of the trapper, Ishmael began to release the folds of the cloth from the ground, and to dispose of them in such a manner around the vehicle, as to form a sweeping117 train to the new form the little pavilion had now assumed. The arched roof trembled with the occasional movement of the light vehicle which, it was now apparent, once more supported its secret burden. Just as the work was ended the scowling118 eye of Ishmael's assistant caught a glimpse of the figure of the attentive observer of their movements. Dropping the shaft119, which he had already lifted from the ground preparatory to occupying the place that was usually filled by an animal less reasoning and perhaps less dangerous than himself, he bluntly exclaimed—
“I am a fool, as you often say! But look for yourself: if that man is not an enemy, I will disgrace father and mother, call myself an Indian, and go hunt with the Siouxes!”
The cloud, as it is about to discharge the subtle lightning, is not more dark nor threatening, than the look with which Ishmael greeted the intruder. He turned his head on every side of him, as if seeking some engine sufficiently terrible to annihilate120 the offending trapper at a blow; and then, possibly recollecting121 the further occasion he might have for his counsel, he forced himself to say, with an appearance of moderation that nearly choked him—
“Stranger, I did believe this prying122 into the concerns of others was the business of women in the towns and settlements, and not the manner in which men, who are used to live where each has room for himself, deal with the secrets of their neighbours. To what lawyer or sheriff do you calculate to sell your news?”
“I hold but little discourse except with one and then chiefly of my own affairs,” returned the old man, without the least observable apprehension123, and pointing imposingly124 upward; “a Judge; and Judge of all. Little does he need knowledge from my hands, and but little will your wish to keep any thing secret from him profit you, even in this desert.”
The mounting tempers of his unnurtured listeners were rebuked125 by the simple, solemn manner of the trapper. Ishmael stood sullen and thoughtful; while his companion stole a furtive126 and involuntary glance at the placid127 sky, which spread so wide and blue above his head, as if he expected to see the Almighty128 eye itself beaming from the heavenly vault129. But impressions of a serious character are seldom lasting130 on minds long indulged in forgetfulness. The hesitation131 of the squatter was consequently of short duration. The language, however, as well as the firm and collected air of the speaker, were the means of preventing much subsequent abuse, if not violence.
“It would be showing more of the kindness of a friend and comrade,” Ishmael returned, in a tone sufficiently sullen to betray his humour, though it was no longer threatening, “had your shoulder been put to the wheel of one of yonder wagons, instead of edging itself in here, where none are wanted but such as are invited.”
“I can put the little strength that is left me,” returned the trapper, “to this, as well as to another of your loads.”
“Do you take us for boys!” exclaimed Ishmael, laughing, half in ferocity and half in derision, applying his powerful strength at the same time to the little vehicle, which rolled over the grass with as much seeming facility as if it were drawn by its usual team.
The trapper paused, and followed the departing wagon with his eye, marvelling132 greatly as to the nature of its concealed contents, until it had also gained the summit of the eminence133, and in its turn disappeared behind the swell of the land. Then he turned to gaze at the desolation of the scene around him. The absence of human forms would have scarce created a sensation in the bosom134 of one so long accustomed to solitude135, had not the site of the deserted136 camp furnished such strong memorials of its recent visitors, and as the old man was quick to detect, of their waste also. He cast his eye upwards137, with a shake of the head, at the vacant spot in the heavens which had so lately been filled by the branches of those trees that now lay stripped of their verdure, worthless and deserted logs, at his feet.
“Ay,” he muttered to himself, “I might have know'd it—I might have know'd it! Often have I seen the same before; and yet I brought them to the spot myself, and have now sent them to the only neighbourhood of their kind within many long leagues of the spot where I stand. This is man's wish, and pride, and waste, and sinfulness! He tames the beasts of the field to feed his idle wants; and, having robbed the brutes138 of their natural food, he teaches them to strip the 'arth of its trees to quiet their hunger.”
A rustling140 in the low bushes which still grew, for some distance, along the swale that formed the thicket on which the camp of Ishmael had rested, caught his ear, at the moment, and cut short the soliloquy. The habits of so many years, spent in the wilderness141, caused the old man to bring his rifle to a poise142, with something like the activity and promptitude of his youth; but, suddenly recovering his recollection, he dropped it into the hollow of his arm again, and resumed his air of melancholy resignation.
“Come forth143, come forth!” he said aloud: “be ye bird, or be ye beast, ye are safe from these old hands. I have eaten and I have drunk: why should I take life, when my wants call for no sacrifice? It will not be long afore the birds will peck at eyes that shall not see them, and perhaps light on my very bones; for if things like these are only made to perish, why am I to expect to live for ever? Come forth, come forth; you are safe from harm at these weak hands.”
“Thank you for the good word, old trapper!” cried Paul Hover144, springing actively145 forward from his place of concealment146. “There was an air about you, when you threw forward the muzzle147 of the piece, that I did not like; for it seemed to say that you were master of all the rest of the motions.”
“You are right, you are right!” cried the trapper, laughing with inward self-complacency at the recollection of his former skill. “The day has been when few men knew the virtues148 of a long rifle, like this I carry, better than myself, old and useless as I now seem. You are right, young man; and the time was, when it was dangerous to move a leaf within ear-shot of my stand; or,” he added, dropping his voice, and looking serious, “for a Red Mingo to show an eyeball from his ambushment. You have heard of the Red Mingos?”
“I have heard of minks,” said Paul, taking the old man by the arm, and gently urging him towards the thicket as he spoke149; while, at the same time, he cast quick and uneasy glances behind him, in order to make sure he was not observed. “Of your common black minks; but none of any other colour.”
“Lord! Lord!” continued the trapper, shaking his head, and still laughing, in his deep but quiet manner; “the boy mistakes a brute139 for a man! Though, a Mingo is little better than a beast; or, for that matter, he is worse, when rum and opportunity are placed before his eyes. There was that accursed Huron, from the upper lakes, that I knocked from his perch150 among the rocks in the hills, back of the Hori—”
His voice was lost in the thicket, into which he had suffered himself to be led by Paul while speaking, too much occupied by thoughts which dwelt on scenes and acts that had taken place half a century earlier in the history of the country, to offer the smallest resistance.
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1
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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vociferous
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| adj.喧哗的，大叫大嚷的 | |
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drowsy
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| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
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squatter
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| n.擅自占地者 | |
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kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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6
apprised
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| v.告知，通知( apprise的过去式和过去分词 )；评价 | |
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7
apprise
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| vt.通知，告知 | |
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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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attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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moody
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| adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的 | |
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swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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14
gleaned
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| v.一点点地收集（资料、事实）( glean的过去式和过去分词 )；（收割后）拾穗 | |
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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villains
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| n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼 | |
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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pints
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| n.品脱( pint的名词复数 )；一品脱啤酒 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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scourge
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| n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏 | |
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remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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deafened
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| 使聋( deafen的过去式和过去分词 )； 使隔音 | |
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toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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gull
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| n.鸥；受骗的人；v.欺诈 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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beaver
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| n.海狸，河狸 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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33
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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35
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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36
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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37
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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38
lawful
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| adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的 | |
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39
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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40
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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41
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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42
militia
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| n.民兵，民兵组织 | |
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43
herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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44
buffaloes
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| n.水牛（分非洲水牛和亚洲水牛两种）( buffalo的名词复数 )；（南非或北美的）野牛；威胁；恐吓 | |
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45
mingle
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| vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往 | |
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46
discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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47
affinity
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| n.亲和力，密切关系 | |
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48
allude
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| v.提及，暗指 | |
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49
peculiarities
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| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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50
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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51
mink
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| n.貂，貂皮 | |
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52
relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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53
purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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54
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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55
minks
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| n.水貂( mink的名词复数 )；水貂皮 | |
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56
maple
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| n.槭树，枫树，槭木 | |
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57
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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58
skulking
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| v.潜伏，偷偷摸摸地走动，鬼鬼祟祟地活动( skulk的现在分词 ) | |
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59
hawk
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| n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员 | |
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60
savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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61
longings
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| 渴望，盼望( longing的名词复数 ) | |
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62
kernel
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| n.(果实的)核，仁；(问题)的中心，核心 | |
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63
butt
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| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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64
allusions
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| 暗指，间接提到( allusion的名词复数 ) | |
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65
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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66
nibbling
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| v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的现在分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬 | |
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67
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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68
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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69
brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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70
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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71
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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72
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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73
holder
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| n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物 | |
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74
conceit
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| n.自负，自高自大 | |
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75
deriding
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| v.取笑，嘲笑( deride的现在分词 ) | |
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76
ponderous
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| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
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77
reluctance
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| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
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78
riveted
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| 铆接( rivet的过去式和过去分词 )； 把…固定住； 吸引； 引起某人的注意 | |
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79
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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80
grizzly
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| adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊 | |
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81
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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82
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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83
wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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84
wagons
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| n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车 | |
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85
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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86
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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87
burrowed
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| v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的过去式和过去分词 )；翻寻 | |
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88
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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89
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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90
intelligible
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| adj.可理解的，明白易懂的，清楚的 | |
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91
arduous
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| adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的 | |
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92
extorted
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| v.敲诈( extort的过去式和过去分词 )；曲解 | |
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93
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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94
pertinent
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| adj.恰当的；贴切的；中肯的；有关的；相干的 | |
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95
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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96
sluggish
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| adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的 | |
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97
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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98
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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99
cardinal
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| n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的 | |
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100
colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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101
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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102
beckoning
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| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
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103
slumbering
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| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式） | |
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104
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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105
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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106
ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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107
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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108
enquiring
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| a.爱打听的，显得好奇的 | |
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109
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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110
extricated
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| v.使摆脱困难，脱身( extricate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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111
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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112
proscribed
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| v.正式宣布（某事物）有危险或被禁止( proscribe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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113
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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114
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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115
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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116
consummated
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| v.使结束( consummate的过去式和过去分词 )；使完美；完婚；（婚礼后的）圆房 | |
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117
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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118
scowling
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 ) | |
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119
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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120
annihilate
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| v.使无效；毁灭；取消 | |
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121
recollecting
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| v.记起，想起( recollect的现在分词 ) | |
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122
prying
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| adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开 | |
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123
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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124
imposingly
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125
rebuked
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| 责难或指责( rebuke的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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126
furtive
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| adj.鬼鬼崇崇的，偷偷摸摸的 | |
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127
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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128
almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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129
vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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130
lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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131
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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132
marvelling
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| v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的现在分词 ) | |
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133
eminence
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| n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家 | |
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134
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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135
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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136
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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137
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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138
brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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139
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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140
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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141
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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142
poise
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| vt./vi. 平衡，保持平衡；n.泰然自若，自信 | |
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143
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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144
hover
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| vi.翱翔，盘旋；徘徊；彷徨，犹豫 | |
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145
actively
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| adv.积极地，勤奋地 | |
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146
concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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147
muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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148
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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149
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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150
perch
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| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
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