How unhappy is that poor man who loses his liberty! What can the wide world give him in exchange? No degree of material comfort, no consciousness of correct behaviour, can balance the hateful degradation1 of imprisonment2. Before I had been an hour in captivity3, as the previous pages evidence, I resolved to escape. Many plans suggested themselves, were examined, and rejected. For a month I thought of nothing else. But the peril4 and difficulty restrained action. I think that it was the report of the British defeat at Stormberg that clinched5 the matter. All the news we heard in Pretoria was derived6 from Boer sources, and was hideously7 exaggerated and distorted. Every day we read in the 'Volksstem'—probably the most astounding9 tissue of lies ever presented to the public under the name of a newspaper—of Boer victories and of the huge slaughters10 and shameful11 flights of the British. However much one might doubt and discount these tales, they made a deep impression. A month's feeding on such literary garbage weakens the constitution of the mind. We wretched prisoners lost heart. Perhaps Great Britain would not persevere12; perhaps Foreign Powers would intervene; perhaps there would be another disgraceful, cowardly peace. At the best the war and our confinement13 would be prolonged for many months. I do not pretend that impatience14 at being locked up was not the foundation of my determination; but I should never have screwed up my courage to make the attempt without the earnest desire to do something, however small, to help the British cause. Of course, I am a man of peace. I did not then contemplate15 becoming an officer of Irregular Horse. But swords are not the only weapons in the world. Something may be done with a pen. So I determined16 to take all hazards; and, indeed, the affair was one of very great danger and difficulty.
The States Model Schools stand in the midst of a quadrangle, and are surrounded on two sides by an iron grille and on two by a corrugated17 iron fence about 10 ft. high. These boundaries offered little obstacle to anyone who possessed18 the activity of youth, but the fact that they were guarded on the inside by sentries19, fifty yards apart, armed with rifle and revolver, made them a well-nigh insuperable barrier. No walls are so hard to pierce as living walls. I thought of the penetrating20 power of gold, and the sentries were sounded. They were incorruptible. I seek not to deprive them of the credit, but the truth is that the bribery21 market in the Transvaal has been spoiled by the millionaires. I could not afford with my slender resources to insult them heavily enough. So nothing remained but to break out in spite of them. With another officer who may for the present—since he is still a prisoner—remain nameless, I formed a scheme.
PLAN OF STATES MODEL SCHOOLS
After anxious reflection and continual watching, it was discovered that when the sentries near the offices walked about on their beats they were at certain moments unable to see the top of a few yards of the wall. The electric lights in the middle of the quadrangle brilliantly lighted the whole place but cut off the sentries beyond them from looking at the eastern wall, for from behind the lights all seemed darkness by contrast. The first thing was therefore to pass the two sentries near the offices. It was necessary to hit off the exact moment when both their backs should be turned together. After the wall was scaled we should be in the garden of the villa22 next door. There our plan came to an end. Everything after this was vague and uncertain. How to get out of the garden, how to pass unnoticed through the streets, how to evade23 the patrols that surrounded the town, and above all how to cover the two hundred and eighty miles to the Portuguese24 frontiers, were questions which would arise at a later stage. All attempts to communicate with friends outside had failed. We cherished the hope that with chocolate, a little Kaffir knowledge, and a great deal of luck, we might march the distance in a fortnight, buying mealies at the native kraals and lying hidden by day. But it did not look a very promising25 prospect26.
We determined to try on the night of the 11th of December, making up our minds quite suddenly in the morning, for these things are best done on the spur of the moment. I passed the afternoon in positive terror. Nothing, since my schooldays, has ever disturbed me so much as this. There is something appalling27 in the idea of stealing secretly off in the night like a guilty thief. The fear of detection has a pang28 of its own. Besides, we knew quite well that on occasion, even on excuse, the sentries would fire. Fifteen yards is a short range. And beyond the immediate29 danger lay a prospect of severe hardship and suffering, only faint hopes of success, and the probability at the best of five months in Pretoria Gaol30.
The afternoon dragged tediously away. I tried to read Mr. Lecky's 'History of England,' but for the first time in my life that wise writer wearied me. I played chess and was hopelessly beaten. At last it grew dark. At seven o'clock the bell for dinner rang and the officers trooped off. Now was the time. But the sentries gave us no chance. They did not walk about. One of them stood exactly opposite the only practicable part of the wall. We waited for two hours, but the attempt was plainly impossible, and so with a most unsatisfactory feeling of relief to bed.
Tuesday, the 12th! Another day of fear, but fear crystallising more and more into desperation. Anything was better than further suspense31. Night came again. Again the dinner bell sounded. Choosing my opportunity I strolled across the quadrangle and secreted32 myself in one of the offices. Through a chink I watched the sentries. For half an hour they remained stolid33 and obstructive. Then all of a sudden one turned and walked up to his comrade and they began to talk. Their backs were turned. Now or never. I darted34 out of my hiding place and ran to the wall, seized the top with my hands and drew myself up. Twice I let myself down again in sickly hesitation35, and then with a third resolve scrambled36 up. The top was flat. Lying on it I had one parting glimpse of the sentries, still talking, still with their backs turned; but, I repeat, fifteen yards away. Then I lowered myself silently down into the adjoining garden and crouched37 among the shrubs38. I was free. The first step had been taken, and it was irrevocable.
It now remained to await the arrival of my comrade. The bushes of the garden gave a good deal of cover, and in the moonlight their shadows lay black on the ground. Twenty yards away was the house, and I had not been five minutes in hiding before I perceived that it was full of people; the windows revealed brightly lighted rooms, and within I could see figures moving about. This was a fresh complication. We had always thought the house unoccupied. Presently—how long afterwards I do not know, for the ordinary measures of time, hours, minutes, and seconds are quite meaningless on such occasions—a man came out of the door and walked across the garden in my direction. Scarcely ten yards away he stopped and stood still, looking steadily39 towards me. I cannot describe the surge of panic which nearly overwhelmed me. I must be discovered. I dared not stir an inch. My heart beat so violently that I felt sick. But amid a tumult40 of emotion, reason, seated firmly on her throne, whispered, 'Trust to the dark background.' I remained absolutely motionless. For a long time the man and I remained opposite each other, and every instant I expected him to spring forward. A vague idea crossed my mind that I might silence him. 'Hush41, I am a detective. We expect that an officer will break out here to-night. I am waiting to catch him.' Reason—scornful this time—replied: 'Surely a Transvaal detective would speak Dutch. Trust to the shadow.' So I trusted, and after a spell another man came out of the house, lighted a cigar, and both he and the other walked off together. No sooner had they turned than a cat pursued by a dog rushed into the bushes and collided with me. The startled animal uttered a 'miaul' of alarm and darted back again, making a horrible rustling42. Both men stopped at once. But it was only the cat, as they doubtless observed, and they passed out of the garden gate into the town.
I looked at my watch. An hour had passed since I climbed the wall. Where was my comrade? Suddenly I heard a voice from within the quadrangle say, quite loud, 'All up.' I crawled back to the wall. Two officers were walking up and down the other side jabbering43 Latin words, laughing and talking all manner of nonsense—amid which I caught my name. I risked a cough. One of the officers immediately began to chatter44 alone. The other said slowly and clearly, '... cannot get out. The sentry45 suspects. It's all up. Can you get back again?' But now all my fears fell from me at once. To go back was impossible. I could not hope to climb the wall unnoticed. Fate pointed46 onwards. Besides, I said to myself, 'Of course, I shall be recaptured, but I will at least have a run for my money.' I said to the officers, 'I shall go on alone.'
Now I was in the right mood for these undertakings—that is to say that, thinking failure almost certain, no odds48 against success affected49 me. All risks were less than the certainty. A glance at the plan (p. 182) will show that the rate which led into the road was only a few yards from another sentry. I said to myself, 'Toujours de l'audace:' put my hat on my head, strode into the middle of the garden, walked past the windows of the house without any attempt at concealment50, and so went through the gate and turned to the left. I passed the sentry at less than five yards. Most of them knew me by sight. Whether he looked at me or not I do not know, for I never turned my head. But after walking a hundred yards and hearing no challenge, I knew that the second obstacle had been surmounted51. I was at large in Pretoria.
I walked on leisurely52 through the night humming a tune53 and choosing the middle of the road. The streets were full of Burghers, but they paid no attention to me. Gradually I reached the suburbs, and on a little bridge I sat down to reflect and consider. I was in the heart of the enemy's country. I knew no one to whom I could apply for succour. Nearly three hundred miles stretched between me and Delagoa Bay. My escape must be known at dawn. Pursuit would be immediate. Yet all exits were barred. The town was picketed55, the country was patrolled, the trains were searched, the line was guarded. I had 75l. in my pocket and four slabs57 of chocolate, but the compass and the map which might have guided me, the opium58 tablets and meat lozenges which should have sustained me, were in my friend's pockets in the States Model Schools. Worst of all, I could not speak a word of Dutch or Kaffir, and how was I to get food or direction?
But when hope had departed, fear had gone as well. I formed a plan. I would find the Delagoa Bay Railway. Without map or compass I must follow that in spite of the pickets59. I looked at the stars. Orion shone brightly. Scarcely a year ago he had guided me when lost in the desert to the banks of the Nile. He had given me water. Now he should lead to freedom. I could not endure the want of either.
After walking south for half a mile, I struck the railroad. Was it the line to Delagoa Bay or the Pietersburg branch? If it were the former it should run east. But so far as I could see this line ran northwards. Still, it might be only winding60 its way out among the hills. I resolved to follow it. The night was delicious. A cool breeze fanned my face and a wild feeling of exhilaration took hold of me. At any rate, I was free, if only for an hour. That was something. The fascination61 of the adventure grew. Unless the stars in their courses fought for me I could not escape. Where, then, was the need of caution? I marched briskly along the line. Here and there the lights of a picket54 fire gleamed. Every bridge had its watchers. But I passed them all, making very short detours62 at the dangerous places, and really taking scarcely any precautions. Perhaps that was the reason I succeeded.
As I walked I extended my plan. I could not march three hundred miles to the frontier. I would board a train in motion and hide under the seats, on the roof, on the couplings—anywhere. What train should I take? The first, of course. After walking for two hours I perceived the signal lights of a station. I left the line, and, circling round it, hid in the ditch by the track about 200 yards beyond it. I argued that the train would stop at the station and that it would not have got up too much speed by the time it reached me. An hour passed. I began to grow impatient. Suddenly I heard the whistle and the approaching rattle63. Then the great yellow head lights of the engine flashed into view. The train waited five minutes at the station and started again with much noise and steaming. I crouched by the track. I rehearsed the act in my mind. I must wait until the engine had passed, otherwise I should be seen. Then I must make a dash for the carriages.
The train started slowly, but gathered speed sooner than I had expected. The flaring64 lights drew swiftly near. The rattle grew into a roar. The dark mass hung for a second above me. The engine-driver silhouetted65 against his furnace glow, the black profile of the engine, the clouds of steam rushed past. Then I hurled66 myself on the trucks, clutched at something, missed, clutched again, missed again, grasped some sort of hand-hold, was swung off my feet—my toes bumping on the line, and with a struggle seated myself on the couplings of the fifth truck from the front of the train. It was a goods train, and the trucks were full of sacks, soft sacks covered with coal dust. I crawled on top and burrowed67 in among them. In five minutes I was completely buried. The sacks were warm and comfortable. Perhaps the engine-driver had seen me rush up to the train and would give the alarm at the next station: on the other hand, perhaps not. Where was the train going to? Where would it be unloaded? Would it be searched? Was it on the Delagoa Bay line? What should I do in the morning? Ah, never mind that. Sufficient for the day was the luck thereof. Fresh plans for fresh contingencies68. I resolved to sleep, nor can I imagine a more pleasing lullaby than the clatter69 of the train that carries you at twenty miles an hour away from the enemy's capital.
How long I slept I do not know, but I woke up suddenly with all feelings of exhilaration gone, and only the consciousness of oppressive difficulties heavy on me. I must leave the train before daybreak, so that I could drink at a pool and find some hiding-place while it was still dark. Another night I would board another train. I crawled from my cosy70 hiding-place among the sacks and sat again on the couplings. The train was running at a fair speed, but I felt it was time to leave it. I took hold of the iron handle at the back of the truck, pulled strongly with my left hand, and sprang. My feet struck the ground in two gigantic strides, and the next instant I was sprawling71 in the ditch, considerably72 shaken but unhurt. The train, my faithful ally of the night, hurried on its journey.
It was still dark. I was in the middle of a wide valley, surrounded by low hills, and carpeted with high grass drenched73 in dew. I searched for water in the nearest gully, and soon found a clear pool. I was very thirsty, but long after I had quenched74 my thirst I continued to drink, that I might have sufficient for the whole day.
Presently the dawn began to break, and the sky to the east grew yellow and red, slashed75 across with heavy black clouds. I saw with relief that the railway ran steadily towards the sunrise. I had taken the right line, after all.
Having drunk my fill, I set out for the hills, among which I hoped to find some hiding-place, and as it became broad daylight I entered a small grove76 of trees which grew on the side of a deep ravine. Here I resolved to wait till dusk. I had one consolation77: no one in the world knew where I was—I did not know myself. It was now four o'clock. Fourteen hours lay between me and the night. My impatience to proceed, while I was still strong, doubled their length. At first it was terribly cold, but by degrees the sun gained power, and by ten o'clock the heat was oppressive. My sole companion was a gigantic vulture, who manifested an extravagant78 interest in my condition, and made hideous8 and ominous79 gurglings from time to time. From my lofty position I commanded a view of the whole valley. A little tin-roofed town lay three miles to the westward80. Scattered81 farmsteads, each with a clump82 of trees, relieved the monotony of the undulating ground. At the foot of the hill stood a Kaffir kraal, and the figures of its inhabitants dotted the patches of cultivation83 or surrounded the droves of goats and cows which fed on the pasture. The railway ran through the middle of the valley, and I could watch the passage of the various trains. I counted four passing each way, and from this I drew the conclusion that the same number would run by night. I marked a steep gradient up which they climbed very slowly, and determined at nightfall to make another attempt to board one of these. During the day I ate one slab56 of chocolate, which, with the heat, produced a violent thirst. The pool was hardly half a mile away, but I dared not leave the shelter of the little wood, for I could see the figures of white men riding or walking occasionally across the valley, and once a Boer came and fired two shots at birds close to my hiding-place. But no one discovered me.
The elation84 and the excitement of the previous night had burnt away, and a chilling reaction followed. I was very hungry, for I had had no dinner before starting, and chocolate, though it sustains, does not satisfy. I had scarcely slept, but yet my heart beat so fiercely and I was so nervous and perplexed85 about the future that I could not rest. I thought of all the chances that lay against me; I dreaded86 and detested87 more than words can express the prospect of being caught and dragged back to Pretoria. I do not mean that I would rather have died than have been retaken, but I have often feared death for much less. I found no comfort in any of the philosophical88 ideas which some men parade in their hours of ease and strength and safety. They seemed only fair-weather friends. I realised with awful force that no exercise of my own feeble wit and strength could save me from my enemies, and that without the assistance of that High Power which interferes89 in the eternal sequence of causes and effects more often than we are always prone90 to admit, I could never succeed. I prayed long and earnestly for help and guidance. My prayer, as it seems to me, was swiftly and wonderfully answered, I cannot now relate the strange circumstances which followed, and which changed my nearly hopeless position into one of superior advantage. But after the war is over I shall hope to lengthen91 this account, and so remarkable92 will the addition be that I cannot believe the reader will complain.
The long day reached its close at last. The western clouds flushed into fire; the shadows of the hills stretched out across the valley. A ponderous93 Boer waggon94, with its long team, crawled slowly along the track towards the town. The Kaffirs collected their herds95 and drew around their kraal. The daylight died, and soon it was quite dark. Then, and not till then, I set forth96, I hurried to the railway line, pausing on my way to drink at a stream of sweet, cold water. I waited for some time at the top of the steep gradient in the hope of catching97 a train. But none came, and I gradually guessed, and I have since found that I guessed right, that the train I had already travelled in was the only one that ran at night. At last I resolved to walk on, and make, at any rate, twenty miles of my journey. I walked for about six hours. How far I travelled I do not know, but I do not think that it was very many miles in the direct line. Every bridge was guarded by armed men; every few miles were gangers' huts; at intervals98 there were stations with villages clustering round them. All the veldt was bathed in the bright rays of the full moon, and to avoid these dangerous places I had to make wide circuits and often to creep along the ground. Leaving the railroad I fell into bogs99 and swamps, and brushed through high grass dripping with dew, so that I was drenched to the waist. I had been able to take little exercise during my month's imprisonment, and I was soon tired out with walking, as well as from want of food and sleep. I felt very miserable100 when I looked around and saw here and there the lights of houses, and thought of the warmth and comfort within them, but knew that they only meant danger to me. After six or seven hours of walking I thought it unwise to go further lest I should exhaust myself, so I lay down in a ditch to sleep. I was nearly at the end of my tether. Nevertheless, by the will of God, I was enabled to sustain myself during the next few days, obtaining food at great risk here and there, resting in concealment by day and walking only at night. On the fifth day I was beyond Middelburg, so far as I could tell, for I dared not inquire nor as yet approach the stations near enough to read the names. In a secure hiding-place I waited for a suitable train, knowing that there is a through service between Middelburg and Louren?o Marques.
Meanwhile there had been excitement in the States Model Schools, temporarily converted into a military prison. Early on Wednesday morning—barely twelve hours after I had escaped—my absence was discovered—I think by Dr. Gunning. The alarm was given. Telegrams with my description at great length were despatched along all the railways. Three thousand photographs were printed. A warrant was issued for my immediate arrest. Every train was strictly101 searched. Everyone was on the watch. The worthy102 Boshof, who knew my face well, was hurried off to Komati Poort to examine all and sundry103 people "with red hair" travelling towards the frontier. The newspapers made so much of the affair that my humble104 fortunes and my whereabouts were discussed in long columns of print, and even in the crash of the war I became to the Boers a topic all to myself. The rumours105 in part amused me. It was certain, said the "Standard and Diggers' News," that I had escaped disguised as a woman. The next day I was reported captured at Komati Poort dressed as a Transvaal policeman. There was great delight at this, which was only changed to doubt when other telegrams said that I had been arrested at Brugsbank, at Middelburg, and at Bronkerspruit. But the captives proved to be harmless people after all. Finally it was agreed that I had never left Pretoria. I had—it appeared—changed clothes with a waiter, and was now in hiding at the house of some British sympathiser in the capital. On the strength of this all the houses of suspected persons were searched from top to bottom, and these unfortunate people were, I fear, put to a great deal of inconvenience. A special commission was also appointed to investigate 'stringently106' (a most hateful adjective in such a connection) the causes 'which had rendered it possible for the War Correspondent of the "Morning Post" to escape.'
The 'Volksstem' noticed as a significant fact that I had recently become a subscriber107 to the State Library, and had selected Mill's essay 'On Liberty.' It apparently108 desired to gravely deprecate prisoners having access to such inflammatory literature. The idea will, perhaps, amuse those who have read the work in question.
I find it very difficult in the face of the extraordinary efforts which were made to recapture me, to believe that the Transvaal Government seriously contemplated109 my release before they knew I had escaped them. Yet a telegram was swiftly despatched from Pretoria to all the newspapers, setting forth the terms of a most admirable letter, in which General Joubert explained the grounds which prompted him generously to restore my liberty. I am inclined to think that the Boers hate being beaten even in the smallest things, and always fight on the win, tie, or wrangle110 principle; but in my case I rejoice I am not beholden to them, and have not thus been disqualified from fighting.
All these things may provoke a smile of indifference111, perhaps even of triumph, after the danger is past; but during the days when I was lying up in holes and corners, waiting for a good chance to board a train, the causes that had led to them preyed112 more than I knew on my nerves. To be an outcast, to be hunted, to lie under a warrant for arrest, to fear every man, to have imprisonment—not necessarily military confinement either—hanging overhead, to fly the light, to doubt the shadows—all these things ate into my soul and have left an impression that will not perhaps be easily effaced113.
On the sixth day the chance I had patiently waited for came. I found a convenient train duly labelled to Louren?o Marques standing114 in a siding. I withdrew to a suitable spot for boarding it—for I dared not make the attempt in the station—and, filling a bottle with water to drink on the way, I prepared for the last stage of my journey.
The truck in which I ensconced myself was laden115 with great sacks of some soft merchandise, and I found among them holes and crevices116 by means of which I managed to work my way to the inmost recess117. The hard floor was littered with gritty coal dust, and made a most uncomfortable bed. The heat was almost stifling118. I was resolved, however, that nothing should lure47 or compel me from my hiding-place until I reached Portuguese territory. I expected the journey to take thirty-six hours; it dragged out into two and a half days. I hardly dared sleep for fear of snoring.
I dreaded lest the trucks should be searched at Komati Poort, and my anxiety as the train approached this neighbourhood was very great. To prolong it we were shunted on to a siding for eighteen hours either at Komati Poort or the station beyond it. Once indeed they began to search my truck, and I heard the tarpaulin119 rustle120 as they pulled at it, but luckily they did not search deep enough, so that, providentially protected, I reached Delagoa Bay at last, and crawled forth from my place of refuge and of punishment, weary, dirty, hungry, but free once more.
Thereafter everything smiled. I found my way to the British Consul121, Mr. Ross, who at first mistook me for a fireman off one of the ships in the harbour, but soon welcomed me with enthusiasm. I bought clothes, I washed, I sat down to dinner with a real tablecloth122 and real glasses; and fortune, determined not to overlook the smallest detail, had arranged that the steamer 'Induna' should leave that very night for Durban. As soon as the news of my arrival spread about the town, I received many offers of assistance from the English residents, and lest any of the Boer agents with whom Louren?o Marques is infested123 should attempt to recapture me in neutral territory, nearly a dozen gentlemen escorted me to the steamer armed with revolvers. It is from the cabin of this little vessel124, as she coasts along the sandy shores of Africa, that I write the concluding lines of this letter, and the reader who may persevere through this hurried account will perhaps understand why I write them with a feeling of triumph, and better than triumph, a feeling of pure joy.
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degradation
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| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
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imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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captivity
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| n.囚禁；被俘；束缚 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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clinched
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| v.（尤指两人）互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的过去式和过去分词 )；解决（争端、交易），达成（协议） | |
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derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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hideously
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| adv.可怕地，非常讨厌地 | |
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hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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astounding
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| adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
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slaughters
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| v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的第三人称单数 ) | |
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shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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persevere
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| v.坚持，坚忍，不屈不挠 | |
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confinement
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| n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限 | |
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impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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contemplate
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| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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corrugated
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| adj.波纹的；缩成皱纹的；波纹面的；波纹状的v.（使某物）起皱褶(corrugate的过去式和过去分词) | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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sentries
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| 哨兵，步兵( sentry的名词复数 ) | |
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penetrating
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| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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bribery
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| n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿 | |
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villa
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| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
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evade
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| vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避 | |
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Portuguese
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| n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语 | |
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promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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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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pang
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| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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30
gaol
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| n.(jail)监狱；(不加冠词)监禁；vt.使…坐牢 | |
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31
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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32
secreted
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| v.（尤指动物或植物器官）分泌( secrete的过去式和过去分词 )；隐匿，隐藏 | |
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33
stolid
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| adj.无动于衷的，感情麻木的 | |
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34
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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35
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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36
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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37
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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38
shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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39
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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40
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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41
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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42
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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43
jabbering
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| v.急切而含混不清地说( jabber的现在分词 )；急促兴奋地说话；结结巴巴 | |
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44
chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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45
sentry
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| n.哨兵，警卫 | |
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46
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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47
lure
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| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
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48
odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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49
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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50
concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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51
surmounted
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| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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52
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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53
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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54
picket
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| n.纠察队；警戒哨；v.设置纠察线；布置警卫 | |
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55
picketed
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| 用尖桩围住（picket的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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56
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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57
slabs
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| n.厚板，平板，厚片( slab的名词复数 )；厚胶片 | |
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58
opium
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| n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的 | |
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59
pickets
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| 罢工纠察员( picket的名词复数 ) | |
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60
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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61
fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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62
detours
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| 绕行的路( detour的名词复数 )； 绕道，兜圈子 | |
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63
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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64
flaring
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| a.火焰摇曳的，过份艳丽的 | |
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65
silhouetted
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| 显出轮廓的，显示影像的 | |
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66
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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67
burrowed
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| v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的过去式和过去分词 )；翻寻 | |
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68
contingencies
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| n.偶然发生的事故，意外事故( contingency的名词复数 )；以备万一 | |
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69
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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70
cosy
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| adj.温暖而舒适的，安逸的 | |
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71
sprawling
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| adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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72
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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73
drenched
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| adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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74
quenched
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| 解（渴）( quench的过去式和过去分词 )； 终止（某事物）； （用水）扑灭（火焰等）； 将（热物体）放入水中急速冷却 | |
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75
slashed
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| v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减 | |
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76
grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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77
consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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78
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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79
ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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80
westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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81
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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82
clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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83
cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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84
elation
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| n.兴高采烈，洋洋得意 | |
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85
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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86
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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87
detested
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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88
philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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89
interferes
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| vi. 妨碍，冲突，干涉 | |
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90
prone
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| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
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91
lengthen
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| vt.使伸长，延长 | |
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92
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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93
ponderous
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| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
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94
waggon
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| n.运货马车，运货车；敞篷车箱 | |
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95
herds
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| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
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96
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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97
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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98
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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99
bogs
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| n.沼泽，泥塘( bog的名词复数 )；厕所v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的第三人称单数 )；妨碍，阻碍 | |
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100
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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101
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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102
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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103
sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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104
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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105
rumours
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| n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传 | |
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106
stringently
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| adv.严格地，严厉地 | |
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107
subscriber
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| n.用户，订户；（慈善机关等的）定期捐款者；预约者；签署者 | |
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108
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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109
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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110
wrangle
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| vi.争吵 | |
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111
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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112
preyed
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| v.掠食( prey的过去式和过去分词 )；掠食；折磨；（人）靠欺诈为生 | |
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113
effaced
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| v.擦掉( efface的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；超越；使黯然失色 | |
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114
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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115
laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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116
crevices
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| n.（尤指岩石的）裂缝，缺口( crevice的名词复数 ) | |
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117
recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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118
stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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119
tarpaulin
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| n.涂油防水布，防水衣，防水帽 | |
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120
rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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121
consul
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| n.领事；执政官 | |
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122
tablecloth
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| n.桌布，台布 | |
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123
infested
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| adj.为患的，大批滋生的（常与with搭配）v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 )；遍布于 | |
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124
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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