Chapter 34

 Jean stepped over the bodies of two or three drunked NationalGuards and found himself in the room occupied by Colonel Tudescoand in that worthy's presence. The Colonel lay snoring on a satinsofa, a cold chicken on the table at his elbow. He wore his spurs.

Jean shook him roughly by the shoulder and asked him where theportrait came from, declaring that he, Jean, had not the smallestwish to keep it. The Colonel woke, but his speech was thick andhis memory confused. His mind was full of his underground passages.

He was commander of them all and could not find one. There wassomething in this fact that offended his sense of justice. TheLady Superior of the Nuns¹ of Marie-Joseph had refused to betraythe secret of the famous Saint-Lazare tunnel.

"She has refused," declared the old Italian, "out of contumacy--andalso, perhaps, because there is no tunnel. And, since truth mustout, I'm bound to say, if I was not Commandant of the subterraneanpassages of the capital, I should really think there were none."His wits came back little by little.

"Young man, you have seen the soldier reposing² from his labours.

What question have you come to ask the veteran champion of freedom?""About Bargemont? About that portrait?""I know, I know. I proceeded with a dozen men to his domicileto arrest him, but he had taken to flight, the coward! I carriedout a perquisition in his rooms. In the _salon_ I saw MadameBargemont's portrait and I said: 'That lady looks as sad as MonsieurJean Servien. They are both victims of the infamous³ Bargemont;I will bring them together and they shall console each other.'

Monsieur Servien, oblige me by tasting that cognac; it comesfrom the cellar of your odious⁴ rival."He poured the brandy into two big glasses and hiccuped⁵ with alaugh:

"The cognac of an enemy tastes well."Then he fell back on the sofa, muttering:

"The soldier reposing----"His face was crimson⁶. Jean shrugged⁷ his shoulders and left theroom. He had hardly opened the door when the old man began howlingin his sleep: "Help! help! they're murdering me."In an instant the _fédérés_ on guard hurled⁸ themselves upon Jean;he could feel the cold muzzles⁹ of revolvers at his temples andhear rifles banging off at random¹⁰ in the ante-room.

The Colonel was raving¹¹ in the frenzy¹² of alcoholic¹³ delirium¹⁴, writhingin horrible convulsions and yelling: "He has killed me! he hasmurdered me!""He has murdered the Colonel," the _fédérés_ took up the cry.

"He has poisoned him. Take him before the court martial¹⁵.""Shoot him right away. He's an assassin; the Versaillais havesent him.""Off with him to the lock-up!"Servien's denials and struggles were in vain. Again and againhe protested:

"You can see for yourselves he's drunk and asleep!""Listen to him--he is insulting the sovereign people.""Pitch him in the river!""Swing him on a lamp-post.""Shoot him!"Bundled down the stairs, rifle-butts prodding¹⁶ him in the backto help him along, Jean was haled before an officer, who thereand then signed an order of arrest.

1 nuns   

n.（通常指基督教的）修女， （佛教的）尼姑( nun的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Ah Q had always had the greatest contempt for such people as little nuns. 小尼姑之流是阿Q本来视如草芥的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Nuns are under vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. 修女须立誓保持清贫、贞洁、顺从。 来自辞典例句

2 reposing   

v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His parents were now reposing in the local churchyard. 他的双亲现在长眠于本地教堂墓地。 来自辞典例句
• The picture shows a nude reposing on a couch. 这幅画表现的是一个人赤身体躺在长沙发上。 来自辞典例句

3 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

4 odious   

adj.可憎的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• The judge described the crime as odious.法官称这一罪行令人发指。
• His character could best be described as odious.他的人格用可憎来形容最贴切。

5 hiccuped   

v.嗝( hiccup的过去式和过去分词 )；连续地打嗝；暂时性的小问题；短暂的停顿

参考例句：

• Even when companies have run into trouble, the debt markets have just hiccuped and soldiered on. 即使当这些公司遇到麻烦，债市只是打个隔然后继续运转。 来自互联网

6 crimson   

n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色

参考例句：

• She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
• Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。

7 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 muzzles   

枪口( muzzle的名词复数 )； （防止动物咬人的）口套； （四足动物的）鼻口部； （狗）等凸出的鼻子和口

参考例句：

• Several muzzles at once aimed at the fleeing birds in the air. 好几支猎枪的枪口，同时瞄准了这些空中猎物。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
• All gun-ports were open and the muzzles peeped wickedly from them. 所有的炮眼都开着，炮口不怀好意地从炮眼里向外窥探。

10 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

11 raving   

adj.说胡话的；疯狂的，怒吼的；非常漂亮的；令人醉心[痴心]的v.胡言乱语(rave的现在分词)n.胡话；疯话adv.胡言乱语地；疯狂地

参考例句：

• The man's a raving lunatic. 那个男子是个语无伦次的疯子。
• When I told her I'd crashed her car, she went stark raving bonkers. 我告诉她我把她的车撞坏了时，她暴跳如雷。

12 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。

13 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

14 delirium   

n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋

参考例句：

• In her delirium, she had fallen to the floor several times. 她在神志不清的状态下几次摔倒在地上。
• For the next nine months, Job was in constant delirium.接下来的九个月，约伯处于持续精神错乱的状态。

15 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

16 prodding   

v.刺，戳( prod的现在分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳

参考例句：

• He needed no prodding. 他不用督促。
• The boy is prodding the animal with a needle. 那男孩正用一根针刺那动物。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》