Charles does a little in gold, and a little in land; but his principal operations have always lain in the direction of diamonds. Only once in my life, indeed, have I seen him pay the slightest attention to poetry, and that was when I happened one day to recite the lines:—
Full many a gem1 of purest ray serene2
The dark, unfathomed caves of ocean bear.
He rubbed his hands at once and murmured enthusiastically, "I never thought of that. We might get up an Atlantic Exploration Syndicate, Limited." So attached is he to diamonds. You may gather, therefore, what a shock it was to that gigantic brain to learn that science was rapidly reaching a point where his favourite gems3 might become all at once a mere4 drug in the market. Depreciation5 is the one bugbear that perpetually torments6 Sir Charles's soul; that winter he stood within measurable distance of so appalling7 a calamity9.
It happened after this manner.
We were strolling along Piccadilly towards Charles's club one afternoon—he is a prominent member of the Croesus, in Pall8 Mall—when, near Burlington House, whom should we happen to knock up against but Sir Adolphus Cordery, the famous mineralogist, and leading spirit of the Royal Society! He nodded to us pleasantly. "Halloa, Vandrift," he cried, in his peculiarly loud and piercing voice; "you're the very man I wanted to meet to-day. Good morning, Wentworth. Well, how about diamonds now, Sir Gorgius? You'll have to sing small. It's all up with you Midases. Heard about this marvellous new discovery of Schleiermacher's? It's calculated to make you diamond kings squirm like an eel10 in a frying-pan."
I could see Charles wriggle11 inside his clothes. He was most uncomfortable. That a man like Cordery should say such things, in so loud a voice, on no matter how little foundation, openly in Piccadilly, was enough in itself to make a sensitive barometer12 such as Cloetedorp Golcondas go down a point or two.
"Hush13, hush!" Charles said solemnly, in that awed14 tone of voice which he always assumes when Money is blasphemed against. "Please don't talk quite so loud! All London can hear you."
Sir Adolphus ran his arm through Charles's most amicably16. There's nothing Charles hates like having his arm taken.
"Come along with me to the Athen?um," he went on, in the same stentorian17 voice, "and I'll tell you all about it. Most interesting discovery. Makes diamonds cheap as dirt. Calculated to supersede18 South Africa altogether."
Charles allowed himself to be dragged along. There was nothing else possible. Sir Adolphus continued, in a somewhat lower key, induced upon him by Charles's mute look of protest. It was a disquieting19 story. He told it with gleeful unction. It seems that Professor Schleiermacher, of Jena, "the greatest living authority on the chemistry of gems," he said, had lately invented, or claimed to have invented, a system for artificially producing diamonds, which had yielded most surprising and unexceptionable results.
Charles's lip curled slightly. "Oh, I know the sort of thing," he said. "I've heard of it before. Very inferior stones, quite small and worthless, produced at immense cost, and even then not worth looking at. I'm an old bird, you know, Cordery; not to be caught with chaff20. Tell me a better one!"
Sir Adolphus produced a small cut gem from his pocket. "How's that for the first water?" he inquired, passing it across, with a broad smile, to the sceptic. "Made under my own eyes—and quite inexpensively!"
Charles examined it close, stopping short against the railings in St. James's Square to look at it with his pocket-lens. There was no denying the truth. It was a capital small gem of the finest quality.
"Made under your own eyes?" he exclaimed, still incredulous. "Where, my dear sir?—at Jena?"
The answer was a thunderbolt from a blue sky. "No, here in London; last night as ever was; before myself and Dr. Gray; and about to be exhibited by the President himself at a meeting of Fellows of the Royal Society."
Charles drew a long breath. "This nonsense must be stopped," he said firmly—"it must be nipped in the bud. It won't do, my dear friend; we can't have such tampering21 with important Interests."
"How do you mean?" Cordery asked, astonished.
Charles gazed at him steadily22. I could see by the furtive23 gleam in my brother-in-law's eye he was distinctly frightened. "Where is the fellow?" he asked. "Did he come himself, or send over a deputy?"
"Here in London," Sir Adolphus replied. "He's staying at my house; and he says he'll be glad to show his experiments to anybody scientifically interested in diamonds. We propose to have a demonstration24 of the process to-night at Lancaster Gate. Will you drop in and see it?"
Would he "drop in" and see it? "drop in" at such a function! Could he possibly stop away? Charles clutched the enemy's arm with a nervous grip. "Look here, Cordery," he said, quivering; "this is a question affecting very important Interests. Don't do anything rash. Don't do anything foolish. Remember that Shares may rise or fall on this." He said "Shares" in a tone of profound respect that I can hardly even indicate. It was the crucial word in the creed25 of his religion.
"I should think it very probable," Sir Adolphus replied, with the callous26 indifference27 of the mere man of science to financial suffering.
Sir Charles was bland28, but peremptory29. "Now, observe," he said, "a grave responsibility rests on your shoulders. The Market depends upon you. You must not ask in any number of outsiders to witness these experiments. Have a few mineralogists and experts, if you like; but also take care to invite representatives of the menaced Interests. I will come myself—I'm engaged to dine out, but I can contract an indisposition; and I should advise you to ask Mosenheimer, and, say, young Phipson. They would stand for the mines, as you and the mineralogists would stand for science. Above all, don't blab; for Heaven's sake, let there be no premature30 gossip. Tell Schleiermacher not to go gassing and boasting of his success all over London."
"We are keeping the matter a profound secret, at Schleiermacher's own request," Cordery answered, more seriously.
"Which is why," Charles said, in his severest tone, "you bawled31 it out at the very top of your voice in Piccadilly!"
However, before nightfall, everything was arranged to Charles's satisfaction; and off we went to Lancaster Gate, with a profound expectation that the German professor would do nothing worth seeing.
He was a remarkable32-looking man, once tall, I should say, from his long, thin build, but now bowed and bent33 with long devotion to study and leaning over a crucible34. His hair, prematurely35 white, hung down upon his forehead, but his eye was keen and his mouth sagacious. He shook hands cordially with the men of science, whom he seemed to know of old, whilst he bowed somewhat distantly to the South African interest. Then he began to talk, in very German-English, helping36 out the sense now and again, where his vocabulary failed him, by waving his rather dirty and chemical-stained hands demonstratively about him. His nails were a sight, but his fingers, I must say, had the delicate shape of a man's accustomed to minute manipulation. He plunged37 at once into the thick of the matter, telling us briefly38 in his equally thick accent that he "now brobosed by his new brocess to make for us some goot and sadisfactory tiamonds."
He brought out his apparatus39, and explained—or, as he said, "eggsblained"—his novel method. "Tiamonds," he said, "were nozzing but pure crystalline carbon." He knew how to crystallise it—"zat was all ze secret." The men of science examined the pots and pans carefully. Then he put in a certain number of raw materials, and went to work with ostentatious openness. There were three distinct processes, and he made two stones by each simultaneously40. The remarkable part of his methods, he said, was their rapidity and their cheapness. In three-quarters of an hour (and he smiled sardonically) he could produce a diamond worth at current prices two hundred pounds sterling41. "As you shall now see me berform," he remarked, "viz zis simple abbaradus."
The materials fizzed and fumed42. The Professor stirred them. An unpleasant smell like burnt feathers pervaded43 the room. The scientific men craned their necks in their eagerness, and looked over one another; Vane-Vivian, in particular, was all attention. After three-quarters of an hour, the Professor, still smiling, began to empty the apparatus. He removed a large quantity of dust or powder, which he succinctly44 described as "by-broducts," and then took between finger and thumb from the midst of each pan a small white pebble45, not water-worn apparently46, but slightly rough and wart-like on the surface.
From one pair of the pannikins he produced two such stones, and held them up before us triumphantly47. "Zese," he said, "are genuine tiamonds, manufactured at a gost of fourteen shillings and siggspence abiece!" Then he tried the second pair. "Zese," he said, still more gleefully, "are broduced at a gost of eleffen and ninebence!" Finally, he came to the third pair, which he positively48 brandished49 before our astonished eyes. "And zese," he cried, transported, "haff gost me no more zan tree and eightbence!"
They were handed round for inspection50. Rough and uncut as they stood, it was, of course, impossible to judge of their value. But one thing was certain. The men of science had been watching close at the first, and were sure Herr Schleiermacher had not put the stones in; they were keen at the withdrawal51, and were equally sure he had taken them honestly out of the pannikins.
"I vill now disdribute zem," the Professor remarked in a casual tone, as if diamonds were peas, looking round at the company. And he singled out my brother-in-law. "One to Sir Charles!" he said, handing it; "one to Mr. Mosenheimer; one to Mr. Phibson—as representing the tiamond interest. Zen, one each to Sir Atolphus, to Dr. Gray, to Mr. Fane-Fiffian, as representing science. You will haff zem cut and rebort upon zem in due gourse. We meet again at zis blace ze day afder do-morrow."
Charles gazed at him reproachfully. The profoundest chords of his moral nature were stirred. "Professor," he said, in a voice of solemn warning, "Are you aware that, if you have succeeded, you have destroyed the value of thousands of pounds' worth of precious property?"
The Professor shrugged52 his shoulders. "Fot is dat to me?" he inquired, with a curious glance of contempt. "I am not a financier! I am a man of science. I seek to know; I do not seek to make a fortune."
"Shocking!" Charles exclaimed. "Shocking! I never before in my life beheld53 so strange an instance of complete insensibility to the claims of others!"
We separated early. The men of science were coarsely jubilant. The diamond interest exhibited a corresponding depression. If this news were true, they foresaw a slump54. Every eye grew dim. It was a terrible business.
Charles walked homeward with the Professor. He sounded him gently as to the sum required, should need arise, to purchase his secrecy55. Already Sir Adolphus had bound us all down to temporary silence—as if that were necessary; but Charles wished to know how much Schleiermacher would take to suppress his discovery. The German was immovable.
"No, no!" he replied, with positive petulance56. "You do not unterstant. I do not buy and sell. Zis is a chemical fact. We must bublish it for the sake off its seoretical falue. I do not care for wealse. I haff no time to waste in making money."
"What an awful picture of a misspent life!" Charles observed to me afterwards.
And, indeed, the man seemed to care for nothing on earth but the abstract question—not whether he could make good diamonds or not, but whether he could or could not produce a crystalline form of pure carbon!
On the appointed night Charles went back to Lancaster Gate, as I could not fail to remark, with a strange air of complete and painful preoccupation. Never before in his life had I seen him so anxious.
The diamonds were produced, with one surface of each slightly scored by the cutters, so as to show the water. Then a curious result disclosed itself. Strange to say, each of the three diamonds given to the three diamond kings turned out to be a most inferior and valueless stone; while each of the three intrusted to the care of the scientific investigators57 turned out to be a fine gem of the purest quality.
I confess it was a sufficiently58 suspicious conjunction. The three representatives of the diamond interest gazed at each other with inquiring side-glances. Then their eyes fell suddenly: they avoided one another. Had each independently substituted a weak and inferior natural stone for Professor Schleiermacher's manufactured pebbles59? It almost seemed so. For a moment, I admit, I was half inclined to suppose it. But next second I changed my mind. Could a man of Sir Charles Vandrift's integrity and high principle stoop for lucre's sake to so mean an expedient60?—not to mention the fact that, even if he did, and if Mosenheimer did likewise, the stones submitted to the scientific men would have amply sufficed to establish the reality and success of the experiments!
Still, I must say, Charles looked guiltily across at Mosenheimer, and Mosenheimer at Phipson, while three more uncomfortable or unhappy-faced men could hardly have been found at that precise minute in the City of Westminster.
Then Sir Adolphus spoke—or, rather, he orated. He said, in his loud and grating voice, we had that evening, and on a previous evening, been present at the conception and birth of an Epoch61 in the History of Science. Professor Schleiermacher was one of those men of whom his native Saxony might well be proud; while as a Briton he must say he regretted somewhat that this discovery, like so many others, should have been "Made in Germany." However, Professor Schleiermacher was a specimen62 of that noble type of scientific men to whom gold was merely the rare metal Au, and diamonds merely the element C in the scarcest of its manifold allotropic embodiments. The Professor did not seek to make money out of his discovery. He rose above the sordid63 greed of capitalists. Content with the glory of having traced the element C to its crystalline origin, he asked no more than the approval of science. However, out of deference64 to the wishes of those financial gentlemen who were oddly concerned in maintaining the present price of C in its crystalline form—in other words, the diamond interest—they had arranged that the secret should be strictly65 guarded and kept for the present; not one of the few persons admitted to the experiments would publicly divulge66 the truth about them. This secrecy would be maintained till he himself, and a small committee of the Royal Society, should have time to investigate and verify for themselves the Professor's beautiful and ingenious processes—an investigation67 and verification which the learned Professor himself both desired and suggested. (Schleiermacher nodded approval.) When that was done, if the process stood the test, further concealment68 would be absolutely futile69. The price of diamonds must fall at once below that of paste, and any protest on the part of the financial world would, of course, be useless. The laws of Nature were superior to millionaires. Meanwhile, in deference to the opinion of Sir Charles Vandrift, whose acquaintance with that fascinating side of the subject nobody could deny, they had consented to send no notices to the Press, and to abstain70 from saying anything about this beautiful and simple process in public. He dwelt with horrid71 gusto on that epithet72 "beautiful." And now, in the name of British mineralogy, he must congratulate Professor Schleiermacher, our distinguished73 guest, on his truly brilliant and crystalline contribution to our knowledge of brilliants and of crystalline science.
Everybody applauded. It was an awkward moment. Sir Charles bit his lip. Mosenheimer looked glum74. Young Phipson dropped an expression which I will not transcribe75. (I understand this work may circulate among families.) And after a solemn promise of death-like secrecy, the meeting separated.
I noticed that my brother-in-law somewhat ostentatiously avoided Mosenheimer at the door; and that Phipson jumped quickly into his own carriage. "Home!" Charles cried gloomily to the coachman as we took our seats in the brougham. And all the way to Mayfair he leaned back in his seat, with close-set lips, never uttering a syllable76.
Before he retired77 to rest, however, in the privacy of the billiard-room, I ventured to ask him: "Charles, will you unload Golcondas to-morrow?" Which, I need hardly explain, is the slang of the Stock Exchange for getting rid of undesirable78 securities. It struck me as probable that, in the event of the invention turning out a reality, Cloetedorp A's might become unsaleable within the next few weeks or so.
He eyed me sternly. "Wentworth," he said, "you're a fool!" (Except on occasions when he is very angry, my respected connection never calls me "Wentworth"; the familiar abbreviation, "Sey"—derived from Seymour—is his usual mode of address to me in private.) "Is it likely I would unload, and wreck79 the confidence of the public in the Cloetedorp Company at such a moment? As a director—as Chairman—would it be just or right of me? I ask you, sir, could I reconcile it to my conscience?"
"Charles," I answered, "you are right. Your conduct is noble. You will not save your own personal interests at the expense of those who have put their trust in you. Such probity80 is, alas81! very rare in finance!" And I sighed involuntarily; for I had lost in Liberators.
At the same time I thought to myself, "I am not a director. No trust is reposed82 in me. I have to think first of dear Isabel and the baby. Before the crash comes I will sell out to-morrow the few shares I hold, through Charles's kindness, in the Cloetedorp Golcondas."
With his marvellous business instinct, Charles seemed to divine my thought, for he turned round to me sharply. "Look here, Sey," he remarked, in an acidulous83 tone, "recollect84, you're my brother-in-law. You are also my secretary. The eyes of London will be upon us to-morrow. If you were to sell out, and operators got to know of it, they'd suspect there was something up, and the company would suffer for it. Of course, you can do what you like with your own property. I can't interfere85 with that. I do not dictate86 to you. But as Chairman of the Golcondas, I am bound to see that the interests of widows and orphans87 whose All is invested with me should not suffer at this crisis." His voice seemed to falter88. "Therefore, though I don't like to threaten," he went on, "I am bound to give you warning: if you sell out those shares of yours, openly or secretly, you are no longer my secretary; you receive forthwith six months' salary in lieu of notice, and—you leave me instantly."
"Very well, Charles," I answered, in a submissive voice; though I debated with myself for a moment whether it would be best to stick to the ready money and quit the sinking ship, or to hold fast by my friend, and back Charles's luck against the Professor's science. After a short, sharp struggle within my own mind, I am proud to say, friendship and gratitude89 won. I felt sure that, whether diamonds went up or down, Charles Vandrift was the sort of man who would come to the top in the end in spite of everything. And I decided90 to stand by him!
I slept little that night, however. My mind was a whirlwind. At breakfast Charles also looked haggard and moody91. He ordered the carriage early, and drove straight into the City.
There was a block in Cheapside. Charles, impatient and nervous, jumped out and walked. I walked beside him. Near Wood Street a man we knew casually92 stopped us.
"I think I ought to mention to you," he said, confidentially93, "that I have it on the very best authority that Schleiermacher, of Jena—"
"Thank you," Charles said, crustily, "I know that tale, and—there's not a word of truth in it."
He brushed on in haste. A yard or two farther a broker95 paused in front of us.
"Halloa, Sir Charles!" he called out, in a bantering96 tone. "What's all this about diamonds? Where are Cloetedorps to-day? Is it Golconda, or Queer Street?"
Charles drew himself up very stiff. "I fail to understand you," he answered, with dignity.
"Why, you were there yourself," the man cried. "Last night at Sir Adolphus's! Oh yes, it's all over the place; Schleiermacher of Jena has succeeded in making the most perfect diamonds—for sixpence apiece—as good as real—and South Africa's ancient history. In less than six weeks Kimberley, they say, will be a howling desert. Every costermonger in Whitechapel will wear genuine Koh-i-noors for buttons on his coat; every girl in Bermondsey will sport a rivière like Lady Vandrift's to her favourite music-hall. There's a slump in Golcondas. Sly, sly, I can see; but we know all about it!"
Charles moved on, disgusted. The man's manners were atrocious. Near the Bank we ran up against a most respectable jobber97.
"Ah, Sir Charles," he said; "you here? Well, this is strange news, isn't it? For my part, I advise you not to take it too seriously. Your stock will go down, of course, like lead this morning. But it'll rise to-morrow, mark my words, and fluctuate every hour till the discovery's proved or disproved for certain. There's a fine time coming for operators, I feel sure. Reports this way and that. Rumours98, rumours, rumours. And nobody will know which way to believe till Sir Adolphus has tested it."
We moved on towards the House. Black care was seated on Sir Charles's shoulders. As we drew nearer and nearer, everybody was discussing the one fact of the moment. The seal of secrecy had proved more potent100 than publication on the housetops. Some people told us of the exciting news in confidential94 whispers; some proclaimed it aloud in vulgar exultation101. The general opinion was that Cloetedorps were doomed102, and that the sooner a man cleared out the less was he likely to lose by it.
Charles strode on like a general; but it was a Napoleon brazening out his retreat from Moscow. His mien103 was resolute104. He disappeared at last into the precincts of an office, waving me back, not to follow. After a long consultation105 he came out and rejoined me.
All day long the City rang with Golcondas, Golcondas. Everybody murmured, "Slump, slump in Golcondas." The brokers106 had more business to do than they could manage; though, to be sure, almost every one was a seller and no one a buyer. But Charles stood firm as a rock, and so did his brokers. "I don't want to sell," he said, doggedly107. "The whole thing is trumped108 up. It's a mere piece of jugglery109. For my own part, I believe Professor Schleiermacher is deceived, or else is deceiving us. In another week the bubble will have burst, and prices will restore themselves." His brokers, Finglemores, had only one answer to all inquiries110: "Sir Charles has every confidence in the stability of Golcondas, and doesn't wish to sell or to increase the panic."
All the world said he was splendid, splendid! There he stationed himself on 'Change like some granite111 stack against which the waves roll and break themselves in vain. He took no notice of the slump, but ostentatiously bought up a few shares here and there so as to restore public confidence.
"I would buy more," he said, freely, "and make my fortune; only, as I was one of those who happened to spend last night at Sir Adolphus's, people might think I had helped to spread the rumour99 and produce the slump, in order to buy in at panic rates for my own advantage. A chairman, like Caesar's wife, should be above suspicion. So I shall only buy up just enough, now and again, to let people see I, at least, have no doubt as to the firm future of Cloetedorps."
He went home that night, more harassed112 and ill than I have ever seen him. Next day was as bad. The slump continued, with varying episodes. Now, a rumour would surge up that Sir Adolphus had declared the whole affair a sham113, and prices would steady a little; now, another would break out that the diamonds were actually being put upon the market in Berlin by the cart-load, and timid old ladies would wire down to their brokers to realise off-hand at whatever hazard. It was an awful day. I shall never forget it.
The morning after, as if by miracle, things righted themselves of a sudden. While we were wondering what it meant, Charles received a telegram from Sir Adolphus Cordery:—
"The man is a fraud. Not Schleiermacher at all. Just had a wire from Jena saying the Professor knows nothing about him. Sorry unintentionally to have caused you trouble. Come round and see me."
"Sorry unintentionally to have caused you trouble." Charles was beside himself with anger. Sir Adolphus had upset the share-market for forty-eight mortal hours, half-ruined a round dozen of wealthy operators, convulsed the City, upheaved the House, and now—he apologised for it as one might apologise for being late ten minutes for dinner! Charles jumped into a hansom and rushed round to see him. How had he dared to introduce the impostor to solid men as Professor Schleiermacher? Sir Adolphus shrugged his shoulders. The fellow had come and introduced himself as the great Jena chemist; he had long white hair, and a stoop in the shoulders. What reason had he for doubting his word? (I reflected to myself that on much the same grounds Charles in turn had accepted the Honourable114 David Granton and Graf von Lebenstein.) Besides, what object could the creature have for this extraordinary deception115? Charles knew only too well. It was clear it was done to disturb the diamond market, and we realised, too late, that the man who had done it was—Colonel Clay, in "another of his manifold allotropic embodiments!" Charles had had his wish, and had met his enemy once more in London!
We could see the whole plot. Colonel Clay was polymorphic, like the element carbon! Doubtless, with his extraordinary sleight116 of hand, he had substituted real diamonds for the shapeless mass that came out of the apparatus, in the interval117 between handing the pebbles round for inspection, and distributing them piecemeal118 to the men of science and representatives of the diamond interest. We all watched him closely, of course, when he opened the crucibles119; but when once we had satisfied ourselves that something came out, our doubts were set at rest, and we forgot to watch whether he distributed those somethings or not to the recipients120. Conjurers always depend upon such momentary121 distractions122 or lapses123 of attention. As usual, too, the Professor had disappeared into space the moment his trick was once well performed. He vanished like smoke, as the Count and Seer had vanished before, and was never again heard of.
Charles went home more angry than I have ever beheld him. I couldn't imagine why. He seemed as deeply hipped124 as if he had lost his thousands. I endeavoured to console him. "After all," I said, "though Golcondas have suffered a temporary loss, it's a comfort to think that you should have stood so firm, and not only stemmed the tide, but also prevented yourself from losing anything at all of your own through panic. I'm sorry, of course, for the widows and orphans; but if Colonel Clay has rigged the market, at least it isn't YOU who lose by it this time."
Charles withered125 me with a fierce scowl126 of undisguised contempt. "Wentworth," he said once more, "you are a fool!" Then he relapsed into silence.
"But you declined to sell out," I said.
He gazed at me fixedly127. "Is it likely," he asked at last, "I would tell you if I meant to sell out? or that I'd sell out openly through Finglemore, my usual broker? Why, all the world would have known, and Golcondas would have been finished. As it is, I don't desire to tell an ass15 like you exactly how much I've lost. But I did sell out, and some unknown operator bought in at once, and closed for ready money, and has sold again this morning; and after all that has happened, it will be impossible to track him. He didn't wait for the account: he settled up instantly. And he sold in like manner. I know now what has been done, and how cleverly it has all been disguised and covered; but the most I'm going to tell you to-day is just this—it's by far the biggest haul Colonel Clay has made out of me. He could retire on it if he liked. My one hope is, it may satisfy him for life; but, then, no man has ever had enough of making money."
"You sold out!" I exclaimed. "You, the Chairman of the company! You deserted128 the ship! And how about your trust? How about the widows and orphans confided129 to you?"
Charles rose and faced me. "Seymour Wentworth," he said, in his most solemn voice, "you have lived with me for years and had every advantage. You have seen high finance. Yet you ask me that question! It's my belief you will never, never understand business!"
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gem
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| n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel | |
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serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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gems
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| growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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depreciation
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| n.价值低落，贬值，蔑视，贬低 | |
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torments
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| （肉体或精神上的）折磨，痛苦( torment的名词复数 )； 造成痛苦的事物[人] | |
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appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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pall
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calamity
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eel
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wriggle
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barometer
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| n.气压表，睛雨表，反应指标 | |
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hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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awed
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| adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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ass
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amicably
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stentorian
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supersede
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disquieting
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| adj.令人不安的，令人不平静的v.使不安，使忧虑，使烦恼( disquiet的现在分词 ) | |
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20
chaff
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| v.取笑，嘲笑；n.谷壳 | |
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21
tampering
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| v.窜改( tamper的现在分词 )；篡改；（用不正当手段）影响；瞎摆弄 | |
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22
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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23
furtive
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| adj.鬼鬼崇崇的，偷偷摸摸的 | |
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24
demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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25
creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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26
callous
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| adj.无情的，冷淡的，硬结的，起老茧的 | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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28
bland
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| adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的 | |
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29
peremptory
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| adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的 | |
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30
premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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31
bawled
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| v.大叫，大喊( bawl的过去式和过去分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物） | |
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32
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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33
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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34
crucible
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| n.坩锅，严酷的考验 | |
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35
prematurely
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| adv.过早地，贸然地 | |
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36
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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37
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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38
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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39
apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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40
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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41
sterling
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| adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑) | |
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42
fumed
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| 愤怒( fume的过去式和过去分词 )； 大怒； 发怒； 冒烟 | |
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43
pervaded
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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44
succinctly
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| adv.简洁地；简洁地，简便地 | |
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45
pebble
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| n.卵石，小圆石 | |
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46
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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47
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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48
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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49
brandished
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| v.挥舞( brandish的过去式和过去分词 )；炫耀 | |
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50
inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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51
withdrawal
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| n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销 | |
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52
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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53
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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54
slump
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| n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌 | |
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55
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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56
petulance
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| n.发脾气，生气，易怒，暴躁，性急 | |
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57
investigators
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| n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 ) | |
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58
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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59
pebbles
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| [复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 ) | |
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60
expedient
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| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
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61
epoch
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| n.(新)时代；历元 | |
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62
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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63
sordid
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| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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64
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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65
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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66
divulge
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| v.泄漏(秘密等)；宣布，公布 | |
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67
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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68
concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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69
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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70
abstain
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| v.自制，戒绝，弃权，避免 | |
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71
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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72
epithet
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| n.（用于褒贬人物等的）表述形容词，修饰语 | |
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73
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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74
glum
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| adj.闷闷不乐的，阴郁的 | |
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75
transcribe
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| v.抄写，誉写；改编(乐曲)；复制，转录 | |
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76
syllable
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| n.音节；vt.分音节 | |
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77
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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78
undesirable
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| adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子 | |
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79
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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80
probity
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| n.刚直；廉洁，正直 | |
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81
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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82
reposed
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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83
acidulous
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| adj.微酸的；苛薄的 | |
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84
recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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85
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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86
dictate
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| v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令 | |
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87
orphans
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| 孤儿( orphan的名词复数 ) | |
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88
falter
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| vi.(嗓音)颤抖，结巴地说；犹豫；蹒跚 | |
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89
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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90
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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91
moody
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| adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的 | |
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92
casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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93
confidentially
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| ad.秘密地，悄悄地 | |
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94
confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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95
broker
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| n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排 | |
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96
bantering
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| adj.嘲弄的v.开玩笑，说笑，逗乐( banter的现在分词 )；（善意地）取笑，逗弄 | |
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97
jobber
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| n.批发商；(股票买卖)经纪人；做零工的人 | |
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98
rumours
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| n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传 | |
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99
rumour
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| n.谣言，谣传，传闻 | |
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100
potent
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| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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101
exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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102
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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103
mien
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| n.风采；态度 | |
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104
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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105
consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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106
brokers
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| n.（股票、外币等）经纪人( broker的名词复数 )；中间人；代理商；（订合同的）中人v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的第三人称单数 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排… | |
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107
doggedly
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| adv.顽强地，固执地 | |
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108
trumped
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| v.（牌戏）出王牌赢（一牌或一墩）( trump的过去分词 )；吹号公告，吹号庆祝；吹喇叭；捏造 | |
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109
jugglery
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| n.杂耍，把戏 | |
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110
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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111
granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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112
harassed
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| adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词 | |
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113
sham
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| n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的) | |
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114
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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115
deception
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| n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计 | |
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116
sleight
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| n.技巧，花招 | |
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117
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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118
piecemeal
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| adj.零碎的；n.片，块；adv.逐渐地；v.弄成碎块 | |
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119
crucibles
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| n.坩埚，严酷的考验（ crucible的名词复数 ） | |
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120
recipients
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| adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器 | |
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121
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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122
distractions
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| n.使人分心的事[人]( distraction的名词复数 )；娱乐，消遣；心烦意乱；精神错乱 | |
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123
lapses
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| n.失误，过失( lapse的名词复数 )；小毛病；行为失检；偏离正道v.退步( lapse的第三人称单数 )；陷入；倒退；丧失 | |
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124
hipped
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| adj.着迷的，忧郁的 | |
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125
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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126
scowl
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| vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容 | |
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127
fixedly
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| adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地 | |
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128
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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129
confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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