shall have, the tortures he shall feel, will break the back of
man, the heart of monster.
—Shakspeare.
It will readily be seen that the event just related was attended by an extraordinary sensation among the Siouxes. In leading the hunters of the band back to the encampment, their chief had neglected none of the customary precautions of Indian prudence2, in order that his trail might escape the eyes of his enemies. It would seem, however, that the Pawnees had not only made the dangerous discovery, but had managed with great art to draw nigh the place, by the only side on which it was thought unnecessary to guard the approaches with the usual line of sentinels. The latter, who were scattered4 along the different little eminences5, which lay in the rear of the lodges6, were among the last to be apprized of the danger.
In such a crisis there was little time for deliberation. It was by exhibiting the force of his character in scenes of similar difficulty, that Mahtoree had obtained and strengthened his ascendency among his people, nor did he seem likely to lose it by the manifestation7 of any indecision on the present occasion. In the midst of the screams of the young, the shrieks8 of the women, and the wild howlings of the crones, which were sufficient of themselves to have created a chaos10 in the thoughts of one less accustomed to act in emergencies, he promptly11 asserted his authority, issuing his orders with the coolness of a veteran.
While the warriors13 were arming, the boys were despatched to the bottom for the horses. The tents were hastily struck by the women, and disposed of on such of the beasts as were not deemed fit to be trusted in combat. The infants were cast upon the backs of their mothers, and those children, who were of a size to march, were driven to the rear, like a herd1 of less reasoning animals. Though these several movements were made amid outcries, and a clamour, that likened the place to another Babel, they were executed with incredible alacrity16 and intelligence.
In the mean time, Mahtoree neglected no duty that belonged to his responsible station. From the elevation17, on which he stood, he could command a perfect view of the force and evolutions of the hostile party. A grim smile lighted his visage, when he found that, in point of numbers, his own band was greatly the superior. Notwithstanding this advantage, however, there were other points of inequality, which would probably have a tendency to render his success, in the approaching conflict, exceedingly doubtful. His people were the inhabitants of a more northern and less hospitable19 region than their enemies, and were far from being rich in that species of property, horses and arms, which constitutes the most highly prized wealth of a western Indian. The band in view was mounted to a man; and as it had come so far to rescue, or to revenge, their greatest partisan20, he had no reason to doubt its being composed entirely21 of braves. On the other hand, many of his followers22 were far better in a hunt than in a combat; men who might serve to divert the attention of his foes24, but from whom he could expect little desperate service. Still, his flashing eye glanced over a body of warriors on whom he had often relied, and who had never deceived him; and though, in the precise position in which he found himself, he felt no disposition25 to precipitate26 the conflict, he certainly would have had no intention to avoid it, had not the presence of his women and children placed the option altogether in the power of his adversaries27.
On the other hand, the Pawnees, so unexpectedly successful in their first and greatest object, manifested no intention to drive matters to an issue. The river was a dangerous barrier to pass, in the face of a determined28 foe23, and it would now have been in perfect accordance with their cautious policy, to have retired29 for a season, in order that their onset30 might be made in the hours of darkness, and of seeming security. But there was a spirit in their chief that elevated him, for the moment, above the ordinary expedients31 of savage32 warfare33. His bosom34 burned with the desire to wipe out that disgrace of which he had been the subject; and it is possible, that he believed the retiring camp of the Siouxes contained a prize, that began to have a value in his eyes, far exceeding any that could be found in fifty Teton scalps. Let that be as it might, Hard-Heart had no sooner received the brief congratulations of his band, and communicated to the chiefs such facts as were important to be known, than he prepared himself to act such a part in the coming conflict, as would at once maintain his well-earned reputation, and gratify his secret wishes. A led horse, one that had been long trained in the hunts, had been brought to receive his master, with but little hope that his services would ever be needed again in this life. With a delicacy35 and consideration, that proved how much the generous qualities of the youth had touched the feelings of his people, a bow, a lance, and a quiver, were thrown across the animal, which it had been intended to immolate36 on the grave of the young brave; a species of care that would have superseded37 the necessity for the pious38 duty that the trapper had pledged himself to perform.
Though Hard-Heart was sensible of the kindness of his warriors, and believed that a chief, furnished with such appointments, might depart with credit for the distant hunting-grounds of the Master of Life, he seemed equally disposed to think that they might be rendered quite as useful, in the actual state of things. His countenance39 lighted with stern pleasure, as he tried the elasticity40 of the bow, and poised41 the well-balanced spear. The glance he bestowed42 on the shield was more cursory43 and indifferent; but the exultation44 with which he threw himself on the back of his favoured war-horse was so great, as to break through the forms of Indian reserve. He rode to and fro among his scarcely less delighted warriors, managing the animal with a grace and address that no artificial rules can ever supply; at times flourishing his lance, as if to assure himself of his seat, and at others examining critically into the condition of the fusee, with which he had also been furnished, with the fondness of one, who was miraculously46 restored to the possession of treasures, that constituted his pride and his happiness.
At this particular moment Mahtoree, having completed the necessary arrangements, prepared to make a more decisive movement. The Teton had found no little embarrassment47 in disposing of his captives. The tents of the squatter48 were still in sight, and his wary49 cunning did not fail to apprise50 him, that it was quite as necessary to guard against an attack from that quarter as to watch the motions of his more open and more active foes. His first impulse had been to make the tomahawk suffice for the men, and to trust the females under the same protection as the women of his band; but the manner, in which many of his braves continued to regard the imaginary medicine of the Long-knives, forewarned him of the danger of so hazardous51 an experiment on the eve of a battle. It might be deemed the omen9 of defeat. In this dilemma52 he motioned to a superannuated53 warrior14, to whom he had confided54 the charge of the non-combatants, and leading him apart, he placed a finger significantly on his shoulder, as he said, in a tone, in which authority was tempered by confidence—
“When my young men are striking the Pawnees, give the women knives. Enough; my father is very old; he does not want to hear wisdom from a boy.”
The grim old savage returned a look of ferocious55 assent56, and then the mind of the chief appeared to be at rest on this important subject. From that moment he bestowed all his care on the achievement of his revenge, and the maintenance of his martial57 character. Throwing himself on his horse, he made a sign, with the air of a prince to his followers, to imitate his example, interrupting, without ceremony, the war songs and solemn rites58 by which many among them were stimulating59 their spirits to deeds of daring. When all were in order, the whole moved with great steadiness and silence towards the margin60 of the river.
The hostile bands were now separated by the water. The width of the stream was too great to admit of the use of the ordinary Indian missiles, but a few useless shots were exchanged from the fusees of the chiefs, more in bravado61 than with any expectation of doing execution. As some time was suffered to elapse, in demonstrations63 and abortive64 efforts, we shall leave them, for that period, to return to such of our characters as remained in the hands of the savages65.
We have shed much ink in vain, and wasted quires, that might possibly have been better employed, if it be necessary now to tell the reader that few of the foregoing movements escaped the observation of the experienced trapper. He had been, in common with the rest, astonished at the sudden act of Hard-Heart; and there was a single moment when a feeling of regret and mortification66 got the better of his longings67 to save the life of the youth. The simple and well-intentioned old man would have felt, at witnessing any failure of firmness on the part of a warrior, who had so strongly excited his sympathies, the same species of sorrow that a Christian68 parent would suffer in hanging over the dying moments of an impious child. But when, instead of an impotent and unmanly struggle for existence, he found that his friend had forborne, with the customary and dignified69 submission70 of an Indian warrior, until an opportunity had offered to escape, and that he had then manifested the spirit and decision of the most gifted brave, his gratification became nearly too powerful to be concealed71. In the midst of the wailing72 and commotion73, which succeeded the death of Weucha and the escape of the captive, he placed himself nigh the persons of his white associates, with a determination of interfering74, at every hazard, should the fury of the savages take that direction. The appearance of the hostile band spared him, however, so desperate and probably so fruitless an effort, and left him to pursue his observations, and to mature his plans more at leisure.
He particularly remarked that, while by far the greater part of the women, and all the children, together with the effects of the party, were hurried to the rear, probably with an order to secrete75 themselves in some of the adjacent woods, the tent of Mahtoree himself was left standing18, and its contents undisturbed. Two chosen horses, however, stood near by, held by a couple of youths, who were too young to go into the conflict, and yet of an age to understand the management of the beasts. The trapper perceived in this arrangement the reluctance76 of Mahtoree to trust his newly-found flowers beyond the reach of his eye; and, at the same time, his forethought in providing against a reverse of fortune. Neither had the manner of the Teton, in giving his commission to the old savage, nor the fierce pleasure with which the latter had received the bloody77 charge, escaped his observation. From all these mysterious movements, the old man was aware that a crisis was at hand, and he summoned the utmost knowledge he had acquired, in so long a life, to aid him in the desperate conjuncture. While musing78 on the means to be employed, the Doctor again attracted his attention to himself, by a piteous appeal for assistance.
“Venerable trapper, or, as I may now say, liberator,” commenced the dolorous79 Obed, “it would seem, that a fitting time has at length arrived to dissever the unnatural80 and altogether irregular connection, which exists between my inferior members and the body of Asinus. Perhaps if such a portion of my limbs were released as might leave me master of the remainder, and this favourable81 opportunity were suitably improved, by making a forced march towards the settlements, all hopes of preserving the treasures of knowledge, of which I am the unworthy receptacle, would not be lost. The importance of the results is surely worth the hazard of the experiment.”
“I know not, I know not,” returned the deliberate old man; “the vermin and reptiles83, which you bear about you, were intended by the Lord for the prairies, and I see no good in sending them into regions that may not suit their natur's. And, moreover, you may be of great and particular use as you now sit on the ass12, though it creates no wonder in my mind to perceive that you are ignorant of it, seeing that usefulness is altogether a new calling to so bookish a man.”
“Of what service can I be in this painful thraldom84, in which the animal functions are in a manner suspended, and the spiritual, or intellectual, blinded by the secret sympathy that unites mind to matter? There is likely to be blood spilt between yonder adverse85 hosts of heathens; and, though but little desiring the office, it would be better that I should employ myself in surgical86 experiments, than in thus wasting the precious moments, mortifying87 both soul and body.”
“It is little that a Red-skin would care to have a physician at his hurts, while the whoop88 is ringing in his ears. Patience is a virtue89 in an Indian, and can be no shame to a Christian white man. Look at these hags of squaws, friend Doctor; I have no judgment90 in savage tempers, if they are not bloody minded, and ready to work their accursed pleasures on us all. Now, so long as you keep upon the ass, and maintain the fierce look which is far from being your natural gift, fear of so great a medicine may serve to keep down their courage. I am placed here, like a general at the opening of the battle, and it has become my duty to make such use of all my force as, in my judgment, each is best fitted to perform. If I know these niceties, you will be more serviceable for your countenance just now than in any more stirring exploits.”
“Harkee, old trapper,” shouted Paul, whose patience could no longer maintain itself under the calculating and prolix91 explanations of the other, “suppose you cut two things I can name, short off. That is to say, your conversation, which is agreeable enough over a well baked buffaloe's hump, and these damnable thongs92 of hide, which, according to my experience, can be pleasant nowhere. A single stroke of your knife would be of more service, just now, than the longest speech that was ever made in a Kentucky court-house.”
“Ay, court-houses are the 'happy hunting-grounds,' as a Red-skin would say, for them that are born with gifts no better than such as lie in the tongue. I was carried into one of the lawless holes myself once, and it was all about a thing of no more value than the skin of a deer. The Lord forgive them!—the Lord forgive them!—they knew no better, and they did according to their weak judgments94, and therefore the more are they to be pitied; and yet it was a solemn sight to see an aged3 man, who had always lived in the air, laid neck and heels by the law, and held up as a spectacle for the women and boys of a wasteful95 settlement to point their fingers at!”
“If such be your opinions of confinement96, honest friend, you had better manifest the same, by putting us at liberty with as little delay as possible,” said Middleton, who, like his companion, began to find the tardiness97 of his often-tried companion quite as extraordinary as it was disagreeable.
“I should greatly like to do the same; especially in your behalf, Captain, who, being a soldier, might find not only pleasure but profit in examining, more at your ease, into the circumventions and cunning of an Indian fight. As to our friend, here, it is of but little matter, how much of this affair he examines, or how little, seeing that a bee is not to be overcome in the same manner as an Indian.”
“Old man, this trifling98 with our misery99 is inconsiderate, to give it a name no harsher—”
“Ay, your grand'ther was of a hot and hurrying mind, and one must not expect, that the young of a panther will crawl the 'arth like the litter of a porcupine100. Now keep you both silent, and what I say shall have the appearance of being spoken concerning the movements that are going on in the bottom; all of which will serve to put jealousy102 to sleep, and to shut the eyes of such as rarely close them on wickedness and cruelty. In the first place, then, you must know that I have reason to think yonder treacherous103 Teton has left an order to put us all to death, so soon as he thinks the deed may be done secretly, and without tumult104.”
“Great Heaven! will you suffer us to be butchered like unresisting sheep?”
“Hist, Captain, hist; a hot temper is none of the best, when cunning is more needed than blows. Ah, the Pawnee is a noble boy! it would do your heart good to see how he draws off from the river, in order to invite his enemies to cross; and yet, according to my failing sight, they count two warriors to his one! But as I was saying, little good comes of haste and thoughtlessness. The facts are so plain that any child may see into their wisdom. The savages are of many minds as to the manner of our treatment. Some fear us for colour, and would gladly let us go, and other some would show us the mercy that the doe receives from the hungry wolf. When opposition105 gets fairly into the councils of a tribe, it is rarely that humanity is the gainer. Now see you these wrinkled and cruel-minded squaws—No, you cannot see them as you lie, but nevertheless they are here, ready and willing, like so many raging she-bears, to work their will upon us so soon as the proper time shall come.”
“Harkee, old gentleman trapper,” interrupted Paul, with a little bitterness in his manner; “do you tell us these matters for our amusement, or for your own? If for ours, you may keep your breath for the next race you run, as I am tickled106 nearly to suffocation107, already, with my part of the fun.”
“Hist”—said the trapper, cutting with great dexterity108 and rapidity the thong93, which bound one of the arms of Paul to his body, and dropping his knife at the same time within reach of the liberated109 hand. “Hist, boy, hist; that was a lucky moment! The yell from the bottom drew the eyes of these blood-suckers in another quarter, and so far we are safe. Now make a proper use of your advantages; but be careful, that what you do, is done without being seen.”
“Thank you for this small favour, old deliberation,” muttered the bee-hunter, “though it comes like a snow in May, somewhat out of season.”
“Foolish boy!” reproachfully exclaimed the other, who had moved to a little distance from his friends, and appeared to be attentively110 regarding the movements of the hostile parties, “will you never learn to know the wisdom of patience? And you, too, Captain; though a man myself, that seldom ruffles111 his temper by vain feelings, I see that you are silent, because you scorn to ask favours any longer from one you think too slow to grant them. No doubt, ye are both young, and filled with the pride of your strength and manhood, and I dare say you thought it only needful to cut the thongs, to leave you masters of the ground. But he, that has seen much, is apt to think much. Had I run like a bustling112 woman to have given you freedom, these hags of the Siouxes would have seen the same, and then where would you both have found yourselves? Under the tomahawk and the knife, like helpless and outcrying children, though gifted with the size and beards of men. Ask our friend, the bee-hunter, in what condition he finds himself to struggle with a Teton boy, after so many hours of bondage113; much less with a dozen merciless and bloodthirsty squaws!”
“Truly, old trapper,” returned Paul, stretching his limbs, which were by this time entirely released, and endeavouring to restore the suspended circulation, “you have some judgmatical notions in these matters. Now here am I, Paul Hover114, a man who will give in to few at wrestle115 or race, nearly as helpless as the day I paid my first visit to the house of old Paul, who is dead and gone,—the Lord forgive him any little blunders he may have made while he tarried in Kentucky! Now there is my foot on the ground, so far as eye-sight has any virtue, and yet it would take no great temptation to make me swear it didn't touch the earth by six inches. I say, honest friend, since you have done so much, have the goodness to keep these damnable squaws, of whom you say so many interesting things, at a little distance, till I have got the blood of this arm in motion, and am ready to receive them.”
The trapper made a sign that he perfectly116 understood the case; and he walked towards the superannuated savage, who began to manifest an intention of commencing his assigned task, leaving the bee-hunter to recover the use of his limbs as well as he could, and to put Middleton in a similar situation to defend himself.
Mahtoree had not mistaken his man, in selecting the one he did to execute his bloody purpose. He had chosen one of those ruthless savages, more or less of whom are to be found in every tribe, who had purchased a certain share of military reputation, by the exhibition of a hardihood that found its impulses in an innate117 love of cruelty. Contrary to the high and chivalrous118 sentiment, which among the Indians of the prairies renders it a deed of even greater merit to bear off the trophy119 of victory from a fallen foe, than to slay120 him, he had been remarkable121 for preferring the pleasure of destroying life, to the glory of striking the dead. While the more self-devoted and ambitious braves were intent on personal honour, he had always been seen, established behind some favourable cover, depriving the wounded of hope, by finishing that which a more gallant122 warrior had begun. In all the cruelties of the tribe he had ever been foremost; and no Sioux was so uniformly found on the side of merciless councils.
He had awaited, with an impatience123 which his long practised restraint could with difficulty subdue124, for the moment to arrive when he might proceed to execute the wishes of the great chief, without whose approbation125 and powerful protection he would not have dared to undertake a step, that had so many opposers in the nation. But events had been hastening to an issue, between the hostile parties; and the time had now arrived, greatly to his secret and malignant126 joy, when he was free to act his will.
The trapper found him distributing knives to the ferocious hags, who received the presents chanting a low monotonous127 song, that recalled the losses of their people, in various conflicts with the whites, and which extolled128 the pleasures and glory of revenge. The appearance of such a group was enough of itself to have deterred129 one, less accustomed to such sights than the old man, from trusting himself within the circle of their wild and repulsive130 rites.
Each of the crones, as she received the weapon, commenced a slow and measured, but ungainly, step, around the savage, until the whole were circling him in a sort of magic dance. The movements were timed, in some degree, by the words of their songs, as were their gestures by the ideas. When they spoke101 of their own losses, they tossed their long straight locks of grey into the air, or suffered them to fall in confusion upon their withered131 necks; but as the sweetness of returning blow for blow was touched upon, by any among them, it was answered by a common howl, as well as by gestures, that were sufficiently132 expressive133 of the manner in which they were exciting themselves to the necessary state of fury.
Into the very centre of this ring of seeming demons62, the trapper now stalked, with the same calmness and observation as he would have walked into a village church. No other change was made by his appearance, than a renewal134 of the threatening gestures, with, if possible, a still less equivocal display of their remorseless intentions. Making a sign for them to cease, the old man demanded—
“Why do the mothers of the Tetons sing with bitter tongues? The Pawnee prisoners are not yet in their village; their young men have not come back loaded with scalps!”
He was answered by a general howl, and a few of the boldest of the furies even ventured to approach him, flourishing their knives within a dangerous proximity135 of his own steady eye-balls.
“It is a warrior you see, and no runner of the Long-knives, whose face grows paler at the sight of a tomahawk,” returned the trapper, without moving a muscle. “Let the Sioux women think; if one White-skin dies, a hundred spring up where he falls.”
Still the hags made no other answer, than by increasing their speed in the circle, and occasionally raising the threatening expressions of their chant, into louder and more intelligible136 strains. Suddenly, one of the oldest, and the most ferocious of them all, broke out of the ring, and skirred away in the direction of her victims, like a rapacious137 bird, that having wheeled on poised wings, for the time necessary to ensure its object, makes the final dart138 upon its prey139. The others followed, a disorderly and screaming flock, fearful of being too late to reap their portion of the sanguinary pleasure.
“Mighty medicine of my people!” shouted the old man, in the Teton tongue; “lift your voice and speak, that the Sioux nation may hear.”
Whether Asinus had acquired so much knowledge, by his recent experience, as to know the value of his sonorous140 properties, or the strange spectacle of a dozen hags flitting past him, filling the air with such sounds as were even grating to the ears of an ass, most moved his temper, it is certain that the animal did that which Obed was requested to do, and probably with far greater effect than if the naturalist141 had strove with his mightiest142 effort to be heard. It was the first time the strange beast had spoken, since his arrival in the encampment. Admonished143 by so terrible a warning, the hags scattered themselves, like vultures frightened from their prey, still screaming, and but half diverted from their purpose.
In the mean time the sudden appearance, and the imminency of the danger, quickened the blood in the veins144 of Paul and Middleton, more than all their laborious145 frictions146, and physical expedients. The former had actually risen to his feet, and assumed an attitude which perhaps threatened more than the worthy82 bee-hunter was able to perform, and even the latter had mounted to his knees, and shown a disposition to do good service for his life. The unaccountable release of the captives from their bonds was attributed, by the hags, to the incantations of the medicine; and the mistake was probably of as much service, as the miraculous45 and timely interposition of Asinus in their favour.
“Now is the time to come out of our ambushment,” exclaimed the old man, hastening to join his friends, “and to make open and manful war. It would have been policy to have kept back the struggle, until the Captain was in better condition to join, but as we have unmasked our battery, why, we must maintain the ground—”
He was interrupted by feeling a gigantic hand on his shoulder. Turning, under a sort of confused impression that necromancy147 was actually abroad in the place, he found that he was in the hands of a sorcerer no less dangerous and powerful than Ishmael Bush. The file of the squatter's well-armed sons, that was seen issuing from behind the still standing tent of Mahtoree, explained at once, not only the manner in which their rear had been turned, while their attention had been so earnestly bestowed on matters in front, but the utter impossibility of resistance.
Neither Ishmael, nor his sons deemed it necessary to enter into prolix explanations. Middleton and Paul were bound again, with extraordinary silence and despatch15, and this time not even the aged trapper was exempt148 from a similar fortune. The tent was struck, the females placed upon the horses, and the whole were on the way towards the squatter's encampment, with a celerity that might well have served to keep alive the idea of magic.
During this summary and brief disposition of things, the disappointed agent of Mahtoree and his callous149 associates were seen flying across the plain, in the direction of the retiring families; and when Ishmael left the spot with his prisoners and his booty, the ground, which had so lately been alive with the bustle150 and life of an extensive Indian encampment, was as still and empty as any other spot in those extensive wastes.
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1
herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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eminences
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| 卓越( eminence的名词复数 )； 著名； 高地； 山丘 | |
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lodges
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| v.存放( lodge的第三人称单数 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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manifestation
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| n.表现形式；表明；现象 | |
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8
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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omen
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| n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示 | |
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chaos
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| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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13
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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15
despatch
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| n./v.(dispatch)派遣；发送；n.急件；新闻报道 | |
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alacrity
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| n.敏捷，轻快，乐意 | |
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elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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partisan
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| adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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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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foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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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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precipitate
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| adj.突如其来的；vt.使突然发生；n.沉淀物 | |
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adversaries
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| n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 ) | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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30
onset
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| n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始 | |
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31
expedients
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| n.应急有效的，权宜之计的( expedient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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33
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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34
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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35
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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36
immolate
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| v.牺牲 | |
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37
superseded
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| [医]被代替的，废弃的 | |
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38
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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39
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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40
elasticity
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| n.弹性，伸缩力 | |
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41
poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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42
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
cursory
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| adj.粗略的；草率的；匆促的 | |
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44
exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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45
miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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46
miraculously
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| ad.奇迹般地 | |
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47
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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48
squatter
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| n.擅自占地者 | |
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49
wary
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| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
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50
apprise
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| vt.通知，告知 | |
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51
hazardous
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| adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的 | |
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52
dilemma
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| n.困境，进退两难的局面 | |
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53
superannuated
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| adj.老朽的，退休的；v.因落后于时代而废除，勒令退学 | |
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54
confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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55
ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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56
assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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57
martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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58
rites
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| 仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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59
stimulating
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| adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的 | |
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60
margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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61
bravado
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| n.虚张声势，故作勇敢，逞能 | |
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62
demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
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63
demonstrations
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| 证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威 | |
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64
abortive
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| adj.不成功的，发育不全的 | |
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65
savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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66
mortification
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| n.耻辱，屈辱 | |
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67
longings
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| 渴望，盼望( longing的名词复数 ) | |
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68
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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69
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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70
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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71
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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72
wailing
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱 | |
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73
commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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74
interfering
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| adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词 | |
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75
secrete
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| vt.分泌；隐匿，使隐秘 | |
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76
reluctance
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| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
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77
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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78
musing
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| n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式 | |
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79
dolorous
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| adj.悲伤的；忧愁的 | |
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80
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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81
favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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82
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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83
reptiles
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| n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 ) | |
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84
thraldom
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| n.奴隶的身份，奴役，束缚 | |
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85
adverse
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| adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的 | |
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86
surgical
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| adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的 | |
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87
mortifying
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| adj.抑制的，苦修的v.使受辱( mortify的现在分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等） | |
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88
whoop
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| n.大叫，呐喊，喘息声；v.叫喊，喘息 | |
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89
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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90
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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91
prolix
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| adj.罗嗦的；冗长的 | |
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92
thongs
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| 的东西 | |
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93
thong
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| n.皮带；皮鞭；v.装皮带 | |
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94
judgments
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| 判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判 | |
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95
wasteful
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| adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的 | |
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96
confinement
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| n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限 | |
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97
tardiness
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| n.缓慢；迟延；拖拉 | |
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98
trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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99
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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100
porcupine
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| n.豪猪， 箭猪 | |
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101
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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102
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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103
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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104
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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105
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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106
tickled
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| （使）发痒( tickle的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）愉快，逗乐 | |
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107
suffocation
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| n.窒息 | |
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108
dexterity
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| n.(手的)灵巧，灵活 | |
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109
liberated
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| a.无拘束的，放纵的 | |
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110
attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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111
ruffles
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| 褶裥花边( ruffle的名词复数 ) | |
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112
bustling
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| adj.喧闹的 | |
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113
bondage
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| n.奴役，束缚 | |
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114
hover
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| vi.翱翔，盘旋；徘徊；彷徨，犹豫 | |
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115
wrestle
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| vi.摔跤，角力；搏斗；全力对付 | |
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116
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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117
innate
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| adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的 | |
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118
chivalrous
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| adj.武士精神的；对女人彬彬有礼的 | |
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119
trophy
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| n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品 | |
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120
slay
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| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
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121
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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122
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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123
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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124
subdue
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| vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制 | |
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125
approbation
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| n.称赞；认可 | |
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126
malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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127
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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128
extolled
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| v.赞颂，赞扬，赞美( extol的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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129
deterred
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| v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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130
repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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131
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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132
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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133
expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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134
renewal
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| adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来 | |
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135
proximity
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| n.接近，邻近 | |
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136
intelligible
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| adj.可理解的，明白易懂的，清楚的 | |
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137
rapacious
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| adj.贪婪的，强夺的 | |
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138
dart
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| v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲 | |
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139
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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140
sonorous
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| adj.响亮的，回响的；adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；n.感人，堂皇 | |
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141
naturalist
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| n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者) | |
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142
mightiest
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| adj.趾高气扬( mighty的最高级 )；巨大的；强有力的；浩瀚的 | |
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143
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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144
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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145
laborious
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| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
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146
frictions
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| n.摩擦( friction的名词复数 )；摩擦力；冲突；不和 | |
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147
necromancy
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| n.巫术；通灵术 | |
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148
exempt
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| adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者 | |
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149
callous
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| adj.无情的，冷淡的，硬结的，起老茧的 | |
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150
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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