The road along which he travelled was scarce as populous2 as most other roads in the kingdom, and far less so than those which lie between the larger towns. Yet from time to time Alleyne met other wayfarers3, and more than once was overtaken by strings4 of pack mules5 and horsemen journeying in the same direction as himself. Once a begging friar came limping along in a brown habit, imploring6 in a most dolorous7 voice to give him a single groat to buy bread wherewith to save himself from impending8 death. Alleyne passed him swiftly by, for he had learned from the monks9 to have no love for the wandering friars, and, besides, there was a great half-gnawed mutton bone sticking out of his pouch10 to prove him a liar11. Swiftly as he went, however, he could not escape the curse of the four blessed evangelists which the mendicant12 howled behind him. So dreadful are his execrations that the frightened lad thrust his fingers into his ear-holes, and ran until the fellow was but a brown smirch upon the yellow road.
Further on, at the edge of the woodland, he came upon a chapman and his wife, who sat upon a fallen tree. He had put his pack down as a table, and the two of them were devouring13 a great pasty, and washing it down with some drink from a stone jar. The chapman broke a rough jest as he passed, and the woman called shrilly14 to Alleyne to come and join them, on which the man, turning suddenly from mirth to wrath15, began to belabor16 her with his cudgel. Alleyne hastened on, lest he make more mischief17, and his heart was heavy as lead within him. Look where he would, he seemed to see nothing but injustice18 and violence and the hardness of man to man.
But even as he brooded sadly over it and pined for the sweet peace of the Abbey, he came on an open space dotted with holly19 bushes, where was the strangest sight that he had yet chanced upon. Near to the pathway lay a long clump20 of greenery, and from behind this there stuck straight up into the air four human legs clad in parti-colored hosen, yellow and black. Strangest of all was when a brisk tune21 struck suddenly up and the four legs began to kick and twitter in time to the music. Walking on tiptoe round the bushes, he stood in amazement22 to see two men bounding about on their heads, while they played, the one a viol and the other a pipe, as merrily and as truly as though they were seated in a choir23. Alleyne crossed himself as he gazed at this unnatural24 sight, and could scarce hold his ground with a steady face, when the two dancers, catching25 sight of him, came bouncing in his direction. A spear's length from him, they each threw a somersault into the air, and came down upon their feet with smirking26 faces and their hands over their hearts.
“A guerdon—a guerdon, my knight27 of the staring eyes!” cried one.
“A gift, my prince!” shouted the other. “Any trifle will serve—a purse of gold, or even a jewelled goblet28.”
Alleyne thought of what he had read of demoniac possession—the jumpings, the twitchings, the wild talk. It was in his mind to repeat over the exorcism proper to such attacks; but the two burst out a-laughing at his scared face, and turning on to their heads once more, clapped their heels in derision.
“Hast never seen tumblers before?” asked the elder, a black-browed, swarthy man, as brown and supple31 as a hazel twig32. “Why shrink from us, then, as though we were the spawn33 of the Evil One?”
“Why shrink, my honey-bird? Why so afeard, my sweet cinnamon?” exclaimed the other, a loose-jointed lanky34 youth with a dancing, roguish eye.
“Truly, sirs, it is a new sight to me,” the clerk answered. “When I saw your four legs above the bush I could scarce credit my own eyes. Why is it that you do this thing?”
“A dry question to answer,” cried the younger, coming back on to his feet. “A most husky question, my fair bird! But how? A flask35, a flask!—by all that is wonderful!” He shot out his hand as he spoke36, and plucking Alleyne's bottle out of his scrip, he deftly37 knocked the neck off, and poured the half of it down his throat. The rest he handed to his comrade, who drank the wine, and then, to the clerk's increasing amazement, made a show of swallowing the bottle, with such skill that Alleyne seemed to see it vanish down his throat. A moment later, however, he flung it over his head, and caught it bottom downwards38 upon the calf39 of his left leg.
“We thank you for the wine, kind sir,” said he, “and for the ready courtesy wherewith you offered it. Touching40 your question, we may tell you that we are strollers and jugglers, who, having performed with much applause at Winchester fair, are now on our way to the great Michaelmas market at Ringwood. As our art is a very fine and delicate one, however, we cannot let a day go by without exercising ourselves in it, to which end we choose some quiet and sheltered spot where we may break our journey. Here you find us; and we cannot wonder that you, who are new to tumbling, should be astounded41, since many great barons42, earls, marshals and knights44, who have wandered as far as the Holy Land, are of one mind in saying that they have never seen a more noble or gracious performance. If you will be pleased to sit upon that stump45, we will now continue our exercise.”
Alleyne sat down willingly as directed with two great bundles on either side of him which contained the strollers' dresses—doublets of flame-colored silk and girdles of leather, spangled with brass46 and tin. The jugglers were on their heads once more, bounding about with rigid47 necks, playing the while in perfect time and tune. It chanced that out of one of the bundles there stuck the end of what the clerk saw to be a cittern, so drawing it forth48, he tuned49 it up and twanged a harmony to the merry lilt which the dancers played. On that they dropped their own instruments, and putting their hands to the ground they hopped50 about faster and faster, ever shouting to him to play more briskly, until at last for very weariness all three had to stop.
“Well played, sweet poppet!” cried the younger. “Hast a rare touch on the strings.”
“How knew you the tune?” asked the other.
“I knew it not. I did but follow the notes I heard.”
Both opened their eyes at this, and stared at Alleyne with as much amazement as he had shown at them.
“You have a fine trick of ear then,” said one. “We have long wished to meet such a man. Wilt51 join us and jog on to Ringwood? Thy duties shall be light, and thou shalt have two-pence a day and meat for supper every night.”
“With as much beer as you can put away,” said the other, “and a flask of Gascon wine on Sabbaths.”
“Nay, it may not be. I have other work to do. I have tarried with you over long,” quoth Alleyne, and resolutely52 set forth upon his journey once more. They ran behind him some little way, offering him first fourpence and then sixpence a day, but he only smiled and shook his head, until at last they fell away from him. Looking back, he saw that the smaller had mounted on the younger's shoulders, and that they stood so, some ten feet high, waving their adieus to him. He waved back to them, and then hastened on, the lighter53 of heart for having fallen in with these strange men of pleasure.
Alleyne had gone no great distance for all the many small passages that had befallen him. Yet to him, used as he was to a life of such quiet that the failure of a brewing54 or the altering of an anthem55 had seemed to be of the deepest import, the quick changing play of the lights and shadows of life was strangely startling and interesting. A gulf56 seemed to divide this brisk uncertain existence from the old steady round of work and of prayer which he had left behind him. The few hours that had passed since he saw the Abbey tower stretched out in his memory until they outgrew57 whole months of the stagnant58 life of the cloister59. As he walked and munched60 the soft bread from his scrip, it seemed strange to him to feel that it was still warm from the ovens of Beaulieu.
When he passed Penerley, where were three cottages and a barn, he reached the edge of the tree country, and found the great barren heath of Blackdown stretching in front of him, all pink with heather and bronzed with the fading ferns. On the left the woods were still thick, but the road edged away from them and wound over the open. The sun lay low in the west upon a purple cloud, whence it threw a mild, chastening light over the wild moorland and glittered on the fringe of forest turning the withered62 leaves into flakes63 of dead gold, the brighter for the black depths behind them. To the seeing eye decay is as fair as growth, and death as life. The thought stole into Alleyne's heart as he looked upon the autumnal country side and marvelled64 at its beauty. He had little time to dwell upon it however, for there were still six good miles between him and the nearest inn. He sat down by the roadside to partake of his bread and cheese, and then with a lighter scrip he hastened upon his way.
There appeared to be more wayfarers on the down than in the forest. First he passed two Dominicans in their long black dresses, who swept by him with downcast looks and pattering lips, without so much as a glance at him. Then there came a gray friar, or minorite, with a good paunch upon him, walking slowly and looking about him with the air of a man who was at peace with himself and with all men. He stopped Alleyne to ask him whether it was not true that there was a hostel65 somewhere in those parts which was especially famous for the stewing66 of eels30. The clerk having made answer that he had heard the eels of Sowley well spoken of, the friar sucked in his lips and hurried forward. Close at his heels came three laborers67 walking abreast68, with spade and mattock over their shoulders. They sang some rude chorus right tunefully as they walked, but their English was so coarse and rough that to the ears of a cloister-bred man it sounded like a foreign and barbarous tongue. One of them carried a young bittern which they had caught upon the moor61, and they offered it to Alleyne for a silver groat. Very glad he was to get safely past them, for, with their bristling69 red beards and their fierce blue eyes, they were uneasy men to bargain with upon a lonely moor.
Yet it is not always the burliest and the wildest who are the most to be dreaded70. The workers looked hungrily at him, and then jogged onwards upon their way in slow, lumbering71 Saxon style. A worse man to deal with was a wooden-legged cripple who came hobbling down the path, so weak and so old to all appearance that a child need not stand in fear of him. Yet when Alleyne had passed him, of a sudden, out of pure devilment, he screamed out a curse at him, and sent a jagged flint stone hurtling past his ear. So horrid72 was the causeless rage of the crooked73 creature, that the clerk came over a cold thrill, and took to his heels until he was out of shot from stone or word. It seemed to him that in this country of England there was no protection for a man save that which lay in the strength of his own arm and the speed of his own foot. In the cloisters74 he had heard vague talk of the law—the mighty75 law which was higher than prelate or baron43, yet no sign could he see of it. What was the benefit of a law written fair upon parchment, he wondered, if there were no officers to enforce it. As it fell out, however, he had that very evening, ere the sun had set, a chance of seeing how stern was the grip of the English law when it did happen to seize the offender76.
A mile or so out upon the moor the road takes a very sudden dip into a hollow, with a peat-colored stream running swiftly down the centre of it. To the right of this stood, and stands to this day, an ancient barrow, or burying mound77, covered deeply in a bristle78 of heather and bracken. Alleyne was plodding79 down the slope upon one side, when he saw an old dame80 coming towards him upon the other, limping with weariness and leaning heavily upon a stick. When she reached the edge of the stream she stood helpless, looking to right and to left for some ford81. Where the path ran down a great stone had been fixed82 in the centre of the brook83, but it was too far from the bank for her aged84 and uncertain feet. Twice she thrust forward at it, and twice she drew back, until at last, giving up in despair, she sat herself down by the brink85 and wrung86 her hands wearily. There she still sat when Alleyne reached the crossing.
“Come, mother,” quoth he, “it is not so very perilous87 a passage.”
“Alas88! good youth,” she answered, “I have a humor in the eyes, and though I can see that there is a stone there I can by no means be sure as to where it lies.”
“That is easily amended,” said he cheerily, and picking her lightly up, for she was much worn with time, he passed across with her. He could not but observe, however, that as he placed her down her knees seemed to fail her, and she could scarcely prop29 herself up with her staff.
“You are weak, mother,” said he. “Hast journeyed far, I wot.”
“From Wiltshire, friend,” said she, in a quavering voice; “three days have I been on the road. I go to my son, who is one of the King's regarders at Brockenhurst. He has ever said that he would care for me in mine old age.”
“And rightly too, mother, since you cared for him in his youth. But when have you broken fast?”
“At Lyndenhurst; but alas! my money is at an end, and I could but get a dish of bran-porridge from the nunnery. Yet I trust that I may be able to reach Brockenhurst to-night, where I may have all that heart can desire; for oh! sir, but my son is a fine man, with a kindly89 heart of his own, and it is as good as food to me to think that he should have a doublet of Lincoln green to his back and be the King's own paid man.”
“It is a long road yet to Brockenhurst,” said Alleyne; “but here is such bread and cheese as I have left, and here, too, is a penny which may help you to supper. May God be with you!”
“May God be with you, young man!” she cried. “May He make your heart as glad as you have made mine!” She turned away, still mumbling90 blessings91, and Alleyne saw her short figure and her long shadow stumbling slowly up the slope.
He was moving away himself, when his eyes lit upon a strange sight, and one which sent a tingling92 through his skin. Out of the tangled93 scrub on the old overgrown barrow two human faces were looking out at him; the sinking sun glimmered94 full upon them, showing up every line and feature. The one was an oldish man with a thin beard, a crooked nose, and a broad red smudge from a birth-mark over his temple; the other was a negro, a thing rarely met in England at that day, and rarer still in the quiet southland parts. Alleyne had read of such folk, but had never seen one before, and could scarce take his eyes from the fellow's broad pouting95 lip and shining teeth. Even as he gazed, however, the two came writhing96 out from among the heather, and came down towards him with such a guilty, slinking carriage, that the clerk felt that there was no good in them, and hastened onwards upon his way.
He had not gained the crown of the slope, when he heard a sudden scuffle behind him and a feeble voice bleating97 for help. Looking round, there was the old dame down upon the roadway, with her red whimple flying on the breeze, while the two rogues99, black and white, stooped over her, wresting100 away from her the penny and such other poor trifles as were worth the taking. At the sight of her thin limbs struggling in weak resistance, such a glow of fierce anger passed over Alleyne as set his head in a whirl. Dropping his scrip, he bounded over the stream once more, and made for the two villains101, with his staff whirled over his shoulder and his gray eyes blazing with fury.
The robbers, however, were not disposed to leave their victim until they had worked their wicked will upon her. The black man, with the woman's crimson102 scarf tied round his swarthy head, stood forward in the centre of the path, with a long dull-colored knife in his hand, while the other, waving a ragged103 cudgel, cursed at Alleyne and dared him to come on. His blood was fairly aflame, however, and he needed no such challenge. Dashing at the black man, he smote104 at him with such good will that the other let his knife tinkle105 into the roadway, and hopped howling to a safer distance. The second rogue98, however, made of sterner stuff, rushed in upon the clerk, and clipped him round the waist with a grip like a bear, shouting the while to his comrade to come round and stab him in the back. At this the negro took heart of grace, and picking up his dagger106 again he came stealing with prowling step and murderous eye, while the two swayed backwards107 and forwards, staggering this way and that. In the very midst of the scuffle, however, whilst Alleyne braced108 himself to feel the cold blade between his shoulders, there came a sudden scurry109 of hoofs110, and the black man yelled with terror and ran for his life through the heather. The man with the birth-mark, too, struggled to break away, and Alleyne heard his teeth chatter111 and felt his limbs grow limp to his hand. At this sign of coming aid the clerk held on the tighter, and at last was able to pin his man down and glanced behind him to see where all the noise was coming from.
Down the slanting112 road there was riding a big, burly man, clad in a tunic113 of purple velvet114 and driving a great black horse as hard as it could gallop115. He leaned well over its neck as he rode, and made a heaving with his shoulders at every bound as though he were lifting the steed instead of it carrying him. In the rapid glance Alleyne saw that he had white doeskin gloves, a curling white feather in his flat velvet cap, and a broad gold, embroidered116 baldric across his bosom117. Behind him rode six others, two and two, clad in sober brown jerkins, with the long yellow staves of their bows thrusting out from behind their right shoulders. Down the hill they thundered, over the brook and up to the scene of the contest.
“Here is one!” said the leader, springing down from his reeking118 horse, and seizing the white rogue by the edge of his jerkin. “This is one of them. I know him by that devil's touch upon his brow. Where are your cords, Peterkin? So! Bind119 him hand and foot. His last hour has come. And you, young man, who may you be?”
“I am a clerk, sir, travelling from Beaulieu.”
“A clerk!” cried the other. “Art from Oxenford or from Cambridge? Hast thou a letter from the chancellor120 of thy college giving thee a permit to beg? Let me see thy letter.” He had a stern, square face, with bushy side whiskers and a very questioning eye.
“I am from Beaulieu Abbey, and I have no need to beg,” said Alleyne, who was all of a tremble now that the ruffle121 was over.
“The better for thee,” the other answered. “Dost know who I am?”
“No, sir, I do not.”
“I am the law!”—nodding his head solemnly. “I am the law of England and the mouthpiece of his most gracious and royal majesty122, Edward the Third.”
Alleyne louted low to the King's representative. “Truly you came in good time, honored sir,” said he. “A moment later and they would have slain123 me.”
“But there should be another one,” cried the man in the purple coat. “There should be a black man. A shipman with St. Anthony's fire, and a black man who had served him as cook—those are the pair that we are in chase of.”
“The black man fled over to that side,” said Alleyne, pointing towards the barrow.
“He could not have gone far, sir bailiff,” cried one of the archers124, unslinging his bow. “He is in hiding somewhere, for he knew well, black paynim as he is, that our horses' four legs could outstrip126 his two.”
“Then we shall have him,” said the other. “It shall never be said, whilst I am bailiff of Southampton, that any waster, riever, draw-latch or murtherer came scathless away from me and my posse. Leave that rogue lying. Now stretch out in line, my merry ones, with arrow on string, and I shall show you such sport as only the King can give. You on the left, Howett, and Thomas of Redbridge upon the right. So! Beat high and low among the heather, and a pot of wine to the lucky marksman.”
As it chanced, however, the searchers had not far to seek. The negro had burrowed127 down into his hiding-place upon the barrow, where he might have lain snug128 enough, had it not been for the red gear upon his head. As he raised himself to look over the bracken at his enemies, the staring color caught the eye of the bailiff, who broke into a long screeching129 whoop130 and spurred forward sword in hand. Seeing himself discovered, the man rushed out from his hiding-place, and bounded at the top of his speed down the line of archers, keeping a good hundred paces to the front of them. The two who were on either side of Alleyne bent131 their bows as calmly as though they were shooting at the popinjay at the village fair.
“Seven yards windage, Hal,” said one, whose hair was streaked133 with gray.
“Five,” replied the other, letting loose his string. Alleyne gave a gulp134 in his throat, for the yellow streak132 seemed to pass through the man; but he still ran forward.
“Seven, you jack-fool,” growled135 the first speaker, and his bow twanged like a harp-string. The black man sprang high up into the air, and shot out both his arms and his legs, coming down all a-sprawl among the heather. “Right under the blade bone!” quoth the archer125, sauntering forward for his arrow.
“The old hound is the best when all is said,” quoth the bailiff of Southampton, as they made back for the roadway. “That means a quart of the best malmsey in Southampton this very night, Matthew Atwood. Art sure that he is dead?”
“Dead as Pontius Pilate, worshipful sir.”
“It is well. Now, as to the other knave137. There are trees and to spare over yonder, but we have scarce leisure to make for them. Draw thy sword, Thomas of Redbridge, and hew136 me his head from his shoulders.”
“A boon138, gracious sir, a boon!” cried the condemned139 man.
“What then?” asked the bailiff.
“I will confess to my crime. It was indeed I and the black cook, both from the ship 'La Rose de Gloire,' of Southampton, who did set upon the Flanders merchant and rob him of his spicery and his mercery, for which, as we well know, you hold a warrant against us.”
“There is little merit in this confession,” quoth the bailiff sternly. “Thou hast done evil within my bailiwick, and must die.”
“But, sir,” urged Alleyne, who was white to the lips at these bloody140 doings, “he hath not yet come to trial.”
“Young clerk,” said the bailiff, “you speak of that of which you know nothing. It is true that he hath not come to trial, but the trial hath come to him. He hath fled the law and is beyond its pale. Touch not that which is no concern of thine. But what is this boon, rogue, which you would crave141?”
“I have in my shoe, most worshipful sir, a strip of wood which belonged once to the bark wherein the blessed Paul was dashed up against the island of Melita. I bought it for two rose nobles from a shipman who came from the Levant. The boon I crave is that you will place it in my hands and let me die still grasping it. In this manner, not only shall my own eternal salvation142 be secured, but thine also, for I shall never cease to intercede143 for thee.”
At the command of the bailiff they plucked off the fellow's shoe, and there sure enough at the side of the instep, wrapped in a piece of fine sendall, lay a long, dark splinter of wood. The archers doffed144 caps at the sight of it, and the bailiff crossed himself devoutly145 as he handed it to the robber.
“If it should chance,” he said, “that through the surpassing merits of the blessed Paul your sin-stained soul should gain a way into paradise, I trust that you will not forget that intercession which you have promised. Bear in mind too, that it is Herward the bailiff for whom you pray, and not Herward the sheriff, who is my uncle's son. Now, Thomas, I pray you dispatch, for we have a long ride before us and sun has already set.”
Alleyne gazed upon the scene—the portly velvet-clad official, the knot of hard-faced archers with their hands to the bridles146 of their horses, the thief with his arms trussed back and his doublet turned down upon his shoulders. By the side of the track the old dame was standing147, fastening her red whimple once more round her head. Even as he looked one of the archers drew his sword with a sharp whirr of steel and stept up to the lost man. The clerk hurried away in horror; but, ere he had gone many paces, he heard a sudden, sullen148 thump149, with a choking, whistling sound at the end of it. A minute later the bailiff and four of his men rode past him on their journey back to Southampton, the other two having been chosen as grave-diggers. As they passed Alleyne saw that one of the men was wiping his sword-blade upon the mane of his horse. A deadly sickness came over him at the sight, and sitting down by the wayside he burst out weeping, with his nerves all in a jangle. It was a terrible world thought he, and it was hard to know which were the most to be dreaded, the knaves150 or the men of the law.
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1
slew
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| v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多 | |
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populous
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| adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的 | |
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wayfarers
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| n.旅人，（尤指）徒步旅行者( wayfarer的名词复数 ) | |
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strings
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| n.弦 | |
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mules
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| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
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imploring
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| 恳求的，哀求的 | |
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dolorous
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| adj.悲伤的；忧愁的 | |
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impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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pouch
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| n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件 | |
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liar
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| n.说谎的人 | |
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mendicant
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| n.乞丐；adj.行乞的 | |
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devouring
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| 吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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shrilly
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| 尖声的； 光亮的，耀眼的 | |
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wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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belabor
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| vt.痛斥；作过长说明 | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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holly
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| n.[植]冬青属灌木 | |
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clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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choir
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| n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱 | |
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unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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catching
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smirking
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knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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goblet
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| n.高脚酒杯 | |
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prop
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| vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山 | |
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30
eels
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| abbr. 电子发射器定位系统（=electronic emitter location system） | |
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31
supple
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| adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺 | |
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32
twig
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| n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解 | |
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33
spawn
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| n.卵，产物，后代，结果；vt.产卵，种菌丝于，产生，造成；vi.产卵，大量生产 | |
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34
lanky
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| adj.瘦长的 | |
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35
flask
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| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
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36
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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37
deftly
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| adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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38
downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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39
calf
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| n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮 | |
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40
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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41
astounded
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| v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶 | |
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42
barons
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| 男爵( baron的名词复数 )； 巨头； 大王； 大亨 | |
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43
baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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44
knights
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| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
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45
stump
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| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
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46
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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47
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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48
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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49
tuned
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| adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调 | |
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50
hopped
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| 跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花 | |
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51
wilt
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| v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱 | |
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52
resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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53
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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54
brewing
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| n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式 | |
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55
anthem
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| n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌 | |
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56
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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57
outgrew
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| 长[发展] 得超过（某物）的范围( outgrow的过去式 )； 长[发展]得不能再要（某物）； 长得比…快； 生长速度超过 | |
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58
stagnant
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| adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的 | |
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59
cloister
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| n.修道院；v.隐退，使与世隔绝 | |
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60
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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61
moor
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| n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊 | |
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62
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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63
flakes
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| 小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人 | |
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64
marvelled
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| v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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65
hostel
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| n.（学生）宿舍，招待所 | |
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66
stewing
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| 炖 | |
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67
laborers
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| n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工 | |
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68
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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69
bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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70
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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71
lumbering
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| n.采伐林木 | |
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72
horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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73
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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74
cloisters
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| n.（学院、修道院、教堂等建筑的）走廊( cloister的名词复数 )；回廊；修道院的生活；隐居v.隐退，使与世隔绝( cloister的第三人称单数 ) | |
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75
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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76
offender
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| n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者 | |
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77
mound
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| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
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78
bristle
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| v.（毛发）直立，气势汹汹，发怒；n.硬毛发 | |
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79
plodding
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| a.proceeding in a slow or dull way | |
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80
dame
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| n.女士 | |
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81
Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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82
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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83
brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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84
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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85
brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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86
wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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87
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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88
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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89
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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90
mumbling
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的现在分词 ) | |
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91
blessings
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| n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福 | |
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92
tingling
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| v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 ) | |
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93
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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94
glimmered
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| v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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95
pouting
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| v.撅（嘴）( pout的现在分词 ) | |
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96
writhing
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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97
bleating
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| v.（羊，小牛）叫( bleat的现在分词 )；哭诉；发出羊叫似的声音；轻声诉说 | |
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98
rogue
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| n.流氓；v.游手好闲 | |
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99
rogues
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| n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 )；无赖；调皮捣蛋的人；离群的野兽 | |
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100
wresting
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| 动词wrest的现在进行式 | |
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101
villains
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| n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼 | |
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102
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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103
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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104
smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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105
tinkle
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| vi.叮当作响；n.叮当声 | |
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106
dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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107
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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108
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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109
scurry
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| vi.急匆匆地走；使急赶；催促；n.快步急跑，疾走；仓皇奔跑声；骤雨，骤雪；短距离赛马 | |
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110
hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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111
chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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112
slanting
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| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
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113
tunic
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| n.束腰外衣 | |
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114
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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115
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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116
embroidered
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| adj．绣花的 | |
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117
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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118
reeking
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| v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的现在分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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119
bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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120
chancellor
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| n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长 | |
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121
ruffle
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| v.弄皱，弄乱；激怒，扰乱；n.褶裥饰边 | |
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122
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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123
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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124
archers
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| n.弓箭手，射箭运动员( archer的名词复数 ) | |
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125
archer
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| n.射手，弓箭手 | |
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126
outstrip
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| v.超过，跑过 | |
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127
burrowed
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| v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的过去式和过去分词 )；翻寻 | |
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128
snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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129
screeching
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| v.发出尖叫声( screech的现在分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫 | |
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130
whoop
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| n.大叫，呐喊，喘息声；v.叫喊，喘息 | |
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131
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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132
streak
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| n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动 | |
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133
streaked
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| adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
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134
gulp
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| vt.吞咽，大口地吸（气）；vi.哽住；n.吞咽 | |
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135
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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136
hew
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| v.砍；伐；削 | |
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137
knave
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| n.流氓；（纸牌中的）杰克 | |
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138
boon
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| n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠 | |
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139
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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140
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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141
crave
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| vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求 | |
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142
salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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143
intercede
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| vi.仲裁，说情 | |
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144
doffed
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| v.脱去，（尤指）脱帽( doff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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145
devoutly
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| adv.虔诚地，虔敬地，衷心地 | |
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146
bridles
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| 约束( bridle的名词复数 )； 限动器； 马笼头； 系带 | |
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147
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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148
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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149
thump
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| v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声 | |
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150
knaves
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| n.恶棍，无赖( knave的名词复数 )；（纸牌中的）杰克 | |
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