CHAPTER XVII

 Pocahontas, having heard of the arrival of the white squaws at Jamestown, soon came to see them for herself. Seeking out Smith as usual, she plied¹ him with questions concerning them.

 

“Pocahontas wants to see the white squaws.”

 

“So you shall, my child,” replied her “father.” Taking her by the hand he led her to the cabin of Mrs. Forrest. “This is my little Indian maid, madam, of whom you have heard me speak.”

 

Motherly Mrs. Forrest tried by signs to make her understand that she was glad to see her. Helped out by Pocahontas’s imperfect English and Smith’s interpretations², the conversation proceeded to the mutual³ satisfaction of both.

 

“Here is a maiden⁴ of the pale faces, my child,” said Captain Smith as Anne came tripping up with ruffs in her hands, fresh from the clear starching⁵. “Well, Mistress Anne, how is your health this bright morning?” said Smith, at the same time tilting⁶ the winsome⁷ little face upward with his finger.

 

Instantly the fires of jealousy⁸ blazed in the eyes of Pocahontas, and she stamped her foot upon the ground.

 

“Why, my child, what means this unseemly behavior?” exclaimed Smith. “Come, show your kindly⁹ smile to the white maiden.”

 

“Pocahontas likes not—she hates—she will kill!” exclaimed the Indian maid, her voice rising in frenzy¹⁰ at every breath.

 

“Mind her not, Anne, it is but the jealousy of a child.

 

“My little one, your father is yours, he belongs to you,” he soothingly¹¹ said, drawing the trembling Pocahontas into his encircling arms and feeling her beating heart fluttering like a caged bird.

 

With much coaxing¹² she consented to smile upon Mrs. Forrest, but any advance upon the part of Anne was met by a fierce scowl¹³. Poor Indian maid! Her loving heart could not bear the pain of seeing her hero give even a fleeting¹⁴ caress¹⁵ to another.

1 plied   

v.使用（工具）( ply的过去式和过去分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意

参考例句：

• They plied me with questions about my visit to England. 他们不断地询问我的英国之行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They plied us with tea and cakes. 他们一个劲儿地让我们喝茶、吃糕饼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 interpretations   

n.解释( interpretation的名词复数 )；表演；演绎；理解

参考例句：

• This passage is open to a variety of interpretations. 这篇文章可以有各种不同的解释。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The involved and abstruse passage makes several interpretations possible. 这段艰涩的文字可以作出好几种解释。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

4 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

5 starching   

v.把（衣服、床单等）浆一浆( starch的现在分词 )；上浆

参考例句：

• The worker is starching the linen. 这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He spent two hours starching up the cloth. 他用了2个小给这块布料上浆。 来自互联网

6 tilting   

倾斜，倾卸

参考例句：

• For some reason he thinks everyone is out to get him, but he's really just tilting at windmills. 不知为什么他觉得每个人都想害他，但其实他不过是在庸人自扰。
• So let us stop bickering within our ranks.Stop tilting at windmills. 所以，让我们结束内部间的争吵吧！再也不要去做同风车作战的蠢事了。

7 winsome   

n.迷人的，漂亮的

参考例句：

• She gave him her best winsome smile.她给了他一个最为迷人的微笑。
• She was a winsome creature.她十分可爱。

8 jealousy   

n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌

参考例句：

• Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
• I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。

9 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

10 frenzy   

n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动

参考例句：

• He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
• They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。

11 soothingly   

adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地

参考例句：

• The mother talked soothingly to her child. 母亲对自己的孩子安慰地说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He continued to talk quietly and soothingly to the girl until her frightened grip on his arm was relaxed. 他继续柔声安慰那姑娘，她那因恐惧而紧抓住他的手终于放松了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 coaxing   

v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的现在分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱；“锻炼”效应

参考例句：

• No amount of coaxing will make me change my mind. 任你费尽口舌也不会说服我改变主意。
• It took a lot of coaxing before he agreed. 劝说了很久他才同意。 来自辞典例句

13 scowl   

vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容

参考例句：

• I wonder why he is wearing an angry scowl.我不知道他为何面带怒容。
• The boss manifested his disgust with a scowl.老板面带怒色，清楚表示出他的厌恶之感。

14 fleeting   

adj.短暂的，飞逝的

参考例句：

• The girls caught only a fleeting glimpse of the driver.女孩们只匆匆瞥了一眼司机。
• Knowing the life fleeting,she set herself to enjoy if as best as she could.她知道这种日子转瞬即逝，于是让自已尽情地享受。

15 caress   

vt./n.爱抚，抚摸

参考例句：

• She gave the child a loving caress.她疼爱地抚摸着孩子。
• She feasted on the caress of the hot spring.她尽情享受着温泉的抚爱。