—King John.
In order to preserve an even pace between the incidents of the tale, it becomes necessary to revert1 to such events as occurred during the ward2 of Ellen Wade3.
For the few first hours, the cares of the honest and warm-hearted girl were confined to the simple offices of satisfying the often-repeated demands which her younger associates made on her time and patience, under the pretences4 of hunger, thirst, and all the other ceaseless wants of captious5 and inconsiderate childhood. She had seized a moment from their importunities to steal into the tent, where she was administering to the comforts of one far more deserving of her tenderness, when an outcry among the children recalled her to the duties she had momentarily forgotten.
“See, Nelly, see!” exclaimed half a dozen eager voices; “yonder ar' men; and Phoebe says that they ar' Sioux-Indians!”
Ellen turned her eyes in the direction in which so many arms were already extended, and, to her consternation6, beheld7 several men, advancing manifestly and swiftly in a straight line towards the rock. She counted four, but was unable to make out any thing concerning their characters, except that they were not any of those who of right were entitled to admission into the fortress8. It was a fearful moment for Ellen. Looking around, at the juvenile9 and frightened flock that pressed upon the skirts of her garments, she endeavoured to recall to her confused faculties10 some one of the many tales of female heroism11, with which the history of the western frontier abounded12. In one, a stockade13 had been successfully defended by a single man, supported by three or four women, for days, against the assaults of a hundred enemies. In another, the women alone had been able to protect the children, and the less valuable effects of their absent husbands; and a third was not wanting, in which a solitary14 female had destroyed her sleeping captors and given liberty not only to herself, but to a brood of helpless young. This was the case most nearly assimilated to the situation in which Ellen now found herself; and, with flushing cheeks and kindling15 eyes, the girl began to consider, and to prepare her slender means of defence.
She posted the larger girls at the little levers that were to cast the rocks on the assailants, the smaller were to be used more for show than any positive service they could perform, while, like any other leader, she reserved her own person, as a superintendent16 and encourager of the whole. When these dispositions18 were made, she endeavoured to await the issue, with an air of composure, that she intended should inspire her assistants with the confidence necessary to ensure success.
Although Ellen was vastly their superior in that spirit which emanates19 from moral qualities, she was by no means the equal of the two eldest20 daughters of Esther, in the important military property of insensibility to danger. Reared in the hardihood of a migrating life, on the skirts of society, where they had become familiarised to the sights and dangers of the wilderness21, these girls promised fairly to become, at some future day, no less distinguished22 than their mother for daring, and for that singular mixture of good and evil, which, in a wider sphere of action, would probably have enabled the wife of the squatter23 to enrol24 her name among the remarkable25 females of her time. Esther had already, on one occasion, made good the log tenement26 of Ishmael against an inroad of savages27; and on another, she had been left for dead by her enemies, after a defence that, with a more civilised foe29, would have entitled her to the honours of a liberal capitulation. These facts, and sundry30 others of a similar nature, had often been recapitulated31 with suitable exultation32 in the presence of her daughters, and the bosoms33 of the young Amazons were now strangely fluctuating between natural terror and the ambitious wish to do something that might render them worthy35 of being the children of such a mother. It appeared that the opportunity for distinction, of this wild character, was no longer to be denied them.
The party of strangers was already within a hundred rods of the rock. Either consulting their usual wary36 method of advancing, or admonished37 by the threatening attitudes of two figures, who had thrust forth39 the barrels of as many old muskets40 from behind the stone entrenchment42, the new comers halted, under favour of an inequality in the ground, where a growth of grass thicker than common offered the advantage of concealment43. From this spot they reconnoitred the fortress for several anxious, and to Ellen, interminable minutes. Then one advanced singly, and apparently44 more in the character of a herald45 than of an assailant.
“Phoebe, do you fire,” and “no, Hetty, you,” were beginning to be heard between the half-frightened and yet eager daughters of the squatter, when Ellen probably saved the advancing stranger from some imminent46 alarm, if from no greater danger, by exclaiming—
“Lay down the muskets; it is Dr. Battius!”
Her subordinates so far complied, as to withdraw their hands from the locks, though the threatening barrels still maintained the portentous47 levels. The naturalist48, who had advanced with sufficient deliberation to note the smallest hostile demonstration49 of the garrison50, now raised a white handkerchief on the end of his fusee, and came within speaking distance of the fortress. Then, assuming what he intended should be an imposing51 and dignified52 semblance53 of authority, he blustered54 forth, in a voice that might have been heard at a much greater distance—
“What, ho! I summon ye all, in the name of the Confederacy of the United Sovereign States of North America, to submit yourselves to the laws.”
“Doctor or no Doctor; he is an enemy, Nelly; hear him! hear him! he talks of the law.”
“Stop! stay till I hear his answer!” said the nearly breathless Ellen, pushing aside the dangerous weapons which were again pointed55 in the direction of the shrinking person of the herald.
“I admonish38 and forewarn ye all,” continued the startled Doctor, “that I am a peaceful citizen of the before named Confederacy, or to speak with greater accuracy, union, a supporter of the Social Compact, and a lover of good order and amity;” then, perceiving that the danger was, at least, temporarily removed, he once more raised his voice to the hostile pitch,—“I charge ye all, therefore, to submit to the laws.”
“I thought you were a friend,” Ellen replied; “and that you travelled with my uncle, in virtue56 of an agreement—”
“It is void! I have been deceived in the very premises57, and, I hereby pronounce, a certain compactum, entered into and concluded between Ishmael Bush, squatter, and Obed Battius, M.D., to be incontinently null and of non-effect. Nay58, children, to be null is merely a negative property, and is fraught59 with no evil to your worthy parent; so lay aside the fire-arms, and listen to the admonitions of reason. I declare it vicious—null—abrogated. As for thee, Nelly, my feelings towards thee are not at all given to hostility60; therefore listen to that which I have to utter, nor turn away thine ears in the wantonness of security. Thou knowest the character of the man with whom thou dwellest, young woman, and thou also knowest the danger of being found in evil company. Abandon, then, the trifling61 advantages of thy situation, and yield the rock peaceably to the will of those who accompany me—a legion, young woman—I do assure you an invincible62 and powerful legion! Render, therefore, the effects of this lawless and wicked squatter,—nay, children, such disregard of human life, is frightful63 in those who have so recently received the gift, in their own persons! Point those dangerous weapons aside, I entreat64 of you; more for your own sakes, than for mine. Hetty, hast thou forgotten who appeased65 thine anguish66 when thy auricular nerves were tortured by the colds and damps of the naked earth! and thou, Phoebe, ungrateful and forgetful Phoebe! but for this very arm, which you would prostrate67 with an endless paralysis68, thy incisores would still be giving thee pain and sorrow! Lay, then, aside thy weapons, and hearken to the advice of one who has always been thy friend. And now, young woman,” still keeping a jealous eye on the muskets which the girl had suffered to be diverted a little from their aim,—“and now, young woman, for the last, and therefore the most solemn asking: I demand of thee the surrender of this rock, without delay or resistance, in the joint69 names of power, of justice, and of the—” law he would have added; but recollecting70 that this ominous71 word would again provoke the hostility of the squatter's children, he succeeded in swallowing it in good season, and concluded with the less dangerous and more convertible72 term of “reason.”
This extraordinary summons failed, however, of producing the desired effect. It proved utterly73 unintelligible74 to his younger listeners, with the exception of the few offensive terms, already sufficiently75 distinguished, and though Ellen better comprehended the meaning of the herald, she appeared as little moved by his rhetoric76 as her companions. At those passages which he intended should be tender and affecting, the intelligent girl, though tortured by painful feelings, had even manifested a disposition17 to laugh, while to the threats she turned an utterly insensible ear.
“I know not the meaning of all you wish to say, Dr. Battius,” she quietly replied, when he had ended; “but I am sure if it would teach me to betray my trust, it is what I ought not to hear. I caution you to attempt no violence, for let my wishes be what they may, you see I am surrounded by a force that can easily put me down, and you know, or ought to know, too well the temper of this family, to trifle in such a matter with any of its members, let them be of what sex or age they may.”
“I am not entirely77 ignorant of human character,” returned the naturalist, prudently78 receding79 a little from the position, which he had, until now, stoutly80 maintained at the very base of the hill. “But here comes one who may know its secret windings81 still better than I.”
“Ellen! Ellen Wade,” cried Paul Hover82, who had advanced to his elbow, without betraying any of that sensitiveness which had so manifestly discomposed the Doctor; “I didn't expect to find an enemy in you!”
“Nor shall you, when you ask that, which I can grant without treachery. You know that my uncle has trusted his family to my care, and shall I so far betray the trust as to let in his bitterest enemies to murder his children, perhaps, and to rob him of the little which the Indians have left?”
“Am I a murderer—is this old man—this officer of the States,” pointing to the trapper and his newly discovered friend, both of whom by this time stood at his side, “is either of these likely to do the things you name?”
“What is it then you ask of me?” said Ellen, wringing83 her hands, in excessive doubt.
“The beast! nothing more nor less than the squatter's hidden, ravenous84, dangerous beast!”
“Excellent young woman,” commenced the young stranger, who had so lately joined himself to the party on the prairie—but his mouth was immediately stopped by a significant sign from the trapper, who whispered in his ear—
“Let the lad be our spokesman. Natur' will work in the bosom34 of the child, and we shall gain our object, in good time.”
“The whole truth is out, Ellen,” Paul continued, “and we have lined the squatter into his most secret misdoings. We have come to right the wronged and to free the imprisoned86; now, if you are the girl of a true heart, as I have always believed, so far from throwing straws in our way, you will join in the general swarming88, and leave old Ishmael and his hive to the bees of his own breed.”
“I have sworn a solemn oath—”
“A compactum which is entered into through ignorance, or in duresse, is null in the sight of all good moralists,” cried the Doctor.
“Hush, hush,” again the trapper whispered; “leave it all to natur' and the lad!”
“I have sworn in the sight and by the name of Him who is the founder89 and ruler of all that is good, whether it be in morals or in religion,” Ellen continued, “neither to reveal the contents of that tent, nor to help its prisoner to escape. We are both solemnly, terribly, sworn; our lives perhaps have been the gift we received for the promises. It is true you are masters of the secret, but not through any means of ours; nor do I know that I can justify90 myself, for even being neutral, while you attempt to invade the dwelling91 of my uncle in this hostile manner.”
“I can prove beyond the power of refutation,” the naturalist eagerly exclaimed, “by Paley, Berkeley, ay, even by the immortal92 Binkerschoek, that a compactum, concluded while one of the parties, be it a state or be it an individual, is in durance—”
“You will ruffle93 the temper of the child, with your abusive language,” said the cautious trapper, “while the lad, if left to human feelings, will bring her down to the meekness94 of a fawn95. Ah! you are like myself, little knowing in the natur' of hidden kindnesses!”
“Is this the only vow96 you have taken, Ellen?” Paul continued in a tone which, for the gay, light-hearted bee-hunter, sounded dolorous97 and reproachful. “Have you sworn only to this? are the words which the squatter says, to be as honey in your mouth, and all other promises like so much useless comb?”
The paleness, which had taken possession of the usually cheerful countenance98 of Ellen, was hid in a bright glow, that was plainly visible even at the distance at which she stood. She hesitated a moment, as if struggling to repress something very like resentment99, before she answered with all her native spirit—
“I know not what right any one has to question me about oaths and promises, which can only concern her who has made them, if, indeed, any of the sort you mention have ever been made at all. I shall hold no further discourse100 with one who thinks so much of himself, and takes advice merely of his own feelings.”
“Now, old trapper, do you hear that!” said the unsophisticated bee-hunter, turning abruptly101 to his aged102 friend. “The meanest insect that skims the heavens, when it has got its load, flies straight and honestly to its nest or hive, according to its kind; but the ways of a woman's mind are as knotty103 as a gnarled oak, and more crooked104 than the windings of the Mississippi!”
“Nay, nay, child,” said the trapper, good-naturedly interfering105 in behalf of the offending Paul, “you are to consider that youth is hasty, and not overgiven to thought. But then a promise is a promise, and not to be thrown aside and forgotten, like the hoofs106 and horns of a buffaloe.”
“I thank you for reminding me of my oath,” said the still resentful Ellen, biting her pretty nether107 lip with vexation; “I might else have proved forgetful!”
“Ah! female natur' is awakened108 in her,” said the old man, shaking his head in a manner to show how much he was disappointed in the result; “but it manifests itself against the true spirit!”
“Ellen!” cried the young stranger, who until now had been an attentive109 listener to the parley110, “since Ellen is the name by which you are known—”
“They often add to it another. I am sometimes called by the name of my father.”
“Call her Nelly Wade at once,” muttered Paul; “it is her rightful name, and I care not if she keeps it for ever!”
“Wade, I should have added,” continued the youth. “You will acknowledge that, though bound by no oath myself, I at least have known how to respect those of others. You are a witness yourself that I have forborne to utter a single call, while I am certain it could reach those ears it would gladden so much. Permit me then to ascend112 the rock, singly; I promise a perfect indemnity113 to your kinsman114, against any injury his effects may sustain.”
Ellen seemed to hesitate, but catching115 a glimpse of Paul, who stood leaning proudly on his rifle, whistling, with an appearance of the utmost indifference116, the air of a boating song, she recovered her recollection in time to answer,—
“I have been left the captain of the rock, while my uncle and his sons hunt, and captain will I remain till he returns to receive back the charge.”
“This is wasting moments that will not soon return, and neglecting an opportunity that may never occur again,” the young soldier gravely remarked. “The sun is beginning to fall already, and many minutes cannot elapse before the squatter and his savage28 brood will be returning to their huts.”
Doctor Battius cast a glance behind him, and took up the discourse, by saying—
“Perfection is always found in maturity117, whether it be in the animal or in the intellectual world. Reflection is the mother of wisdom, and wisdom the parent of success. I propose that we retire to a discreet118 distance from this impregnable position, and there hold a convocation, or council, to deliberate on what manner we may sit down regularly before the place; or, perhaps, by postponing119 the siege to another season, gain the aid of auxiliaries120 from the inhabited countries, and thus secure the dignity of the laws from any danger of a repulse121.”
“A storm would be better,” the soldier smilingly answered, measuring the height and scanning all its difficulties with a deliberate eye; “'twould be but a broken arm or a bruised122 head at the worst.”
“Then have at it!” shouted the impetuous bee-hunter, making a spring that at once put him out of danger from shot, by carrying him beneath the projecting ledge111 on which the garrison was posted; “now do your worst, young devils of a wicked breed; you have but a moment to work your mischief123!”
“Paul! rash Paul!” shrieked124 Ellen; “another step and the rocks will crush you! they hang by but a thread, and these girls are ready and willing to let them fall!”
“Then drive the accursed swarm87 from the hive; for scale the rock I will, though I find it covered with hornets.”
“Let her if she dare!” tauntingly125 cried the eldest of the girls, brandishing126 a musket41 with a mien127 and resolution that would have done credit to her Amazonian dam. “I know you, Nelly Wade; you are with the lawyers in your heart, and if you come a foot nigher, you shall have frontier punishment. Put in another pry128, girls; in with it! I should like to see the man, of them all, that dare come up into the camp of Ishmael Bush, without asking leave of his children!”
“Stir not, Paul; for your life keep beneath the rock!”
Ellen was interrupted by the same bright vision, which on the preceding day had stayed another scarcely less portentous tumult129, by exhibiting itself on the same giddy height, where it was now seen.
“In the name of Him, who commandeth all, I implore130 you to pause—both you, who so madly incur131 the risk, and you, who so rashly offer to take that which you never can return!” said a voice, in a slightly foreign accent, that instantly drew all eyes upward.
“Inez!” cried the officer, “do I again see you! mine shall you now be, though a million devils were posted on this rock. Push up, brave woodsman, and give room for another!”
The sudden appearance of the figure from the tent had created a momentary132 stupor133 among the defendants134 of the rock, which might, with suitable forbearance, have been happily improved; but startled by the voice of Middleton, the surprised Phoebe discharged her musket at the female, scarcely knowing whether she aimed at the life of a mortal or at some being which belonged to another world. Ellen uttered a cry of horror, and then sprang after her alarmed or wounded friend, she knew not which, into the tent.
During this moment of dangerous by-play, the sounds of a serious attack were very distinctly audible beneath. Paul had profited by the commotion135 over his head to change his place so far, as to make room for Middleton. The latter was followed by the naturalist, who, in a state of mental aberration136, produced by the report of the musket, had instinctively137 rushed towards the rocks for cover. The trapper remained where he was last seen, an unmoved but close observer of the several proceedings138. Though averse139 to enter into actual hostilities140, the old man was, however, far from being useless. Favoured by his position, he was enabled to apprise141 his friends of the movements of those who plotted their destruction above, and to advise and control their advance accordingly.
In the mean time, the children of Esther were true to the spirit they had inherited from their redoubtable142 mother. The instant they found themselves delivered from the presence of Ellen and her unknown companion, they bestowed143 an undivided attention on their more masculine and certainly more dangerous assailants, who by this time had made a complete lodgment among the crags of the citadel144. The repeated summons to surrender, which Paul uttered in a voice that he intended should strike terror in their young bosoms, were as little heeded145 as were the calls of the trapper to abandon a resistance, which might prove fatal to some among them, without offering the smallest probability of eventual146 success. Encouraging each other to persevere147, they poised148 the fragments of rocks, prepared the lighter149 missiles for immediate85 service, and thrust forward the barrels of the muskets with a business-like air, and a coolness, that would have done credit to men practised in warfare150.
“Keep under the ledge,” said the trapper, pointing out to Paul the manner in which he should proceed; “keep in your foot more, lad—ah! you see the warning was not amiss! had the stone struck it, the bees would have had the prairies to themselves. Now, namesake of my friend; Uncas, in name and spirit! now, if you have the activity of Le Cerf Agile151, you may make a far leap to the right, and gain twenty feet, without danger. Beware the bush—beware the bush! 'twill prove a treacherous152 hold! Ah! he has done it; safely and bravely has he done it! Your turn comes next, friend; that follows the fruits of natur'. Push you to the left, and divide the attention of the children. Nay, girls, fire,—my old ears are used to the whistling of lead; and little reason have I to prove a doe-heart, with fourscore years on my back.” He shook his head with a melancholy153 smile, but without flinching154 in a muscle, as the bullet, which the exasperated155 Hetty fired, passed innocently at no great distance from the spot where he stood. “It is safer keeping in your track than dodging156 when a weak finger pulls the trigger,” he continued “but it is a solemn sight to witness how much human natur' is inclined to evil, in one so young! Well done, my man of beasts and plants! Another such leap, and you may laugh at all the squatter's bars and walls. The Doctor has got his temper up! I see it in his eye, and something good will come of him! Keep closer, man—keep closer.”
The trapper, though he was not deceived as to the state of Dr. Battius' mind, was, however, greatly in error as to the exciting cause. While imitating the movements of his companions, and toiling157 his way upward with the utmost caution, and not without great inward tribulation158, the eye of the naturalist had caught a glimpse of an unknown plant, a few yards above his head, and in a situation more than commonly exposed to the missiles which the girls were unceasingly hurling159 in the direction of the assailants. Forgetting, in an instant, every thing but the glory of being the first to give this jewel to the catalogues of science, he sprang upward at the prize with the avidity with which the sparrow darts160 upon the butterfly. The rocks, which instantly came thundering down, announced that he was seen; and for a moment, while his form was concealed161 in the cloud of dust and fragments which followed the furious descent, the trapper gave him up for lost; but the next instant he was seen safely seated in a cavity formed by some of the projecting stones which had yielded to the shock, holding triumphantly162 in his hand the captured stem, which he was already devouring163 with delighted, and certainly not unskilful, eyes. Paul profited by the opportunity. Turning his course, with the quickness of thought, he sprang to the post which Obed thus securely occupied, and unceremoniously making a footstool of his shoulder, as the latter stooped over his treasure, he bounded through the breach164 left by the fallen rock, and gained the level. He was followed by Middleton, who joined him in seizing and disarming165 the girls. In this manner a bloodless and complete victory was obtained over that citadel which Ishmael had vainly flattered himself might prove impregnable.
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revert
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| v.恢复，复归，回到 | |
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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wade
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| v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉 | |
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pretences
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| n.假装( pretence的名词复数 )；作假；自命；自称 | |
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captious
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| adj.难讨好的，吹毛求疵的 | |
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consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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juvenile
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| n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的 | |
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faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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heroism
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| n.大无畏精神，英勇 | |
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abounded
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| v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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stockade
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| n.栅栏，围栏；v.用栅栏防护 | |
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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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kindling
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| n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式 | |
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superintendent
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| n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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dispositions
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| 安排( disposition的名词复数 )； 倾向； （财产、金钱的）处置； 气质 | |
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emanates
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| v.从…处传出，传出( emanate的第三人称单数 )；产生，表现，显示 | |
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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squatter
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| n.擅自占地者 | |
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enrol
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| v.（使）注册入学，（使）入学，（使）入会 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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tenement
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| n.公寓；房屋 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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recapitulated
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| v.总结，扼要重述( recapitulate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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bosoms
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| 胸部( bosom的名词复数 )； 胸怀； 女衣胸部（或胸襟）； 和爱护自己的人在一起的情形 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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wary
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| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
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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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38
admonish
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| v.训戒；警告；劝告 | |
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39
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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40
muskets
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| n.火枪，（尤指）滑膛枪( musket的名词复数 ) | |
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41
musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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42
entrenchment
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| n.壕沟，防御设施 | |
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43
concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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44
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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45
herald
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| vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎 | |
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46
imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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47
portentous
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| adj.不祥的，可怕的，装腔作势的 | |
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48
naturalist
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| n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者) | |
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49
demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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50
garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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51
imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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52
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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53
semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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54
blustered
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| v.外强中干的威吓( bluster的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮；（风）呼啸；狂吹 | |
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55
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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56
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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57
premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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58
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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59
fraught
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| adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的 | |
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60
hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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61
trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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62
invincible
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| adj.不可征服的，难以制服的 | |
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63
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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64
entreat
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| v.恳求，恳请 | |
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65
appeased
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| 安抚，抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争） | |
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66
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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67
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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68
paralysis
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| n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症) | |
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69
joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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70
recollecting
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| v.记起，想起( recollect的现在分词 ) | |
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71
ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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72
convertible
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| adj.可改变的，可交换，同意义的；n.有活动摺篷的汽车 | |
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73
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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74
unintelligible
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|
| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
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75
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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76
rhetoric
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|
| n.修辞学，浮夸之言语 | |
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77
entirely
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|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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78
prudently
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| adv. 谨慎地，慎重地 | |
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79
receding
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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80
stoutly
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| adv.牢固地，粗壮的 | |
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81
windings
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| （道路、河流等）蜿蜒的，弯曲的( winding的名词复数 )； 缠绕( wind的现在分词 )； 卷绕； 转动（把手） | |
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82
hover
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| vi.翱翔，盘旋；徘徊；彷徨，犹豫 | |
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83
wringing
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| 淋湿的，湿透的 | |
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84
ravenous
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| adj.极饿的，贪婪的 | |
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85
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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86
imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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87
swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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88
swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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89
Founder
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| n.创始者，缔造者 | |
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90
justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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91
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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92
immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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93
ruffle
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| v.弄皱，弄乱；激怒，扰乱；n.褶裥饰边 | |
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94
meekness
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|
| n.温顺，柔和 | |
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95
fawn
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| n.未满周岁的小鹿；v.巴结，奉承 | |
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96
vow
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| n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓 | |
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97
dolorous
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| adj.悲伤的；忧愁的 | |
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98
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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99
resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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100
discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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101
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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102
aged
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|
| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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103
knotty
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| adj.有结的，多节的，多瘤的，棘手的 | |
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104
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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105
interfering
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| adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词 | |
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106
hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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107
nether
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|
| adj.下部的，下面的；n.阴间；下层社会 | |
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108
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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109
attentive
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|
| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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110
parley
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| n.谈判 | |
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111
ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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112
ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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113
indemnity
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| n.赔偿，赔款，补偿金 | |
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114
kinsman
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| n.男亲属 | |
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115
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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116
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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117
maturity
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| n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期 | |
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118
discreet
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| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
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119
postponing
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| v.延期，推迟( postpone的现在分词 ) | |
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120
auxiliaries
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| n.助动词 ( auxiliary的名词复数 )；辅助工，辅助人员 | |
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121
repulse
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| n.击退，拒绝；vt.逐退，击退，拒绝 | |
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122
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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123
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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124
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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125
tauntingly
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| 嘲笑地，辱骂地； 嘲骂地 | |
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126
brandishing
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| v.挥舞( brandish的现在分词 )；炫耀 | |
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127
mien
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| n.风采；态度 | |
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128
pry
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| vi.窥(刺)探，打听；vt.撬动(开，起) | |
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129
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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130
implore
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| vt.乞求，恳求，哀求 | |
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131
incur
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| vt.招致，蒙受，遭遇 | |
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132
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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133
stupor
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| v.昏迷；不省人事 | |
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134
defendants
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| 被告( defendant的名词复数 ) | |
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135
commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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136
aberration
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| n.离开正路，脱离常规，色差 | |
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137
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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138
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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139
averse
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| adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的 | |
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140
hostilities
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| n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事 | |
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141
apprise
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| vt.通知，告知 | |
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142
redoubtable
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| adj.可敬的；可怕的 | |
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143
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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144
citadel
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| n.城堡；堡垒；避难所 | |
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145
heeded
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| v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的过去式和过去分词 )；变平，使（某物）变平( flatten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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146
eventual
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| adj.最后的，结局的，最终的 | |
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147
persevere
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| v.坚持，坚忍，不屈不挠 | |
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148
poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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149
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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150
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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151
agile
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| adj.敏捷的，灵活的 | |
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152
treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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153
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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154
flinching
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| v.（因危险和痛苦）退缩，畏惧( flinch的现在分词 ) | |
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155
exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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156
dodging
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| n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避 | |
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157
toiling
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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158
tribulation
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| n.苦难，灾难 | |
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159
hurling
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| n.爱尔兰式曲棍球v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的现在分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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160
darts
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| n.掷飞镖游戏；飞镖( dart的名词复数 )；急驰，飞奔v.投掷，投射( dart的第三人称单数 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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161
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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162
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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163
devouring
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| 吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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164
breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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165
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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