"Tsida-wei-yu!" (I am a great ada-wehi![6]) the young warrior2 would cry with his joyous3 grandiloquent4 gesture, waving his many braceleted right arm at full length as he held himself proudly erect5. "Akee-o-hoosa! Akee-o-hoosa!" (I am dead). Then triumphantly7, "And behold8 I am still here."
Attusah had gone unscathed through that bloody9 campaign of 1761 in which the Cherokees suffered such incredible rigors10. After their total defeat at Etchoee the Indians could offer no further resistance to the troops of Colonel Grant, who triumphantly bore the authority of the British king from one end of the Cherokee country to the other, for there was no more powder to be had in the tribe. The French, from whom they had hoped a supply, failed them at their utmost need, and now those massive crags of the Great Smoky Mountains, overhanging the Tennessee River, no longer echoed the "whoo-whoop!" of the braves, the wild cry of the Highlanders, "Claymore! Claymore!" the nerve-thrilling report of the volleys of musketry from the Royal Scots, the hissing15 of the hand grenades flung bursting into the jungles of the laurel. Instead, all the clifty defiles16 of the ranges were filled with the roar of flames and the crackling of burning timbers as town after town was given to the firebrand, and the homeless, helpless Cherokees frantically17 fleeing to the densest19 coverts21 of the wilderness,—that powerful truculent22 tribe!—sought for shelter like those "feeble folk the conies" in the hollows of the rocks.
Thus it was that Digatiski, the Hawk23, of Eupharsee Town, long the terror of the southern provinces, must needs sit idle, forlorn, frenzied24 with rage and grief, in a remote and lofty cavity of a great cliff, and looking out over range and valley and river of this wild and beautiful country, see fire and sword work their mission of destruction upon it. By day a cloud of smoke afar off bespoke25 the presence of the soldiery. At night a tremulous red light would spring up amidst the darkness of the valley, and expanding into a great yellow flare27 summon mountains and sky into an infinitely28 sad and weird29 revelation of the landscape, as the great storehouses of corn were burned to the ground, leaving the hapless owners to starvation.
His pride grudged30 his very eyes the sight of this humiliation31, for despite the oft-repeated assertion of the improvidence32 of the Indian character, these public granaries, whence by the primitive33 Cherokee government food was dispensed34 gratis36 to all the needy37, were always full, and their destruction meant national annihilation or subjugation38. After one furtive39 glance at the purple obscurities of the benighted40 world he would bow his head, and with a smothered41 groan42 ask of the ada-wehi, "Where is it now, Attusah?"
The young warrior, half reclining at the portal of the niche43, would lift himself on one elbow,—the glow of the little camp-fire within the recess44 on his feather-crested head, his wildly painted face, the twenty strings46 of roanoke passed tight like a high collar around his neck, thence hanging a cascade47 of beads48 over his chest, the devious49 arabesques50 of tattooing51 on his bare, muscular arms, the embroideries52 of his buckskin raiment and gaudy53 quiver,—and searching with his gay young eyes through the stricken country reply, "Cowetchee," "Sinica," "Tamotlee," whichever town might chance to be in flames.
Doubtless Attusah realized equally the significance of the crisis. But a certain joyous irresponsibility characterized him, and indeed he had never seemed quite the same since he died. He had been much too reckless, however, even previous to that event. Impetuous, hasty, tumultuously hating the British colonists54, he had participated several years earlier in a massacre55 of an outlying station, when the Cherokees were at peace, without warrant of tribal56 authority, and with so little caution as to be recognized. For this breach57 of the treaty his execution was demanded by the Royal Governor of South Carolina, and reluctantly conceded by the Cherokees to avert58 a war for the chastisement59 of the tribe. Powder must have been exceedingly scarce!
Attusah was allowed to choose his method of departure to the happy hunting-grounds, and thus was duly stabbed to death. He was left weltering in his blood to be buried by his kindred. The half king, Atta-Kulla-Kulla, satisfied of his death, himself reported the execution to the Carolina authorities, and as in his long and complicated diplomatic relations with the colonial government this Cherokee chief had never broken faith, he was implicitly60 believed.
Whether the extraordinary vitality61 and vigor62 of the young warrior were reasserted after life had been pronounced wholly extinct, and thus his relations were induced to defer63 the obsequies, or that he was enabled to exert supernatural powers and in the spirit reappear in his former semblance64 of flesh,—both theories being freely advanced,—certain it is that after a time he returned to his old haunts as gay, as reckless, as impetuous as ever. He bore no token of his strange experience save sundry65 healed-over scars of deep gashes66 in his breast, which he seemed at times to seek to shield from observation; and this he might have accomplished67 but for his solicitude68 that a very smart shirt, much embroidered69 and bedizened with roanoke, should not suffer by exposure to water; wherefore he took it off when it rained, and in swimming, and on the war-path. He manifested, too, a less puerile70 anxiety to escape the notice of Atta-Kulla-Kulla and other head men, who were supposed to be well affected71 at that time to the British government. This he was the better enabled to do as his habitat, Kanootare, was the most remote of the Cherokee towns, his name, Attusah, signifying the "Northward72 Warrior."
After the capitulation of Fort Loudon and the massacre of the garrison73 the previous year, and the organized resistance the Cherokees had made in the field of battle against Colonel Montgomerie, then commanding the expeditionary forces, he had felt that the tribe's openly inimical relations with the British government warranted him in coming boldly forth74 from his retirement75 and competing for the honors of the present campaign of 1761. His friends sought to dissuade76 him. The government had had, as assurance of his death, the word of Atta-Kulla-Kulla, who might yet insist that the pledge be made good. That chief, they urged, had a delicate conscience, which is often an engine of disastrous78 efficiency when exerted on the affairs of other people. Attusah was advised that he had best stay dead. Although he finally agreed with this, he could not stay still, and thus as he appeared in various skirmishes it became gradually bruited79 abroad among the Cherokees that Attusah, the Northward Warrior, was a great ada-wehi, a being of magical power, or a ghost as it might be said, of special spectral distinctions. Thus he lived as gayly yet as before the dismal80 day of his execution, always carefully, however, avoiding the notice of Atta-Kulla-Kulla, whose word had been solemnly accepted by the British government as the pledge of his death.
It is impossible to understand how a man like Digatiski of Eupharsee could believe this,—so sage82, despite his ignorance, so crafty83, so diplomatic and acute in subterfuge84, yet he was sodden85 in superstition86.
"Can you see Colonel Grant, the Barbarous?" [7] he asked suddenly, lifting his head and gazing steadily87 at the young Indian's face, which was outlined against the pallid88 neutral tint89 of the sky. The dark topmost boughs90 of a balsam fir were just on a level with the clear high-featured profile; a single star glittering beyond and above his feathered crest45 looked as if it were an ornament91 of the headdress; the red glow of the smouldering fire within, which had been carefully masked in ashes as the darkness came on, that its sparkle might not betray their presence here to any wandering band of troopers, still sufficed to show the impostor's painted red cheek. He was armed with a tomahawk and a pistol, without powder as useless as a toy, and a bow borne in default of aught better lay on the floor beside him, while a gayly ornamented92 quiver full of poisoned arrows swung over his shoulder.
"Ha-tsida-wei-yu!" he proclaimed. "I am a great ada-wehi! I see him! Of a surety I see him!"
Attusah gazed at the sombre night with an expression as definitely perceptive93 as if the figure in his thoughts were actually before his eyes.
"And he is not dead?" cried Digatiski, in despair.
Some such wild rumor94, as of hope gone mad, had pervaded95 the groups of Cherokee fugitives96.
"He would be if I could get close enough with a bare pinch of powder that might charge my gun!" declared Attusah disconsolately98. Then himself again, "But I will tell you this! He is waiting for my poisoned arrow! And when he dies he will come back no more. He is not like me."
He paused to throw out his hand with his splendid pompous99 gesture. "Akee-o-hoo-sa! Tsida-wei-yu!" (I am dead! I am a great ada-wehi!)
Digatiski groaned100. It mattered not to him whether Colonel Grant came back or abode101 in his proper place when dead. The grievous dispensation lay in the fact that he was here now, in the midst of the wreck102 he was so zealously103 wreaking105.
There were three women in the niche. One with her head muffled106 in her mantle107 of fringed deerskin sat against the wall, silently weeping, bemoaning108 her dead slain109 in the recent battle, or the national calamities110, or perhaps the mere111 personal afflictions of fatigue112 and fear and hunger and suspense113. Another crouched114 by the fire and gazed dolorously115 upon it with dreary116 tear-filled eyes, and swollen117, reddened eyelids118. The sorrowful aspect of a third was oddly incongruous with her gay attire119, a garb120 of scarlet121 cloth trimmed with silver tinsel tassels122, a fabric123 introduced among the Cherokees by an English trader of the name of Jeffreys, and which met with great favor. Her anklets, garters, and bracelets124 of silver "bell-buttons" tinkled126 merrily as she moved, for she had postponed128 her tears in the effort to concoct129 some supper from the various scraps130 left from the day's scanty132 food. The prefatory scraping of the coals together caused a sudden babbling133 of pleasure to issue from the wall, where, suspended on a projection134 of rock, was one of the curious upright cradles of the people, from which a pappoose, stiff and perpendicular135, gazed down at the culinary preparations, evidently in the habit of participating to a limited extent in the result, having attained137 some ten months of age.
The mother glanced up, and despite the tear stains about her eyes, dimpled and laughed in response. Griefs may come and pleasures go, nations rise and fall, the world wag on as it will, but this old joy of mother and child, each in the other, is ever new and yet ever the same.
Resuming her occupation, the woman hesitated for a moment as she was about to lay the meat on the coals, the half of a wood duck, fortunately killed by an arrow, for larger game was not attainable138, the wild beasts of the country being in flight as never heretofore. The conflagration139 of the towns of a whole district, the turmoils140 of the heady victorious141 troops, hitherto held together, but now sent through the region in separate detachments, each within reach of support, however, had stripped the tribe of this last means of subsistence. Years and years afterward142 the grim dismantled143 fragments of these buildings were still to be seen, the charred144 walls and rafters mere skeletons against the sky, standing145, melancholy146 memorials of war, on the hillsides and in the valleys, along the watercourses "transparent147 as glass," of that lovely country where these pleasant homes had been.
The Indian woman doubted if the bit of fat could be spared; then poising148 it in her hand under the watchful149 eyes of all, she flung it into the fire, the essential burnt-offering according to their old religious custom.
Digatiski, bowing his head still lower, once more groaned aloud. He would not have stayed her hand,—but to hunger even for the offering to the fire! The woman whose head was muffled had only to repeat her sobs150 anew; she could not sorrow more! But the pappoose in its primitive cradle on the wall babbled151 out its simple pleasure, and now and again the tearful little mother must needs lift smiling eyes.
The great ada-wehi looked out at the night. On the whole he was glad he was dead!
He took no bite, nor did Digatiski. The Indian men were accustomed to long fasts in war and in hunting, and they left the trivial bits to the women. The muffled figure of grief held out her hand blindly and munched153 the share given her in the folds of her veil. Then, for tears are of no nutritive value, she held out her hand again. Feeling it still empty, she lifted the veil from a swollen tear-stained face to gaze aghast at the others. They silently returned the gaze, aghast themselves, and then all three women fell to sobbing154 once more. But the pappoose was crowing convivially155 over a bone.
Hunger does not dispose to slumber156, nor does war with the sight of a dozen towns aflame. They slept, but in fitful starts, and the first gray siftings of light through the desolate157 darkness found them all gazing drearily158 at it, for what might a new day signify to them but new dangers, fresh sorrows, and quickened fears.
A flush was presently in the east, albeit159 dusk lingered westward160. The wonderful crystalline white lustre161 of the morning star palpitated in the amber162 sky, seeming the very essence of light, then gradually vanished in a roseate haze163. The black mountains grew purple, changing to a dark rich green. The deep, cool valleys were dewy in the midst of a shadowy gray vapor164. The farthest ranges showed blue under a silver film, and suddenly here were the rays of the sun shooting over all the world, aiming high and far for the western hills.
And abruptly165 said the ada-wehi, as he still lay at length on the floor of the niche,—
"Skee!" (Listen!)
Naught166 but the breeze of morning, delicately freighted with the breath of balsams, the dew, the fragrance167 of the awakening168 of the wild flowers, the indescribable matutinal freshness, the incense169 of a new day in June.
"Skee!"
Only the sound of the rippling170 Tennessee, so silver clear, beating and beating against the vibrant171 rocks as its currents swirl172 round the bend at the base of the cliff.
"Skee!"
The sudden fall of a fragment of rock from the face of the crag to the ground far below!—the interval173 of time between the scraping dislodgment and the impact with the clay beneath implies a proportional interval of distance.
The conviction is the same in the mind of each. A living creature is climbing the ascent174! A bear, it may be. A great bird, an eagle, or one of the hideous175 mountain vultures, very busy of late, alighting in quest of food—which it might find in plenty elsewhere, in the track of the invaders176.
Attusah does not rely, however, on a facile hypothesis with a triumphant6 enemy at hand, and a dozen towns charring to ashes in sight.
As noiseless as a shadow, as swift, Attusah is on his feet. At the back of the great niche, so high that none could conceive that it might afford an exit, a fissure177 lets in a vague dreary blur178 of light from spaces beyond. Leaping high into the air, the lithe179 young warrior fixes his fingers on the ledge77, crumbling180 at first, but holding firm under a closer grasp. The elder man, understanding the ruse181 as if by instinct, lays hold of the knees of the other, held out stiff and straight below. Then by a mighty182 effort Attusah lifts the double weight into the fissure, the elder Indian aiding the manoeuvre183 by walking up the wall, as it were, with his feet successively braced184 against it.
Outside, now and again bits of rock continued to fall, seeming to herald185 a cautious approach, for after each sound a considerable interval of silence would ensue. So long continued was this silence at last that the three women, now alone, began to deem the alarm of an intrusion vain and fantastic. The elder of them motioned to one of the others to look out and terminate the painful suspense.
The young squaw, brilliant in her scarlet dress and silver tassels, the pappoose piously186 quiet in his perpendicular cradle on her back, slipped with gingerly caution to the verge187 of the precipice188 and looked down.
Nothing she saw, and in turn she was invisible from without. She wheeled around briskly to reassure189 the others, and at that moment a young soldier of the battalion190 of Scotch191 Highlanders stepped from the horizontal ledge alongside, which he had then gained, and into the niche, bringing up short against the pappoose, stiff and erect in its cradle.
"Hegh, sirs!" he cried in jocular surprise, happy to find naught more formidable, perhaps, although a brave man, for he had volunteered to examine the source of the smoke from this precarious192 perch,—which had attracted the attention of the ensign commanding a little detachment,—despite the fact that a Cherokee in his den18 and brought to bay was likely to prove a dangerous beast.
The Highlander13 had a piece of bread in his hand, from which he had been recklessly munching193 as he had stood for a moment's breathing spell on the horizontal ledge beside the niche before venturing to enter, for the command had broken camp with scant131 allowance of time for breakfast. With a genial194 laugh he thrust a morsel195 into the pappoose's open mouth and put the rest in its little fingers.
Perhaps it was because of his relief to find no bigger Cherokee man stowed away here in ambush196; perhaps because he was himself hearty197 and well-fed and disposed to be gracious; perhaps because he had a whole-souled gentle nature hardly consonant198 with the cruel arts of war which he practiced,—at all events he was thoughtful enough of others to mark the ravenous199 look which the women cast upon the food in the child's hand.
"Gude guide us!" he exclaimed. "This is fearfu' wark! The hellicat hempies are half starved!"
For if Colonel Grant compassionated200 the plight201 of the savages203, as he has recorded, and shrank from the ruin wrought204 in the discharge of his duty of destroying their capacities for resistance and the maintenance of existence other than as peaceful dependents of the British colonies, the rank and file of his command, weighted with no such responsibilities, may well have indulged now and then a qualm of pity.
The British soldier had been ordered to halloo for help should he encounter armed resistance, but otherwise to rest a bit at the top of the precipice before making the effort to descend205, lest he become dizzy from fatigue and the long strain upon his faculties206, and fall; the ensign added a pointed207 reminder208 that he had no means of transportation for "fules with brucken craigs." The opportunity was propitious209. The Highlander utilized210 the interval to open his haversack and dispense35 such portion of its contents as he could spare. While thus engaged he was guilty of an oversight211 inexcusable in a soldier: the better to handle and divide the food, he leaned his loaded gun against the wall.
A vague shadow flickered212 across the niche.
The young Highlander was a fine man physically213, although there was no great beauty in his long, thin, frank, freckled214 face, with its dare-devil expression and bantering215 blue eyes. But he was tall, heavily muscled, clean-limbed, of an admirable symmetry, and the smartest of smart soldiers. His kilt and plaid swung and fluttered with martial216 grace in his free, alert, military gait as he stepped about the restricted space of the cavity, bestowing217 his bounty218 on all three women. His "bonnet219 cocked fu' sprash" revealed certain intimations in his countenance220 of gentle nurture221, no great pretensions222 truly, but betokening223 a higher grade of man than is usually found in the rank and file of an army. This fact resulted from the peculiar224 situation of the Scotch insurgents225 toward government after the "Forty-Five," and the consequent breaking up of the resources of many well-to-do middle-class families as well as the leaders of great clans226.
The Highlander hesitated after the first round of distribution, for there would be no means of revictualing that haversack until the next issuance of rations136, and he was himself a "very valiant227 trencher-man." Nevertheless their dire228 distress229 and necessity so urged his generosity230 that he began his rounds anew.
Once more a shadow. Whence should a shadow fall? It flickered through the niche.
The three women stood as mute as statues. The pappoose in its cradle on its mother's back, its face turned ignominiously231 toward the wall, and perhaps aware that something of interest in the commissariat department was going forward, had begun to whimper in a very civilized232 manner, and doubtless it was this trivial noise that deterred233 the young Scotchman from hearing sounds of more moment, calculated to rouse his suspicions. He had already added to the portions of the elder women and was bestowing his donations upon the young mother, when suddenly the shadow materialized and whisked past him.
It fell like a thunderbolt from above.
Bewildered, agitated234, before he could turn, his gun was seized and presented at his breast by a warrior who seemed to have fallen from the sky. The soldier, nevertheless, instantly laid his hand on the great basket-hilt of his claymore. Before he could draw the blade, the warrior and the three women flung themselves upon him, their arms so closely wound about him that his own arms were effectually pinioned235 to his sides. With a violent effort he shook himself free from their grasp for one moment; yet as the blade came glittering forth from the scabbard, a sharp blow scientifically administered upon the wrist by the ada-wehi almost broke the bone and sent the weapon flying from his hand and clattering236 to the floor of the niche. The women had taken advantage of the opportunity afforded by the struggle between the two men to substitute the coils of a heavy hempen237 rope for the clasp of their arms, and Attusah had only to give a final twist to the knots of their skilled contriving238, when the captive was disarmed239 and bound.
He had instantly bethought himself of his comrades and an appeal for rescue, and sent forth a wild, hoarse240 yell, which, had it been heard, must have apprised241 them of his plight. But as he had not at once given the signal of danger agreed upon, they had naturally supposed the coast clear, and while he rested presumably at the top of the precipice they gave their attention to other details of their mission, firing several houses at a little distance down the river. Therefore they would have heard naught, even if Attusah had not precluded242 further efforts of his captive to communicate with his comrades by swiftly fashioning a gag out of the Highlander's bonnet and gloves.
Perhaps never was a brave man more dismayed and daunted244. Not death alone, but fire and torture menaced him. The shining liquid delight in the eyes of the women reminded him of the strange fact that they were ever the most forward in these cruel pleasures, for the ingenuity245 of which the Cherokees were famous among all the tribes. Yet the realization246 of his peril247 did not so diminish his scope of feeling as to prevent him from inwardly upbraiding248 his ill-starred generosity as the folly249 of a hopeless fool, more especially as the elder woman—she of the many tears—held up the substantial gift of provisions, jeering250 at him with a look in her face that did not need to be supplemented by the scoffing251 of language.
"The auld252 randy besom!" the soldier commented within himself. "But eh, I didna gie it to be thankit,—nae sic a fule as that comes to, neither!"
Hoping against hope, he thought that the length of his absence would inevitably253 alarm the ensign for his scout's safety, when it should attract attention, and induce the officer to send a party for his relief and for further investigation254 of the precipice, whence the smoke intimated an ambush of the enemy. This expectation had no sooner suggested its solace255 and the exercise of patience in the certainty of ultimate rescue, than the Highlander began to mark the preparations among the Indians for a swift departure. But how? The precipice was a sheer descent for eighty feet, the ruggedness257 of its face barely affording foothold for a bird or a mountaineer; and at its base hovered258 the ensign's party within striking distance. A resisting captive could not be withdrawn259 by this perilous260 path. The soldier looked in doubt and suspense about the restricted limits of the cavity in the great crag. The mystery was soon solved.
The position of all had changed in the struggle, and from where Kenneth MacVintie now stood he noted261 a scant suggestion of light flickering262 down from a black fissure in the roof of the cavity, and instantly realized that it must give an exit upon the mountain slope beyond. The agility263 with which Attusah of Kanootare sprang up and leaped into it was admirable to behold, but MacVintie did not believe that, although knotted up as he was in his own plaid passed under his arms and around his waist for the purpose, he could be lifted by the ends of the fabric through that aperture264 by the strength of any one man. Naturally he himself would make no effort to facilitate the enterprise. On the contrary, such inertness265 as the sheer exercise of will could compass was added to his dead weight. Nevertheless he rose slowly, slowly through the air. As he was finally dragged through the rift267 in the rocks, his first feeling was one of gratification to perceive that no one man could so handle him. The feat11 had required the utmost exertions268 of two athletic269 Indians pulling strenuously270 at the ends of the plaid passed over a projection of rock, thus acting271 pulley-wise, and the good Glasgow weave was shedding its frayed272 fragments through all the place by reason of the strain it had sustained.
The next moment more serious considerations claimed his thoughts. He saw that two men, fully81 armed, for Digatiski had secured ammunition273 for his own gun from the cartouch-box of the soldier, could force his withdrawal274, bound as he was, farther and farther from the ensign and his party, whose attention had been temporarily diverted from the scout's delay in returning by signs of the enemy ambushed275 in another direction.
MacVintie still struggled, albeit he knew that it was vain to resist, more especially when another Cherokee joined the party and dedicated276 himself solely277 to the enterprise of pushing and haling the captive over the rugged256 way,—often at as fair a speed as if his good will had been enlisted278 in the endeavor. Now and again, however, the Highlander contrived279 to throw himself prone280 upon the ground, thus effectually hampering281 their progress and requiring the utmost exertions of all three to lift his great frame. The patience of the Indians seemed illimitable; again and again they performed this feat, only to renew it at the distance of a few hundred yards.
At length the fact was divined by MacVintie. More than the ordinary fear of capture animated282 Attusah of Kanootare. Colonel Grant's treatment of his prisoners was humane283 as the laws of war require. Moreover, his authority, heavily reinforced by threats of pains and penalties, had sufficed, except in a few instances, to restrain the Chickasaw allies of the British from wreaking their vengeance284 on the captive Cherokees in the usual tribal method of fire and torture. The inference was obvious. Attusah of Kanootare was particularly obnoxious285 to the British government, the civil as well as the military authorities, and fleeing from death himself, he intended at all hazards to prevent the escape of his prisoner, who would give the alarm, and inaugurate pursuit from the party of the ensign.
In this connection a new development attracted the attention of MacVintie. As they advanced deeper and deeper into the Cherokee country and the signs and sights of war grew remote,—no sounds of volleys nor even distant dropping shots clanging from the echoes, no wreaths of smoke floating among the hills, no flare of flames flinging crude red and yellow streaks286 across the luminous287 velvet288 azure289 of distant mountains with their silver haze, viewed through vistas290 of craggy chasms291 near at hand,—he observed a lessening292 of cordiality in the manner of the other two Indians toward the Northward Warrior, and a frequency on his part to protest that he was a great ada-wehi, and was dead although he appeared alive. The truth soon dawned upon the shrewd Scotchman, albeit he understood only so much Cherokee as he had chanced to catch up in his previous campaign in this region with Montgomerie and the present expedition. Attusah was for some reason obnoxious to his own people as well as to the British, and was in effect a fugitive97 from both factions294. Indeed, the other two Indians presently manifested a disposition295 to avoid him. After much wrangling296 and obvious discontent and smouldering suspicion, one lagged systematically297, and, the pace being speedy, contrived to fairly quit the party. Digatiski accompanied them two more days, then, openly avowing298 his intent, fell away from the line of march. It was instantly diverted toward the Little Tennessee River, on the western side of the Great Smoky Mountains; and as Attusah realized that without his connivance299 his captive's escape had become impossible, MacVintie found himself unbound, ungagged, and the society of the ada-wehi as pleasant as that of a savage202 ghost can well be.
There was now no effort to escape. MacVintie's obvious policy was to await with what patience he might the appearance of the British vanguard, who in the sheer vaunt of victory would march from one end of the unresisting territory to the other, that all might witness and bow before the triumph of the royal authority. As yet remote from the advance of the troops, he dared not quit his captor in these sequestered300 regions lest he fall into the power of more inimical Cherokees, maddened by disaster, overwhelmed in ruin, furious, and thirsting for revenge for the slaughter301 of their nearest and dearest, and the ashes of their homes.
Attusah made known his reason for his own uncharacteristic leniency302 to a soldier of this ruthless army, as they sat together by the shady river-side. He went through the dumb show of repeatedly offering to his captive guest the fish they had caught, pressing additional portions upon him, laughing significantly and joyously303 throughout his mimicry304. Then suddenly grave, he seized the Highlander's left arm, giving it an earnest grasp about the wrist, the elbow, then close to the shoulder to intimate that he spared him for his gift to the needy and helpless.
But Kenneth MacVintie, remembering his ill-starred generosity, flushed to the eyebrows305, so little it became his record as a soldier, he thought, that he should be captured and stand in danger of his life by reason of the unmilitary performance of feeding a babbling pappoose.
Attusah, however, could but love him for it; he loved the soldier for his kind heart, he said. For great as he himself was, the Northward Warrior, he had known how bitter it was to lack kindness.
"It is not happy to be an ada-wehi!" he confessed, "for those who believe fear those who do not!"
And tearing open the throat of his bead-embroidered shirt to reveal the frightful306 gashes of the wounds in his breast, he told the story of his legal death, with tears in his gay eyes, and a tremor307 of grief in the proud intonations308 of his voice, that thus had been requited309 a feat, the just guerdon of which should have been the warrior's crown,—in the bestowal310 of which, but for a cowardly fear of the English, all the tribe would have concurred311.
"Akee-o-hoosa!" (I am dead!) he said, pointing at the scars. And the Highlander felt that death had obviously been in every stroke, and hardly wondered that they who had seen the blows dealt should now account the appearance of the man a spectral manifestation312, his unquiet ghost.
Then, Attusah's mood changing suddenly, "Tsida-wei-yu!" (I am a great ada-wehi!) he boasted airily.
That he was truly possessed313 of magical powers seemed to MacVintie least to be questioned when he angled, catching314 the great catfish315, after the manner of the Indians, with the open palm of his hand. In these fresh June mornings he would dive down in some deep shady pool under the dark ledges316 of rock where the catfish are wont317 to lurk318, his right arm wrapped to the fingers with a scarlet cloth. Tempted319 by the seeming bait, the catfish would take the finger-tips deep in its gullet, the strong hand would instantly clinch320 on its head, and Attusah would rise with his struggling gleaming prey321, to be broiled322 on the coals for breakfast.
But for these finny trophies323 they too might have suffered for food, in the scarcity324 of game and the lack of powder; but thus well fed, the two enemies, like comrades, would loiter beside their camp-fire on the banks, awaiting as it were the course of events. The dark green crystalline lustre of the shady reaches of the river, where the gigantic trees hung over the current, contrasted with the silver glister of the ripples325 far out, shimmering326 in the full glare of the sun. The breeze, exquisitely327 fragrant328, would blow fresh and free from the dense20 forests. The mockingbird, a feathered miracle to the Highlander, would sway on a twig329 above them and sing jubilantly the whole day through and deep into the night. The distant mountains would show-softly blue on the horizon till the sun was going down, when they would assume a translucent330 jewel-like lustre, amethystine331 and splendid. And at night all the stars were in the dark sky, for the moon was new.
So idle they were they must needs talk and talk. But this was an exercise requiring some skill and patience on the part of each, for the Scotchman could only by the closest attention gather the meaning of the Cherokee language as it was spoken, and the magic of the ada-wehi compassed but scanty English. Attusah was further hampered332 by the necessity of pausing now and then to spit out the words of the tongue he abhorred333 as if of an evil taste. Nevertheless it was by means of this imperfect linguistic334 communication that Kenneth MacVintie, keenly alive to aught of significance in this strange new world, surrounded with unknown unmeasured dangers, was enabled to note how the thoughts of his companion ran upon the half king Atta-Kulla-Kulla. Yet whenever a question was asked or curiosity suggested, the wary335 Attusah diverted the topic. This fact focused the observation of the shrewd, pertinacious336 Scotchman. At first he deemed the special interest lay in a jealousy337 of artistic338 handicraft.
Atta-Kulla-Kulla's name implied the superlative of a skillful carver in wood, Attusah told him one day.
"An' isna he a skilly man?" MacVintie asked.
"Look at that!" cried the braggart339, holding aloft his own work. He was carving340 a pipe from the soft stone of the region, which so lends itself to the purpose, hardening when heated. "Tsida-wei-yu!"
There was a long pause while the mockingbird sang with an exuberant341 magic which might baffle the emulation342 of any ada-wehi of them all. MacVintie had almost forgotten the episode when Attusah said suddenly that the colonists translated the name of Atta-Kulla-Kulla as the "Little Carpenter."
"Hegh! they hae a ship named for his honor!" exclaimed the Highlander. "I hae seen the Little Carpenter in the harbor in Charlestoun, swingin' an' bobbin' at her cables, just out frae the mither country! Her captain's name wull be Maitland."
This evidence of the importance of the Cherokee magnate in the opinion of the British colonists did not please the ada-wehi. He spat343 upon the ship with ostentatious contempt as it were, and then went on silently with his carving.
The mockingbird paused to listen to a note from the hermit344 thrush in the dense rhododendron, still splendidly abloom on the mountain slope. The Scotchman's eyes narrowed to distinguish if the white flake345 of light in the deep green water across a little bay were the reflection of the flower known as the Chilhowee lily, or the ethereal blossom itself.
Attusah's mind seemed yet with the seagoing craft. He himself knew the name of another ship, he said presently; and the Highlander fancied that he ill liked to be outdone in knowledge of the outer world.
But it was immediately developed that in this ship Atta-Kulla-Kulla had sailed to England many years before to visit King George II. in London.[8] Attusah could not at once anglicize the name "Chochoola," but after so long a time MacVintie was enabled to identify the Fox, then a noted British man-of-war.
In these leisurely346 beguilements the days passed, until one morning Attusah's fears and presentiments347 were realized in their seizure348 by a party of Cherokees, who swooped349 down upon their hermitage and bore them off by force to the council-house of the town of Citico, where Atta-Kulla-Kulla and a number of other head men had assembled to discuss the critical affairs of the tribe, and decide on its future policy.
So critical indeed was the situation that it seemed to MacVintie that they might well dispense with notice of two factors so inconsiderable in the scale of national importance as the ada-wehi and his captive. But one was a British prisoner, calculated to expiate350 in a degree with his life the woe351 and ruin his comrades had wrought. The more essential was this course since the triumph of putting him to the torture and death would gratify and reanimate many whose zeal104 was flagging under an accumulation of anguish352 and helpless defeat, and stimulate353 them to renewed exertions. For before the Cherokees would sue for peace they waited long in the hope that the French would yet be enabled to convey to them a sufficient supply of powder to renew and prosecute354 the war.
As to the arrest of the other, Attusah of Kanootare, this was necessary in the event that submission355 to the British government became inevitable356. For since he claimed to be a ghost, surely never was spectre so reckless. He had indeed appeared to so many favored individuals that the English might fairly have cause to doubt his execution in satisfaction of his crimes against the government; and the breach of faith on the part of the Cherokee rulers in this conspicuous357 instance might well preclude243 the granting of any reasonable terms of peace now, and subject the whole nation to added hardship.
This was the argument advanced by Atta-Kulla-Kulla as he stood and addressed his colleagues, who sat on buffalo-skins in a circle on the floor of the council-house of Citico,—the usual dome-shaped edifice358, daubed within and without with the rich red clay of the country, and situated359 on a high artificial mound360 in the centre of the town.
The council-fire alone gave light, flashing upon the slender figure and animated face of this chief, who, although of slighter physique and lower stature361 than his compeers, wielded362 by reason of his more intellectual qualities so potent363 an influence among them.
The oratorical364 gifts of Atta-Kulla-Kulla had signally impressed Europeans of culture and experience.[9] Imagine, then, the effect on the raw young Highland12 soldier, hearing the flow of language, watching the appropriate and forceful gestures, noting the responsive sentiment in the fire-lit countenances365 of the circle of feather-crested Indians, yet comprehending little save that it was a masterpiece of cogent366 reasoning, richly eloquent367, and that every word was as a fagot to the flames and a pang368 to the torture.
Attusah of Kanootare, the Northward Warrior, rose to reply in defense369 of himself and his captive, and Atta-Kulla-Kulla listened as courteously370 as the rest, although the speech of the ada-wehi depended, like the oratory371 of many young men, chiefly on a magical assurance. He had an ally, however, in the dominant372 superstition of the Cherokees. Numbers of the warriors373 now ascribed their recent disasters to the neglect of various omens374, or the omission375 of certain propitiatory376 observances of their ancient religion, or the perpetration of deeds known to be adversely378 regarded by the ruling spirits of war.
Moreover, they were all aware that this man had been killed, left for dead, reported as dead to the British government, which accepted the satisfaction thus offered for his crimes,—the deeds themselves, however, accounted by him and the rest of the tribe praiseworthy and the achievements of war.
And here he was protesting that he was dead and a ghost. "Akee-o-hoosa! Akee-o-hoosa! Tsida-wei-yu!" he cried continually.
Indeed, this seemed to be the only reasonable method of accounting379 for the renewed presence in the world of a man known to be dead. This was his status, he argued. He was a dead man, and this was his captive. The Cherokee nation could not pretend to follow with its control the actions of a dead man. They themselves had pronounced him dead. He had no place in the war. He had been forbidden, on account of his official death, to compete for the honors of the campaign. Apart from his former status as a Cherokee, merely as a supernatural being, a spirit, an ada-wehi, he had captured this British soldier, who was therefore the property of a dead man. And the Cherokee law of all things and before all things forbade interference with the effects of the dead.
Despite the curling contempt on the lip of Atta-Kulla-Kulla the council did not immediately acquiesce380 in his view, and thus for a time flattered the hope of the ada-wehi that they were resting in suspension on the details of this choice argument. There was an illogical inversion381 of values in the experience of the tribe, and while they could not now accept the worthless figments of long ago, it was not vouchsafed382 to them to enjoy the substantial merits of the new order of things. Reason, powder, diplomacy383, had brought the Cherokee nation to a point of humiliation to which superstition, savagery384, and the simplicities385 of the tomahawk had never descended386 in "the good old times." Reason was never so befuddled387 of aspect, civilization never so undesired as now. In their own expanded outlook at life, however, they could not afford to ignore the views of Atta-Kulla-Kulla, the advocate of all the newer methods, in so important a matter as the release of a British prisoner of war on the strange pretext388 that his captor was a ghost of a peculiar spectral power, an ada-wehi, although this course would have been more agreeable to the "old beloved" theories of their halcyon389 days of eld, when the Cherokee name was a terror and a threat.
Therefore, averse390 as they were to subscribe391 to the modern methods which had wrought them such woe and humiliation and defeat, the dominant superstition of the race now fell far short of the fantasy of liberating392 a British prisoner at this crisis under the influence of any spectral manifestation whatsoever393. The council was obviously steeled against this proposition, as MacVintie shortly perceived, and equally determined394 that the ada-wehi must needs exert phenomenal and magical powers indeed to avoid yet making good the nation's pledge of his death to the British government, and becoming a ghost in serious earnest. MacVintie's heart sank within him as he noted the hardening of the lines of their grave harsh faces and the affirmative nodding of the feather-crested heads, conferring together, as the decision was reached.
It accorded, however, with their ancient custom to postpone127 over a night the execution of any sentence of special weight, and therefore the council adjourned395 to the next day, the two prisoners being left in the deserted396 building, each securely bound with a rope to a pillar of the series which upheld the roof of the strange circular edifice. This colonnade397 stood about four feet from the wall, and the interval between was occupied by a divan398, fashioned of dexterously399 woven cane400, extending around the room; and as the prisoners could seat themselves here, or lie at full length, they were subjected to no greater hardship than was consistent with their safe custody401.
A sentinel with his musket14 on his shoulder stood at the door, and the sun was going down. Kenneth MacVintie could see through the open portal the red glow in the waters of the Tennessee River. Now and then a flake of a glittering white density402 glided403 through it, which his eyes, accustomed to long distances, discriminated404 as a swan. Thunder-heads, however, were gathering405 above the eastern slopes and the mountains were a lowering slate-toned purple, save when a sudden flash of lightning roused them to a vivid show of green.
The dull red hue406 of the interior of the council-house darkened gradually; the embers of the council-fire faded into the gray ash, and the night came sullen407 and threatening before its time.
The young Highlander sought to bend his mind to the realization that his days on earth were well-nigh ended, and that it behooved408 him to think on the morrow elsewhere. He had an old-fashioned religious faith presumed to be fitted for any emergency, but in seeking to recall its dogmas and find such consolation409 in its theories as might sustain a martyr410 at the stake, he was continually distracted with the momentous411 present.
The two prisoners could no longer see each other, and the little gestures and significant glances which had supplemented their few words, and made up for the lack of better conversational412 facilities were impracticable in the darkness.
The silent obscurity was strangely lonely. MacVintie began to doubt if the other still lived.
"Attusah!" he said at length.
"Tsida-wei-yu!" (I am a great ada-wehi) murmured the ghost mechanically.
He was quite spent, exhausted413 by the effort to logically exist as a ghost in a world which had repudiated414 him as a live man.
MacVintie, who found it hard enough to reconcile himself to die once, felt a poignant415 sympathy for him, who must needs die again. But the Highlander could not think. He could not even pray. He desisted from the fitful effort after a time. He had a depressing realization that a good soldier relies upon the proficiency416 acquired by the daily drill to serve in an emergency, not a special effort at smartness for an occasion. The battle or the review would show the quality of the stuff that was in him.
Despite the stunned417 despair which possessed his mental faculties, his physical senses were keenly acute. He marked unconsciously the details of the rising of the wind bringing the storm hitherward. A searching flash of lightning showed the figure of the sentinel, half crouching418 before the blast, at his post in the open portal. The rain was presently falling heavily, and ever and anon a great suffusion419 of yellow glare in its midst revealed the myriads420 of slanting421 lines as it came. He inhaled422 the freshened fragrance it brought from the forests. He noted the repeated crash of the thunder, the far-away rote293 of the echoes, the rhythmic423 beat of the torrents424 on the ground, and their tumultuous swift dash down the slope of the dome-shaped roof, and suddenly among these turmoils,—he could hardly believe his ears,—a mild little whimper of protest.
The sentinel heard it too. MacVintie saw his dark figure in the doorway425 as he turned his head to listen. A woman's voice sounded immediately, bidding a child beware how he cried, lest she call the great white owl266, the Oo-koo-ne-kah, to catch him!
The flare of the lightning revealed a pappoose the next moment, upright in his perpendicular cradle, as it swung on his mother's back, in the drenching426 downpour of the rain, for the woman had advanced to the sentinel and was talking loudly and eagerly.
Kenneth silently recognized the small creature who had moved him to a trivial charity which had resulted in so strangely disproportionate a disaster. Doubtless, however, the squaws would never have been able to return to their accustomed place but for the food which he had given them, sustaining them on the journey home.
It would imply some mission of importance surely, he thought, to induce the woman to expose the child to a tempest like this; and indeed the pappoose, buffeted427 by the wind, the rain full in his face, lifted up his voice again in a protest so loud and vehement428 that his mother was enabled to see the great white owl, whose business it is to remove troublesome little Cherokees from the sphere of worry of their elders, already winging his way hither. One might wonder if the Oo-koo-ne-kah would do worse for him than his maternal429 guardian430, but pelted431 by the pitiless rain he promptly432 sank his bleatings to a mere babble152 of a whimper. Thereby433 Kenneth was better enabled to hear what the woman was saying to the sentinel.
An important mission indeed, as MacVintie presently gathered, for she must needs lift her voice stridently to be heard above the din26 of the elements. Some powder, only a little it was true, had been sent by the French to the town, and a share had been left at the house of the sentinel that night in the general distribution. But there was no one at home. All his family were across the mountains, whither, according to the custom of the Cherokees, they had gone to find and bring back the body of his brother, who had been killed in the fight at Etchoee. And the leak in the roof! She, his nearest neighbor, had just bethought herself of the leak in the roof! Would not the powder, the precious powder, be ruined? Had he not best go to see at once about it?
He hesitated, letting the butt125 of his gun sink to the ground. She seized the weapon promptly. She would stand guard here till he returned, she promised. The prisoners were bound. They could not move. It would require but an instant's absence,—and the powder was so scarce, so precious!
The next moment the sentinel was gone! The darkness descended, doubly intense, after a succession of electric flashes; the rain fell with renewed force. MacVintie suddenly heard the babbling whimper quite close beside him, somewhat subdued434 by a fierce maternal admonition to listen to the terrible voice of the Oo-koo-ne-kah, coming to catch a Cherokee cry-baby!
A stroke of a knife here and there, and the two prisoners were freed from their bonds. The Highland soldier did not know whether Attusah looked back while in flight, but his last glimpse of the Cherokee town of Citico showed the broad glare of lightning upon the groups of conical roofs in the slanting lines of rain; the woman on the high mound at the portal of the council-house, with the pappoose on her back and the gun in her hand; the sentinel once more climbing the ascent to his post. And the last words he heard were chronicling the adverse377 sentiments entertained toward bad children by the Oo-koo-ne-kah, the mysterious great white owl.
The escape was not discovered till the next day, and was universally attributed to the magic of the ada-wehi. Even the sentinel himself doubted naught, having left a trusty deputy in his stead, for the devotion of the Cherokee women to the tribal cause was proverbial, and gratitude435, even for a rescue from starvation, is not usually an urgent motive436 power.
Kenneth MacVintie was seen again in the Cherokee country only in his place as a marker in the march of his regiment437, and as he was evidently exceedingly desirous to permit no one to incur438 penalties for his liberation, his officers spared him questions concerning his escape, save in a general way.
When the ada-wehi next reappeared in a remote town of the district and was sedulously439 interrogated440 as to how his freedom had been achieved, he threw out his right hand at arm's length in his old, boastful, airy gesture.
"Cheesto kaiere!" (An old rabbit!) he exclaimed. "A little old rabbit ran down the slope. I turned the soldier into a rabbit, and he ran away. And I turned myself into a fish, and I swam away. Ha! Tsida-wei-yu!" (I am a great ada-wehi!)
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收听单词发音
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1
spectral
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| adj.幽灵的，鬼魂的 | |
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warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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grandiloquent
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| adj.夸张的 | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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8
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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9
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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rigors
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| 严格( rigor的名词复数 )； 严酷； 严密； （由惊吓或中毒等导致的身体）僵直 | |
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feat
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| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
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highland
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| n.(pl.)高地，山地 | |
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highlander
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| n.高地的人，苏格兰高地地区的人 | |
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musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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15
hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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16
defiles
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| v.玷污( defile的第三人称单数 )；污染；弄脏；纵列行进 | |
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frantically
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| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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densest
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| 密集的( dense的最高级 )； 密度大的； 愚笨的； （信息量大得）难理解的 | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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coverts
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| n.隐蔽的，不公开的，秘密的( covert的名词复数 )；复羽 | |
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truculent
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| adj.野蛮的，粗野的 | |
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hawk
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| n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员 | |
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frenzied
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| a.激怒的；疯狂的 | |
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bespoke
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| adj.（产品）订做的；专做订货的v.预定( bespeak的过去式 )；订（货）；证明；预先请求 | |
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din
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| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
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flare
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| v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发 | |
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infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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grudged
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| 怀恨（grudge的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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improvidence
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| n.目光短浅 | |
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primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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dispensed
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| v.分配( dispense的过去式和过去分词 )；施与；配（药） | |
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dispense
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| vt.分配，分发；配(药)，发(药)；实施 | |
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gratis
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| adj.免费的 | |
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needy
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| adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的 | |
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subjugation
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| n.镇压，平息，征服 | |
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furtive
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| adj.鬼鬼崇崇的，偷偷摸摸的 | |
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benighted
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| adj.蒙昧的 | |
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41
smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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42
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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43
niche
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| n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等) | |
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recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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45
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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46
strings
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| n.弦 | |
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cascade
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| n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下 | |
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beads
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| n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链 | |
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devious
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| adj.不坦率的，狡猾的；迂回的，曲折的 | |
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50
arabesques
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| n.阿拉伯式花饰( arabesque的名词复数 )；错综图饰；阿拉伯图案；阿拉贝斯克芭蕾舞姿（独脚站立，手前伸，另一脚一手向后伸） | |
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51
tattooing
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| n.刺字，文身v.刺青，文身( tattoo的现在分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击 | |
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52
embroideries
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| 刺绣( embroidery的名词复数 )； 刺绣品； 刺绣法 | |
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53
gaudy
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| adj.华而不实的；俗丽的 | |
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54
colonists
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| n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 ) | |
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55
massacre
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| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
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56
tribal
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| adj.部族的，种族的 | |
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57
breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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58
avert
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| v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等) | |
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59
chastisement
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| n.惩罚 | |
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60
implicitly
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| adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地 | |
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61
vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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62
vigor
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| n.活力，精力，元气 | |
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63
defer
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| vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从 | |
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64
semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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65
sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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66
gashes
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| n.深长的切口（或伤口）( gash的名词复数 )v.划伤，割破( gash的第三人称单数 ) | |
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67
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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68
solicitude
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| n.焦虑 | |
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69
embroidered
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| adj．绣花的 | |
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70
puerile
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| adj.幼稚的，儿童的 | |
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71
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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72
northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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73
garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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74
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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75
retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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76
dissuade
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| v.劝阻，阻止 | |
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77
ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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78
disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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79
bruited
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| v.传播（传说或谣言）( bruit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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80
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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81
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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82
sage
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| n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的 | |
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83
crafty
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| adj.狡猾的，诡诈的 | |
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84
subterfuge
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| n.诡计；藉口 | |
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85
sodden
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| adj.浑身湿透的；v.使浸透；使呆头呆脑 | |
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86
superstition
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|
| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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87
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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88
pallid
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| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
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89
tint
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| n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色 | |
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90
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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91
ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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92
ornamented
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| adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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93
perceptive
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| adj.知觉的，有洞察力的，感知的 | |
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94
rumor
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| n.谣言，谣传，传说 | |
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95
pervaded
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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96
fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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97
fugitive
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| adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者 | |
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98
disconsolately
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| adv.悲伤地，愁闷地；哭丧着脸 | |
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99
pompous
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的 | |
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100
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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101
abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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102
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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103
zealously
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| adv.热心地；热情地；积极地；狂热地 | |
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104
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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105
wreaking
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| 诉诸（武力），施行（暴力），发（脾气）( wreak的现在分词 ) | |
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106
muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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107
mantle
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| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
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108
bemoaning
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| v.为（某人或某事）抱怨( bemoan的现在分词 )；悲悼；为…恸哭；哀叹 | |
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109
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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110
calamities
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| n.灾祸，灾难( calamity的名词复数 )；不幸之事 | |
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111
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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112
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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113
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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114
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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115
dolorously
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| adj. 悲伤的；痛苦的；悲哀的；阴沉的 | |
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116
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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117
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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118
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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119
attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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120
garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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121
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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122
tassels
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| n.穗( tassel的名词复数 )；流苏状物；（植物的）穗；玉蜀黍的穗状雄花v.抽穗， （玉米）长穗须( tassel的第三人称单数 )；使抽穗， （为了使作物茁壮生长）摘去穗状雄花；用流苏装饰 | |
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123
fabric
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| n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织 | |
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124
bracelets
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| n.手镯，臂镯( bracelet的名词复数 ) | |
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125
butt
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| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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126
tinkled
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| （使）发出丁当声，（使）发铃铃声( tinkle的过去式和过去分词 )； 叮当响着发出，铃铃响着报出 | |
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127
postpone
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| v.延期，推迟 | |
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128
postponed
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| vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发） | |
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129
concoct
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| v.调合，制造 | |
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130
scraps
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| 油渣 | |
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131
scant
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| adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略 | |
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132
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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133
babbling
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| n.胡说，婴儿发出的咿哑声adj.胡说的v.喋喋不休( babble的现在分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密 | |
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134
projection
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| n.发射，计划，突出部分 | |
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135
perpendicular
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|
| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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136
rations
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| 定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量 | |
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137
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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138
attainable
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| a.可达到的，可获得的 | |
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139
conflagration
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| n.建筑物或森林大火 | |
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140
turmoils
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| n.混乱( turmoil的名词复数 )；焦虑 | |
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141
victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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142
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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143
dismantled
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|
| 拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消 | |
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144
charred
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| v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦 | |
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145
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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146
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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147
transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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148
poising
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| 使平衡( poise的现在分词 )； 保持（某种姿势）； 抓紧； 使稳定 | |
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149
watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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150
sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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151
babbled
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|
| v.喋喋不休( babble的过去式和过去分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密 | |
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152
babble
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| v.含糊不清地说，胡言乱语地说，儿语 | |
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153
munched
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| v.用力咀嚼（某物），大嚼( munch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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154
sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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155
convivially
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| adv.欢乐地，愉悦地 | |
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156
slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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157
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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158
drearily
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| 沉寂地，厌倦地，可怕地 | |
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159
albeit
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| conj.即使；纵使；虽然 | |
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160
westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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161
lustre
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| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
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162
amber
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| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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163
haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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164
vapor
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| n.蒸汽，雾气 | |
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165
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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166
naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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167
fragrance
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| n.芬芳，香味，香气 | |
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168
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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169
incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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170
rippling
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| 起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的 | |
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171
vibrant
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| adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的 | |
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172
swirl
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| v.(使)打漩，(使)涡卷；n.漩涡，螺旋形 | |
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173
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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174
ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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175
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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176
invaders
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| 入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 ) | |
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177
fissure
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| n.裂缝；裂伤 | |
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178
blur
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| n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚 | |
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179
lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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180
crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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181
ruse
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| n.诡计，计策；诡计 | |
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182
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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183
manoeuvre
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| n.策略，调动；v.用策略，调动 | |
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184
braced
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| adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来 | |
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185
herald
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| vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎 | |
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186
piously
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| adv.虔诚地 | |
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187
verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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188
precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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189
reassure
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| v.使放心，使消除疑虑 | |
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190
battalion
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| n.营；部队；大队(的人) | |
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191
scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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192
precarious
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| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
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193
munching
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| v.用力咀嚼（某物），大嚼( munch的现在分词 ) | |
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194
genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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195
morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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196
ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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197
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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198
consonant
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| n.辅音；adj.[音]符合的 | |
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199
ravenous
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| adj.极饿的，贪婪的 | |
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200
compassionated
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| v.同情（compassionate的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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201
plight
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| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
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202
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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203
savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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204
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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205
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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206
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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207
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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208
reminder
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| n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示 | |
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209
propitious
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| adj.吉利的；顺利的 | |
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210
utilized
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| v.利用，使用( utilize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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211
oversight
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| n.勘漏，失察，疏忽 | |
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212
flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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213
physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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214
freckled
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|
| adj.雀斑；斑点；晒斑；（使）生雀斑v.雀斑，斑点( freckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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215
bantering
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| adj.嘲弄的v.开玩笑，说笑，逗乐( banter的现在分词 )；（善意地）取笑，逗弄 | |
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216
martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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217
bestowing
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| 砖窑中砖堆上层已烧透的砖 | |
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218
bounty
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| n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与 | |
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219
bonnet
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| n.无边女帽；童帽 | |
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220
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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221
nurture
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| n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持 | |
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222
pretensions
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| 自称( pretension的名词复数 )； 自命不凡； 要求； 权力 | |
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223
betokening
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| v.预示，表示( betoken的现在分词 ) | |
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224
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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225
insurgents
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| n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 ) | |
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226
clans
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| 宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派 | |
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227
valiant
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| adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人 | |
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228
dire
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| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
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229
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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230
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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231
ignominiously
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| adv.耻辱地，屈辱地，丢脸地 | |
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232
civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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233
deterred
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|
| v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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234
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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235
pinioned
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| v.抓住[捆住]（双臂）( pinion的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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236
clattering
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的现在分词形式） | |
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237
hempen
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|
| adj. 大麻制的, 大麻的 | |
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238
contriving
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|
| （不顾困难地）促成某事( contrive的现在分词 )； 巧妙地策划，精巧地制造（如机器）； 设法做到 | |
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239
disarmed
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|
| v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒 | |
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240
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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241
apprised
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|
| v.告知，通知( apprise的过去式和过去分词 )；评价 | |
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242
precluded
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| v.阻止( preclude的过去式和过去分词 )；排除；妨碍；使…行不通 | |
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243
preclude
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| vt.阻止，排除，防止；妨碍 | |
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244
daunted
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| 使（某人）气馁，威吓( daunt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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245
ingenuity
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|
| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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246
realization
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|
| n.实现；认识到，深刻了解 | |
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247
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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248
upbraiding
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|
| adj.& n.谴责（的）v.责备，申斥，谴责( upbraid的现在分词 ) | |
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249
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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250
jeering
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| adj.嘲弄的，揶揄的v.嘲笑( jeer的现在分词 ) | |
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251
scoffing
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|
| n. 嘲笑, 笑柄, 愚弄 v. 嘲笑, 嘲弄, 愚弄, 狼吞虎咽 | |
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252
auld
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|
| adj.老的，旧的 | |
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253
inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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254
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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255
solace
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|
| n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和 | |
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256
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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257
ruggedness
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| 险峻，粗野； 耐久性； 坚固性 | |
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258
hovered
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|
| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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259
withdrawn
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|
| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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260
perilous
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|
| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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261
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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262
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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263
agility
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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264
aperture
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| n.孔，隙，窄的缺口 | |
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265
inertness
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| n.不活泼，没有生气；惰性；惯量 | |
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266
owl
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| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
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267
rift
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| n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入 | |
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268
exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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269
athletic
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|
| adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的 | |
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270
strenuously
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|
| adv.奋发地，费力地 | |
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271
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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272
frayed
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| adj.磨损的v.（使布、绳等）磨损，磨破( fray的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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273
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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274
withdrawal
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| n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销 | |
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275
ambushed
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| v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着 | |
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276
dedicated
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| adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的 | |
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277
solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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278
enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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279
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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280
prone
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| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
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281
hampering
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| 妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的现在分词 ) | |
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282
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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283
humane
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| adj.人道的，富有同情心的 | |
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284
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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285
obnoxious
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| adj.极恼人的，讨人厌的，可憎的 | |
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286
streaks
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| n.（与周围有所不同的）条纹( streak的名词复数 )；（通常指不好的）特征（倾向）；（不断经历成功或失败的）一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 )；使布满条纹 | |
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287
luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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288
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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289
azure
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| adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的 | |
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290
vistas
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| 长条形景色( vista的名词复数 )； 回顾； 展望； （未来可能发生的）一系列情景 | |
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291
chasms
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| 裂缝( chasm的名词复数 )； 裂口； 分歧； 差别 | |
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292
lessening
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| 减轻，减少，变小 | |
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293
rote
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| n.死记硬背，生搬硬套 | |
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294
factions
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| 组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 ) | |
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295
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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296
wrangling
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| v.争吵，争论，口角( wrangle的现在分词 ) | |
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297
systematically
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| adv.有系统地 | |
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298
avowing
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| v.公开声明，承认( avow的现在分词 ) | |
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299
connivance
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| n.纵容；默许 | |
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300
sequestered
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|
| adj.扣押的；隐退的；幽静的；偏僻的v.使隔绝，使隔离( sequester的过去式和过去分词 )；扣押 | |
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301
slaughter
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|
| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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302
leniency
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| n.宽大（不严厉） | |
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303
joyously
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| ad.快乐地, 高兴地 | |
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304
mimicry
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| n.（生物）拟态，模仿 | |
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305
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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306
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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307
tremor
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|
| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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308
intonations
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|
| n.语调，说话的抑扬顿挫( intonation的名词复数 )；（演奏或唱歌中的）音准 | |
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309
requited
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|
| v.报答( requite的过去式和过去分词 )；酬谢；回报；报复 | |
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310
bestowal
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| 赠与，给与； 贮存 | |
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311
concurred
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| 同意（concur的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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312
manifestation
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|
| n.表现形式；表明；现象 | |
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313
possessed
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|
| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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314
catching
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|
| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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315
catfish
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|
| n.鲶鱼 | |
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316
ledges
|
|
| n.（墙壁，悬崖等）突出的狭长部分( ledge的名词复数 )；（平窄的）壁架；横档；（尤指）窗台 | |
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317
wont
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|
| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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318
lurk
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|
| n.潜伏，潜行；v.潜藏，潜伏，埋伏 | |
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319
tempted
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|
| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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320
clinch
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|
| v.敲弯，钉牢；确定；扭住对方 [参]clench | |
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321
prey
|
|
| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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322
broiled
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|
| a.烤过的 | |
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323
trophies
|
|
| n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖 | |
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324
scarcity
|
|
| n.缺乏，不足，萧条 | |
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325
ripples
|
|
| 逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 ) | |
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326
shimmering
|
|
| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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327
exquisitely
|
|
| adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地 | |
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328
fragrant
|
|
| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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329
twig
|
|
| n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解 | |
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330
translucent
|
|
| adj.半透明的；透明的 | |
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331
amethystine
|
|
| adj.紫水晶质的，紫色的；紫晶 | |
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332
hampered
|
|
| 妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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333
abhorred
|
|
| v.憎恶( abhor的过去式和过去分词 )；（厌恶地）回避；拒绝；淘汰 | |
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334
linguistic
|
|
| adj.语言的，语言学的 | |
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335
wary
|
|
| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
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336
pertinacious
|
|
| adj.顽固的 | |
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337
jealousy
|
|
| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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338
artistic
|
|
| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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339
braggart
|
|
| n.吹牛者；adj.吹牛的，自夸的 | |
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340
carving
|
|
| n.雕刻品，雕花 | |
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341
exuberant
|
|
| adj.充满活力的；（植物）繁茂的 | |
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342
emulation
|
|
| n.竞争；仿效 | |
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343
spat
|
|
| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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344
hermit
|
|
| n.隐士，修道者；隐居 | |
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345
flake
|
|
| v.使成薄片；雪片般落下；n.薄片 | |
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346
leisurely
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|
| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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347
presentiments
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|
| n.（对不祥事物的）预感( presentiment的名词复数 ) | |
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348
seizure
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|
| n.没收；占有；抵押 | |
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349
swooped
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|
| 俯冲，猛冲( swoop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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350
expiate
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|
| v.抵补，赎罪 | |
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351
woe
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|
| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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352
anguish
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|
| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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353
stimulate
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|
| vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋 | |
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354
prosecute
|
|
| vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官 | |
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355
submission
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|
| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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356
inevitable
|
|
| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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357
conspicuous
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|
| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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358
edifice
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|
| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
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359
situated
|
|
| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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360
mound
|
|
| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
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361
stature
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|
| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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362
wielded
|
|
| 手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的过去式和过去分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响） | |
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363
potent
|
|
| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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364
oratorical
|
|
| adj.演说的，雄辩的 | |
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365
countenances
|
|
| n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持 | |
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366
cogent
|
|
| adj.强有力的，有说服力的 | |
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367
eloquent
|
|
| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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368
pang
|
|
| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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369
defense
|
|
| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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370
courteously
|
|
| adv.有礼貌地，亲切地 | |
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371
oratory
|
|
| n.演讲术；词藻华丽的言辞 | |
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372
dominant
|
|
| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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373
warriors
|
|
| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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374
omens
|
|
| n.前兆，预兆( omen的名词复数 ) | |
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375
omission
|
|
| n.省略，删节；遗漏或省略的事物，冗长 | |
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376
propitiatory
|
|
| adj.劝解的；抚慰的；谋求好感的；哄人息怒的 | |
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377
adverse
|
|
| adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的 | |
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378
adversely
|
|
| ad.有害地 | |
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379
accounting
|
|
| n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表 | |
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380
acquiesce
|
|
| vi.默许，顺从，同意 | |
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381
inversion
|
|
| n.反向，倒转，倒置 | |
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382
vouchsafed
|
|
| v.给予，赐予( vouchsafe的过去式和过去分词 )；允诺 | |
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383
diplomacy
|
|
| n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕 | |
参考例句： |
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384
savagery
|
|
| n.野性 | |
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385
simplicities
|
|
| n.简单，朴素，率直( simplicity的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
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386
descended
|
|
| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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387
befuddled
|
|
| adj.迷糊的，糊涂的v.使烂醉( befuddle的过去式和过去分词 )；使迷惑不解 | |
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388
pretext
|
|
| n.借口，托词 | |
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389
halcyon
|
|
| n.平静的，愉快的 | |
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390
averse
|
|
| adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的 | |
参考例句： |
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391
subscribe
|
|
| vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助 | |
参考例句： |
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392
liberating
|
|
| 解放，释放( liberate的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
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393
whatsoever
|
|
| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
参考例句： |
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394
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
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395
adjourned
|
|
| （使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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396
deserted
|
|
| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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397
colonnade
|
|
| n.柱廊 | |
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398
divan
|
|
| n.长沙发；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集 | |
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399
dexterously
|
|
| adv.巧妙地，敏捷地 | |
参考例句： |
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400
cane
|
|
| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
参考例句： |
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401
custody
|
|
| n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留 | |
参考例句： |
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402
density
|
|
| n.密集，密度，浓度 | |
参考例句： |
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403
glided
|
|
| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
参考例句： |
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404
discriminated
|
|
| 分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的过去式和过去分词 )； 歧视，有差别地对待 | |
参考例句： |
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405
gathering
|
|
| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
参考例句： |
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406
hue
|
|
| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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407
sullen
|
|
| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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408
behooved
|
|
| v.适宜( behoove的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
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409
consolation
|
|
| n.安慰，慰问 | |
参考例句： |
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410
martyr
|
|
| n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲 | |
参考例句： |
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411
momentous
|
|
| adj.重要的，重大的 | |
参考例句： |
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412
conversational
|
|
| adj.对话的，会话的 | |
参考例句： |
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413
exhausted
|
|
| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
参考例句： |
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414
repudiated
|
|
| v.（正式地）否认( repudiate的过去式和过去分词 )；拒绝接受；拒绝与…往来；拒不履行（法律义务） | |
参考例句： |
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415
poignant
|
|
| adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的 | |
参考例句： |
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416
proficiency
|
|
| n.精通，熟练，精练 | |
参考例句： |
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417
stunned
|
|
| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
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418
crouching
|
|
| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
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419
suffusion
|
|
| n.充满 | |
参考例句： |
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420
myriads
|
|
| n.无数，极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
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421
slanting
|
|
| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
参考例句： |
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422
inhaled
|
|
| v.吸入( inhale的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
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423
rhythmic
|
|
| adj.有节奏的，有韵律的 | |
参考例句： |
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424
torrents
|
|
| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
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425
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
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426
drenching
|
|
| n.湿透v.使湿透( drench的现在分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
参考例句： |
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427
buffeted
|
|
| 反复敲打( buffet的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续猛击； 打来打去； 推来搡去 | |
参考例句： |
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428
vehement
|
|
| adj.感情强烈的；热烈的；(人)有强烈感情的 | |
参考例句： |
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429
maternal
|
|
| adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的 | |
参考例句： |
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430
guardian
|
|
| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
参考例句： |
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431
pelted
|
|
| （连续地）投掷( pelt的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续抨击； 攻击； 剥去…的皮 | |
参考例句： |
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432
promptly
|
|
| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
参考例句： |
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|
433
thereby
|
|
| adv.因此，从而 | |
参考例句： |
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434
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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435
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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436
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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437
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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438
incur
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| vt.招致，蒙受，遭遇 | |
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439
sedulously
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| ad.孜孜不倦地 | |
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440
interrogated
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| v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询 | |
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