There was no Spencer Street terminus in those days. We were truly thankful to King Cobb. I, for one, was glad to get over a hundred miles of indifferent road in a day—winter weather, too. We did not grumble5 so comprehensively as latter-day travellers.
Remembered yet, how, when we came to the long hill at Keilorbridge, the driver let his horses out when half-way down. The pace that we went 'was a caution to see.' The wheel-spokes flew round, invisible to the naked eye. The coach rocked in a manner to appal6 the nervous. The horses lay down to it as if they were starting for a Scurry7 Stakes. But it was a good piece of macadam, and we were half-way up to the next hill before any one had time to think seriously of the danger.
Nobody, of course, would have dared to have addressed the driver upon the subject. In those flush days, when both day and night coaches loaded well, when fares were high and profits phenomenal, he was an autocrat9 not to be lightly approached. It almost took two people to manage a communication—one to bear the message from the other. Silent 221or laconic10, master of his work in a marvellous degree, he usually resented light converse11, advice infuriated him, and sympathy was outrage12.
The roads were bad, even dangerous in places. Muddy creeks14, bush-tracks, sidelings, washed-out crossings, increased the responsibilities and tried the tempers of these pioneer sons of Nimshi. Men of mark they mostly were. Americans to a man in that day, though subsequently native-born Australians, acclimatised Irishmen, and other recruits of merit, began to show up in the ranks.
I remember the astonishment15 of a newly-arrived traveller at seeing Carter, a gigantic, fair-bearded Canadian, coming along a baddish road one wet day, with seven horses and a huge coach, containing about fifty Chinamen. How he swayed the heavy reins16 with practised ease, his three leaders at a hand-gallop; how he piloted his immense vehicle through stumps17 and ruts, by creek13 and hillside, with accuracy almost miraculous18 to the uninitiated.
Mr. Carter was not a 'man of much blandishment.' I recall the occasion, when a spring having gone wrong, he was, with the assistance of a stalwart passenger, silently repairing damage. A frivolous19 insider commenced to condole20 and offer suggestions in a weakly voluble way. 'Go to h—l,' was the abrupt21 rejoinder, which so astonished the well-meaning person, that he retreated into the coach like a rabbit into a burrow22, and was silent for hours afterwards.
One always had the consciousness, however, that whatever could be done by mortal man, would be accomplished24 by them. Accidents might happen, but they belonged to the category of the inevitable25.
One dark night, near Sawpit Gully, a tire came off. Al. Hamilton (poor fellow! he was killed by an upset in New South Wales afterwards) was off in a minute; found his way to the smith's house; had him back in an inconceivably short time; left word for us to get the fire lighted and blown up—it was cold, and we thought that great fun; and before another man would have finished swearing at the road, the darkness, and things in general, the hammer was clinking on the red-hot tire, the welding was progressing, and in three-quarters of an hour we were bowling26 along much as before. We had time to make up, and did it too. But suppose the blacksmith 222would not work? Not work! He was Cobb and Co.'s man—that is, he did all their 'stage' repairs. Well he knew that the night must be to him even as the day when their humblest vehicle on the road needed his aid. As a firm they went strictly27 by results and took no excuses. If a man upset his coach and did damage once, he was shifted to another part of the line. If he repeated the accident, he was dismissed. There was no appeal, and the managing body did not trouble about evidence after the first time. If he was negligent28, it served him right. If he was unlucky, that was worse.
The journey to Bendigo was accomplished at the rate of nine miles an hour, stoppages included. It was midwinter. The roads were deep in places. It was therefore good-going, punctual relays, and carefully economised time, which combined to land us at Hefferman's Hotel before darkness had set in. As usual a crowd had collected to enjoy the great event of the day.
Bendigo was in that year a very lively town, with a population roused to daily excitement by fortunes made or lost. Gold was shovelled30 up like sugar in bankers' scoops31, and good money sent after bad in reckless enterprise, or restored a hundredfold in lucky ventures.
Here I was to undergo a new experience in company with Her Majesty's Mails.
As I rather impatiently lingered outside of Hefferman's after breakfast next morning, an unpretending tax-cart, to which were harnessed a pair of queer, unmatched screws, drove up to the door. 'German Charlie'—his other name I never knew—driver and contractor32, informed me that I was the only passenger, lifted my valise, and the talismanic34 words 'Reedy Creek' being pronounced, vowed35 to drop me at the door. He had always parcels for Mr. Keene. This gentleman's name he pronounced with bated breath, in a tone of deepest veneration36.
Beyond all doubt would I be landed there early on the morrow.
I mounted the Whitechapel, saw my overcoat and valise in safely, and, not without involuntary distrust, committed myself to Charlie's tender mercies. He gave a shout, he raised his whip—the off-side horse made a wild plunge; the near-side one, blind of one eye, refused to budge38. Our fate hung on the 223balance apparently39, when a man from the crowd quietly led off the unwilling40 near-side, and we dashed away gloriously. The pace was exceptional, but it was evidently inexpedient to slacken speed. We flew down the main street, and turned northward41, along a narrow track, perilously42 near to yawning shafts44, across unsafe bridges, over race channels; along corduroy roads, or none at all, our headlong course was pursued. The sludge-invaded level of Meyer's Flat is passed. Bullock Creek is reached, all ignorant of reservoirs and weirs46, and a relay of horses driven in from the bush is demanded.
A smart boy of fourteen had the fresh team, three in number, ready for us in the yard. He felt it necessary to warn us. They 'were not good starters, that was a fact.' The statement was strictly correct. One horse was badly collar-galled, one a rank jib. The leader certainly had a notion of bolting; his efforts in that direction were, however, neutralised by the masterly inactivity of his companions. After much pushing, persuasion48, and profane49 language, we effected a departure.
That the pace was kept up afterwards may be believed. Sometimes the harness gave way, but as the shaft43 and outrigger horses were by this time well warmed, they did not object to again urge on their wild career.
We stopped at the 'Durham Ox Inn' that night, then a solitary50 lodge51 in the wilderness52, a single building of brick, visible afar off on the sea-like plain, which stretched to the verge53 of the horizon. Woods Brothers and Kirk had at that time, if I mistake not, just concluded to purchase Pental Island from Ebden and Keene, but were debating as to price. The pasture seemed short and sparse54, after the deep, rich western sward, but overtaking a 'mob' of Messrs. Booth and Argyle's cattle farther on, I felt satisfied as to its fattening55 qualities. Each cow, calf56, steer57, and yearling in the lot was positively58 heaped and cushioned with fat. They looked like stall-fed oxen. And this in June! I thought I saw then what the country could do. I was correct in my deduction59, always supposing the important factor of rain not to be absent. Of this, in my inexperience, I took no heed60. In my favoured district there was always a plentiful61 supply; sometimes, indeed, more than was agreeable or necessary.
Kerang was passed; Tragowel skirted; Mount Hope, then 224in the occupation of Messrs. Griffith and Greene, reared its granite62 mass a few miles to the south. As Sir Thomas Mitchell stood there, gazing over the illimitable prairie, rich with giant herbage and interspersed63 but with belts and copses of timber, planted by Nature's hand, the veteran explorer exclaimed with a burst of enthusiasm, 'Australia Felix! This is indeed Australia Felix!'
Steady stocking and an occasional dry season had somewhat modified the standard of the nutritive grasses and salsolaceous plants, at this point advantageously mingled64. But that the country was superlative in a pastoral point of view may be gathered from the fact that, upon my first visit to the homestead a few weeks afterwards, I saw five thousand weaners—the whole crop of lambs for the previous year—shepherded in one flock. Very fine young sheep they were, and in excellent condition. Of course it was on a plain, but, unless the pasturage had been exceptional, no shepherd could have kept such a number together.
Later in the afternoon my Teutonic conductor, who had been going for the last twenty miles like the dark horseman in Burger's ballad65, pulled up at Reedy Lake Head Station. There dwelt the resident partner and autocrat of his district, Mr. Theophilus Keene.
I saw a slight, fair man with an aquiline66 nose, a steady grey eye, and an abundant beard, who came out of a neat two-roomed slab67 hut and greeted me with polished courtesy. 'He was extremely glad to see me. He had looked forward to my coming this week in terms of a letter he had received from Messrs. Ryan and Hammond, but, indeed, had hardly expected that I would trust myself to their mail.'
Mr. Keene, whom I saw then for the first time, was probably verging68 on middle age, though active and youthful in appearance, above the middle height, yet not tall—of a figure inclined indeed to spareness. He impressed me with the idea that he was no commonplace individual.
He carried nothing of the bushman about his appearance, at home or in town, being careful and soigné as to his apparel, formal and somewhat courtly in his address. He scarcely gave one the idea of a dweller69 in the waste; yet the roughest experiences of overlanding squatter70-life, of a leader of the rude station and road hands, had been his. He looked 225more like a dandy Civil Servant of the upper grades. Yet he was more than a pioneer and manager—an astute71 diplomatist, a clever correspondent, an accurate accountant. The books of the Reedy Lake Station were kept as neatly72 as those of a counting-house. The overseer's sheep-books, ration37 accounts, and road expenses were audited73 as correctly as if in an office. The great station-machine revolved74 easily, and, though unaided by inventions which have smoothed the path of latter-day pastoralists, was a striking illustration of successful administration.
This large and important sheep property, as it was held to be in those primeval times, had considerably75 over 150,000 sheep on its books. Reedy Lake stood for the whole, but Quambatook, Murrabit, Lake Boga, Liegar, Pental Island and other runs were also comprised within its boundaries. These were separate communities, and were, upon the subdivision of the property, sold as such. These were worked under the supervision76 of overseers and sub-managers, each of whom had to render account to Mr. Keene—a strict one, too—of every sheep counted out to the shepherds of the division in his charge.
Mr. Ebden, erstwhile Treasurer77 of Victoria and for some years a member of Parliament, was the senior partner. He had sagaciously secured Mr. Keene, then wasting his powers on the Lower Murray, by offering him a third share of the property, with the position of resident partner and General Manager. Mr. Ebden, residing in Melbourne, arranged the financial portion of the affairs, while Mr. Keene was the executive chief, with almost irresponsible powers, which he used unreservedly—no doubt about that.
This was the day, let it be premised, of 'shepherding,' pure and simple. There were, in that district at least, no wire fences, no great enclosures, no gates, no tanks. Improvements, both great and small, were looked upon as superfluous78 forms of expensiveness. To keep the shepherds in order, to provide them with rations79 and other necessaries, to see that they neither lost the sheep nor denied them reasonable range,—these were the chief duties of those in authority. And tolerably anxious and engrossing80 occupation they afforded.
Thus the great Reedy Lake Head Station, always mentioned with awe81, north of the Loddon, was not calculated to strike the 226stranger with amazement82 on account of its buildings and constructions, formed on the edge of the fresh-water lake from which it took its name. The station comprised Mr. Keene's two-roomed hut aforesaid; also a larger one, where the overseers, young gentlemen, and strangers abode—known as The Barracks; the kitchen, a detached building; the men's huts, on the shore of the lake, at some considerable distance; an inexpensive, old-fashioned woolshed might be discerned among the 'old-man salt-bush' nearly a mile away; a hundred acre horse-paddock, surrounded by a two-railed sapling fence; a stock-yard—voilà tout83; there was, of course, a store. These were all the buildings thought necessary for the management of ￡150,000 worth of sheep in that day. How different would be the appearance of such a property now!
The special errand upon which I had journeyed thus far was to inspect and, upon approval, to accept an offer in writing, which I carried with me, of the Murrabit Station, one of the subdivisions of the Reedy Lake property, having upon it sixteen thousand sheep and no improvements whatever, except the shepherds' huts and a hundred hurdles84. The price was ￡24,000—one-third equal to cash, the remainder by bills extending over three years.
The tide of investment had set in strongly in the direction of sheep properties, near or across the Murray. I had followed the fashion for the purpose, presumably, of making the usual fortune more rapidly than through the old-fashioned medium of cattle. To this end it was arranged that Mr. Keene and I, with one of the overseers whom I had known previously85, should on the morrow ride over and inspect the Murrabit country and stock, lying some twenty miles distant from Reedy Lake.
It is held to be bad form in Bushland to mount an intending purchaser badly. It is unnecessary to say that it was not done in this case. No detail was omitted to produce a state of cheerful self-complacency, suited to the distinguished86 r?le of guest and buyer. When Mr. Keene's famous pony87 Billy, an animal whose fame was heralded88 in two colonies, and from the Loddon to the Murrumbidgee, was led forth89, I felt I was indeed the favoured guest. He certainly was 'the horse you don't see now,' or, if so, very very rarely. Neat as to forehand, with a round rib90 and powerful quarter, fast, easy, 227and up to weight, he was difficult to match. The area from Kerang northwards was known as 'salt-bush' country. But little grass showed except on the edges of watercourses. Bare patches of red sandy loam91 between the salsolaceous plants did not lead the early explorers to consider it first-rate pasturage. Varieties, however, were plentiful, from the 'old-man salt-bush,' seven to ten feet high, to the dwarf-growing but fattening plants on the plain. The cotton-bush, too, known to indicate first-class fattening country, was plentiful. Perhaps the best testimony92 to the quality of the herbage, however, and which I was sufficiently93 experienced to appreciate, was the uniform high health and condition of every flock of sheep that we saw. Nothing could be finer than their general appearance, as indeed is always the case in reasonably-stocked salt-bush country; no foot-rot, no fluke, and, absit omen8, no sheep-scab. This dire47 disease was then, unhappily, common in Western Victoria. It had been a fair season. Everything was fit to bear inspection94. The wether flock looked like donkeys for size, the breeding ewes were fit for market, the weaners precociously95 fat and well-grown. Nothing could look better than the whole array.
Besides the salt-bush country, plains chiefly, and a large dry lake, there was an important section of the run known as 'The Reed-beds,' which I was anxious to visit. This tract33 lay between Lake Boga, a large fresh-water lake on one side, the Murrabit, an anabranch, and the south bank of the Murray. In order to ride over this it was arranged that we should camp at the hut of a shepherd, known as 'Towney,' on Pental Island, thence explore the reed-beds and see the remaining sheep on the morrow.
Pental Island, formed by the Murrabit, a deep wide stream, which leaves the main river channel and re-enters lower down, we found to be a long, narrow strip of land, having sound salt-bush ridges45 in the centre, with reed-beds on either side. Crossing by a rude but sufficient bridge, we discovered Mr. 'Towney' living an Alexander Selkirk sort of life, monarch96 of all he surveyed, and with full charge of some ten or twelve thousand sheep turned loose. The bridge being closed with hurdles, they could not get away. His only duty was to see that no enterprising dingo swam over from Murray Downs on the opposite side and ravaged97 the flock.
228The night was cloudless and starlit, lovely in all aspects, as are chiefly those of the Riverina—an absolutely perfect winter climate. The strange surroundings, the calm river, the untroubled hush98 of the scene, the chops, damper, and tea, all freshly prepared by Towney, were enjoyable enough. After a talk by the fire, for the night air was cool, and a smoke, we lay down on rugs and blankets and slept till dawn. Our entertainer was dejected because he had not a Murray cod99 to offer us. 'If we had only come last week.' 'Tis ever thus.
That day's ride showed me the reed-beds in the light of sound, green, quickly-fattening pastures. At one angle of the Murrabit, on my run—for my run, indeed, it was destined100 to be—there were two flocks of sheep, five thousand in all, of which the shepherds and hut-keeper inhabited the same hut. It was managed thus. One flock was camped on the northern side of the bridge, one on the other. The hut-keeper, long disestablished, but then considered an indispensable functionary101, cooked for both shepherds. ￡30 a year with rations was the wage for the shepherds; ￡25 for the hut-keeper.
Then there was a frontage of, perhaps, a mile and a half to the southern end of Lake Boga. This noble fresh-water lake, having shelving, sandy shores, is filled by the rising of the Murray. On the bluff102, to the right of the road to Swan Hill, was a curious non-Australian cottage, built by Moravian missionaries103, and situated104 upon a reserve granted to them by the Government of Victoria. These worthy105 personages, becoming discouraged at the slow conversion106 of the heathen, or deeming the locale unsuitable, sold their right and interest to Messrs. Ebden and Keene. I decided107 to place the head station close by, and there, I suppose, it is at the present day.
A picturesque108 spot enough. Northward the eye ranged over the broad, clear waters of the lake, now calm in the bright sunshine, now lashed109 into quite respectable waves by a gale110. Eastward111, over a wide expanse of reed-bed, dead level and brightly green, you traced the winding112 course of the great river by the huge eucalypti113 which lined its banks. Around was the unending plain, on which the salt-bushes grew to an unusual size, while across the main road to Melbourne, fenced off by the horse-paddock of the future, was a cape114 of pine-scrub, affording pleasing contrast to the wide, bare landscape.
229We returned to Reedy Lake that evening, and before I slept was the contract signed, accepting price and terms; signed in high hope, and apparently with a fair prospect115 of doubling the capital invested, as had done many another. Had I but known that this particular indenture116, freely translated, should have run thus:—
'I hereby bind117 myself to take the Murrabit Run and stock at the price agreed, and to lose in consequence every farthing I have ever made, within five years from this date.
'(Signed) R. Boldrewood.'
Why can't one perceive such results and consequences now and then? Why are so many of the important contracts and irrevocable promises of life entered into during one's most sanguine118, least reflective period? Will these questions ever be answered, and where? Still, were the veil lifted, what dread119 apparitions120 might we not behold121! 'Tis more mercifully arranged, be sure.
Thus we entered with a light heart into this Sedan business, much undervaluing our Prussians. After visiting Melbourne, it was arranged that delivery of stock and station should be taken within a specified122 time.
I didn't know much about sheep then; what a grim jest it reads like now! I had leisure for reflection on the subject in the aftertime. I judged it well to leave the apportioning123 of the flocks to my host and entertainer. He did far better for me than I could have done myself. I had every reason to be satisfied with the quality of the sixteen thousand instruments of my ruin. There was a noble flock of fat wethers, three thousand strong; for the rest, 'dry' ewes, breeders, weaners, two-tooths, were all good of their sort. After engaging one of the overseers, a shrewd, practical personage, I considered the establishment of my reputation as a successful wool-grower to be merely a question of time.
The Fiend is believed to back gamblers at an early stage of their career. It looked as if His Eminence124 gave my dice125 a good shake pour commencer. The first sale was brilliant: the whole cast of fat sheep to one buyer (at the rate of ￡1 each for wethers, and 15s. for ewes)—over six thousand in all. They were drafted, paid for, and on their way to Melbourne in the afternoon of the day on which the buyer arrived. 230The lambing was good; the wool sold at a paying price, considering the primitive126 style of washing. Next year, of course, all this would be altered. Meanwhile I surveyed the imprint127 'R.B.' over Murrabit on the wool-bales with great satisfaction.
'But surely,' says the practical reader, 'things were going well; season, prices, increase satisfactory. How did the fellow manage to make a mull of it?' There were reasons. The cost of a run bought 'bare' is unavoidably great. Huts, yards, woolshed, homestead, paddock, brushyards, lambers, washers, shearers, all cost money—are necessary, but expensive. The cheque stream was always flowing with a steady current, it seemed to me. Fat stock, too, the great source of profit in that district, gradually declined in price. Interest and commission, which amounted to 12? per cent or more, in one way and another, gradually told up. In 1861 an unprecedented128 fall took place in cattle, such as had not been felt 'since the gold.' Beeves fell to the price of stores. Buyers could not meet their engagements. The purchaser of my cattle-station in Western Victoria was among these. He was compelled to return it upon my hands after losing his cash deposit. Thus seriously hampered129, the finale was that I 'came out' without either station or a shilling in the world. What was worse, having caused others to suffer through my indebtedness.
The Murrabit was then sold, well improved, though not fenced, with twenty thousand good sheep on it, at ￡1: 5s. per head—￡25,000—nearly the same price at which I had purchased; but with four thousand more sheep, and costly130 improvements added, including a woolshed which had cost ￡500. The new purchaser paid ￡10,000 down, and I was sorry to hear afterwards lost everything in about the time it had taken me to perform the same feat131. But he had, I believe, the expense of fencing—an economical luxury then so impossible for a squatter to deny himself. In addition to this, that terrible synonym132 of ruin, sheep-scab, broke out in the district, and in time among the Murrabit sheep. This, of course, necessitated133 endless expenditure134 in labour, dressing-yards, dips, and what not. No further explanation is needed by the experienced as to why my equally unlucky successor went under.
231Talking of scab—now a tradition in Australia—it was then plentiful in Victoria, with the exception of certain favoured districts, among which the trans-Loddon country was numbered. Now in the days when Theophilus was king, foreseeing the ruin of the district (or chiefly, perhaps, to Ebden and Keene) which would ensue should the disease get a footing, he fought against its introduction, either by carelessness or greed, with all the vigilant135 energy of his nature.
There are men of contemplation, of science, of culture, of action. My experience has been that these qualities are but rarely united in the same individual. This may be the reason why 'Government by Talk' often breaks down disastrously—the man who can talk best being helpless and distracted when responsible action is imminent136. This by the way, however. Mr. Keene did not dissipate his intelligence in the consideration of abstract theories. He never, probably, in his life saw three courses open to him. But in war time he struck hard and promptly137. In most cases there was no need to strike twice.
Touching138 the scab pestilence139, this is how he 'saved his country.' Primarily he put pressure upon his neighbours, until they formed themselves into a league, offensive and defensive140. They did not trust to the Government official, presumably at times overworked, but they paid a private Inspector141 ￡200 a year, furnishing him also with serviceable horses and free quarters.
This gentleman—Mr. Smith, let us call him—an active young Australian, kept the sharpest look-out on all sheep approaching the borders of the 'Keene country.' He summoned the persons in charge if they made the least infraction142 of the Act, examined the flock most carefully for appearances of disease, and generally made life so unpleasant, not to say dangerous, for the persons in charge, that they took the first chance of altering their route. If there was the faintest room for doubt, down came Keene, breathing threats and slaughter143. And only after the most rigid144, prolonged inspection were they allowed to pass muster145. Why persons selfishly desired to carry disease into a clean district may be thus explained. Store sheep—especially if doubtful as to perfect cleanliness—were low in price in Western Victoria. Near to or across the New South Wales border they were always high. If, therefore, they could be driven to the Murray, the profits were considerable. 232No doubt such were made, at the risk of those proprietors146 through whose stations they passed. A single sheep left behind from such a flock, after weeks likely to 'break out' with the dire disease, might infect a district. Mr. Keene had fully29 determined147 that 'these accursed gains' should not be made at his expense.
One day he received notice from Mr. Smith that a lot of five thousand sheep of suspicious antecedents was approaching his kingdom. They were owned by a dealing148 squatter, who, having country both clean and doubtful, made it a pretext149 for travelling sheep, picked up in small numbers. 'From information received' just ere they had entered the clean country, Mr. Keene appeared with a strong force, with which he took possession of them under a warrant, obtained on oath that they were presumably scabby, had them examined by the Government official, who found the fatal acarus, obtained the necessary authority, cut their throats, and burned the five thousand to the last sheep.
After this holocaust150, remembered to this day, it became unfashionable to travel sheep near the Reedy Lake country. He 'who bare rule over all that land' rested temporarily from his labours. They were not light either, as may be inferred from a statement of one of his overseers to me that about that time, from ceaseless work in the saddle, anxiety, and worry, he had reduced himself to an absolute skeleton, and from emaciation151 could hardly sit on his horse. Nothing, perhaps, but such unrelenting watch and ward23 could have saved the district from infection. But he won the fight, and for years after, not, indeed, until Theophilus I. was safe in another hemisphere, did marauders of the class he so harried152 and vexed153 dare to cross the Loddon northwards. As soon as the normal state of carelessness and 'nobody's business' set in (Mr. Smith having been discontinued), the event foreseen by him took place. The district became infected, and Reedy Lake itself, Murrabit, and other runs, all suffered untold154 loss and injury. Rabbits came in to complete the desolation. What with Pental Island being advertised to be let by tender in farms, dingoes abounding155 in the mallee, free selectors swarming156 from Lake Charm to the Murray, irrigation even being practised near Kerang, if Mr. Keene could return to the country where once he could ride for forty miles on end 233requiring any man he met to state what he was doing there, he would find himself a stranger in a strange land. Without doubt he would take the first steamer back to England, hastening to lose sight and memory of a land so altered and be-devilled since the reign157 of the shepherd kings. Of this dynasty I hold 'Theophilus the First' to have been a more puissant158 potentate159 during his illustrious reign than many of the occupants of old-world thrones.
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everlastingly
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| 永久地，持久地 | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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tightens
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| 收紧( tighten的第三人称单数 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧 | |
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plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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grumble
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| vi.抱怨；咕哝；n.抱怨，牢骚；咕哝，隆隆声 | |
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appal
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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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omen
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autocrat
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laconic
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converse
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outrage
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creek
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creeks
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| n.小湾( creek的名词复数 )；小港；小河；小溪 | |
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astonishment
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reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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stumps
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| （被砍下的树的）树桩( stump的名词复数 )； 残肢； （板球三柱门的）柱； 残余部分 | |
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18
miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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19
frivolous
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| adj.轻薄的；轻率的 | |
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20
condole
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| v.同情；慰问 | |
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21
abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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22
burrow
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| vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞 | |
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23
ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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24
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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25
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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26
bowling
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| n.保龄球运动 | |
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27
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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28
negligent
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| adj.疏忽的；玩忽的；粗心大意的 | |
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29
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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30
shovelled
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| v.铲子( shovel的过去式和过去分词 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份 | |
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31
scoops
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| n.小铲( scoop的名词复数 )；小勺；一勺[铲]之量；（抢先刊载、播出的）独家新闻v.抢先报道( scoop的第三人称单数 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等） | |
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32
contractor
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| n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌 | |
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33
tract
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| n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林) | |
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34
talismanic
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| adj.护身符的，避邪的 | |
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35
vowed
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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36
veneration
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| n.尊敬，崇拜 | |
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37
ration
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| n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应 | |
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38
budge
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| v.移动一点儿；改变立场 | |
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39
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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40
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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41
northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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42
perilously
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| adv.充满危险地，危机四伏地 | |
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43
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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44
shafts
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| n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等） | |
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45
ridges
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| n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊 | |
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46
weirs
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| n.堰，鱼梁（指拦截游鱼的枝条篱）( weir的名词复数 ) | |
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47
dire
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| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
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48
persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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49
profane
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| adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污 | |
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50
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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51
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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52
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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53
verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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54
sparse
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| adj.稀疏的，稀稀落落的，薄的 | |
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55
fattening
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| adj.（食物）要使人发胖的v.喂肥( fatten的现在分词 )；养肥（牲畜）；使（钱）增多；使（公司）升值 | |
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56
calf
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| n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮 | |
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57
steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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58
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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59
deduction
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| n.减除，扣除，减除额；推论，推理，演绎 | |
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60
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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61
plentiful
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| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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62
granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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63
interspersed
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| adj.[医]散开的；点缀的v.intersperse的过去式和过去分词 | |
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64
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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65
ballad
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| n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲 | |
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66
aquiline
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| adj.钩状的，鹰的 | |
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67
slab
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| n.平板，厚的切片；v.切成厚板，以平板盖上 | |
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68
verging
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| 接近，逼近（verge的现在分词形式） | |
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69
dweller
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| n.居住者，住客 | |
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70
squatter
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| n.擅自占地者 | |
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71
astute
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| adj.机敏的，精明的 | |
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72
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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73
audited
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| v.审计，查账( audit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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74
revolved
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| v.（使）旋转( revolve的过去式和过去分词 )；细想 | |
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75
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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76
supervision
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| n.监督，管理 | |
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77
treasurer
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| n.司库，财务主管 | |
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78
superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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79
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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80
engrossing
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| adj.使人全神贯注的，引人入胜的v.使全神贯注( engross的现在分词 ) | |
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81
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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82
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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83
tout
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| v.推销，招徕；兜售；吹捧，劝诱 | |
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84
hurdles
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| n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛 | |
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85
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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86
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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87
pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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88
heralded
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| v.预示( herald的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布（好或重要） | |
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89
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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90
rib
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| n.肋骨，肋状物 | |
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91
loam
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| n.沃土 | |
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92
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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93
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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94
inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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95
precociously
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| Precociously | |
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96
monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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97
ravaged
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| 毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫 | |
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98
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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99
cod
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| n.鳕鱼；v.愚弄；哄骗 | |
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100
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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101
functionary
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| n.官员；公职人员 | |
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102
bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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103
missionaries
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| n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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104
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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105
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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106
conversion
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| n.转化，转换，转变 | |
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107
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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108
picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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109
lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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110
gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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111
eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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112
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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113
eucalypti
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| n.桉树 | |
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114
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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115
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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116
indenture
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| n.契约；合同 | |
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117
bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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118
sanguine
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| adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的 | |
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119
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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120
apparitions
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| n.特异景象( apparition的名词复数 )；幽灵；鬼；（特异景象等的）出现 | |
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121
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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122
specified
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| adj.特定的 | |
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123
apportioning
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| vt.分摊，分配（apportion的现在分词形式） | |
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124
eminence
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| n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家 | |
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125
dice
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| n.骰子；vt.把（食物）切成小方块，冒险 | |
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126
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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127
imprint
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| n.印痕，痕迹；深刻的印象；vt.压印，牢记 | |
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128
unprecedented
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| adj.无前例的，新奇的 | |
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129
hampered
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| 妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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130
costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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131
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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132
synonym
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| n.同义词，换喻词 | |
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133
necessitated
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| 使…成为必要，需要( necessitate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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134
expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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135
vigilant
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| adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的 | |
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136
imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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137
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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138
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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139
pestilence
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| n.瘟疫 | |
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140
defensive
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| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
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141
inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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142
infraction
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| n.违反；违法 | |
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143
slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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144
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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145
muster
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| v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册 | |
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146
proprietors
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| n.所有人，业主( proprietor的名词复数 ) | |
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147
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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148
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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149
pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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150
holocaust
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| n.大破坏；大屠杀 | |
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151
emaciation
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| n.消瘦，憔悴，衰弱 | |
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152
harried
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| v.使苦恼( harry的过去式和过去分词 )；不断烦扰；一再袭击；侵扰 | |
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153
vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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154
untold
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| adj.数不清的，无数的 | |
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155
abounding
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| adj.丰富的，大量的v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的现在分词 ) | |
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156
swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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157
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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158
puissant
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| adj.强有力的 | |
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159
potentate
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| n.统治者；君主 | |
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