Until the extraordinary affair at Sidmouth, the peculiar1 species Haploteuthis ferox was known to science only generically2, on the strength of a half-digested tentacle3
obtained near the Azores, and a decaying body pecked by birds and nibbled4 by fish, found early in 1896 by Mr. Jennings, near Land’s End.
In no department of zo?logical science, indeed, are we quite so much in the dark as with regard to the deep-sea cephalopods. A mere5 accident, for instance, it was that
led to the Prince of Monaco’s discovery of nearly a dozen new forms in the summer of 1895, a discovery in which the before-mentioned tentacle was included. It chanced
that a cachalot was killed off Terceira by some sperm-whalers, and in its last struggles charged almost to the Prince’s yacht, missed it, rolled under, and died
within twenty yards of his rudder. And in its agony it threw up a number of large objects, which the Prince, dimly perceiving they were strange and important, was, by
a happy expedient7, able to secure before they sank. He set his screws in motion, and kept them circling 443in the vortices thus created until a boat could be lowered.
And these specimens8 were whole cephalopods and fragments of cephalopods, some of gigantic proportions, and almost all of them unknown to science!
It would seem, indeed, that these large and agile10 creatures, living in the middle depths of the sea, must, to a large extent, for ever remain unknown to us, since
under water they are too nimble for nets, and it is only by such rare unlooked-for accidents that specimens can be obtained. In the case of Haploteuthis ferox, for
instance, we are still altogether ignorant of its habitat, as ignorant as we are of the breeding-ground of the herring or the sea-ways of the salmon11. And zo?logists
are altogether at a loss to account for its sudden appearance on our coast. Possibly it was the stress of a hunger migration12 that drove it hither out of the deep. But
it will be, perhaps, better to avoid necessarily inconclusive discussion, and to proceed at once with our narrative13.
The first human being to set eyes upon a living Haploteuthis—the first human being to survive, that is, for there can be little doubt now that the wave of bathing
fatalities14 and boating accidents that travelled along the coast of Cornwall and Devon in early May was due to this cause—was a retired15 tea-dealer of the name of
Fison, who was stopping at a Sidmouth boarding-house. It was in the afternoon, and he was walking along the 444cliff path between Sidmouth and Ladram Bay. The cliffs
in this direction are very high, but down the red face of them in one place a kind of ladder staircase has been made. He was near this when his attention was attracted
by what at first he thought to be a cluster of birds struggling over a fragment of food that caught the sunlight, and glistened17 pinkish-white. The tide was right out,
and this object was not only far below him, but remote across a broad waste of rock reefs covered with dark seaweed and interspersed18 with silvery, shining, tidal
pools. And he was, moreover, dazzled by the brightness of the further water.
In a minute, regarding this again, he perceived that his judgment19 was in fault, for over this struggle circled a number of birds, jackdaws and gulls20 for the most part,
the latter gleaming blindingly when the sunlight smote21 their wings, and they seemed minute in comparison with it. And his curiosity was, perhaps, aroused all the more
strongly because of his first insufficient22 explanations.
As he had nothing better to do than amuse himself, he decided23 to make this object, whatever it was, the goal of his afternoon walk, instead of Ladram Bay, conceiving
it might perhaps be a great fish of some sort, stranded24 by some chance, and flapping about in its distress25. And so he hurried down the long steep ladder, stopping at
445At the foot of the cliff he was, of course, nearer his object than he had been; but, on the other hand, it now came up against the incandescent27 sky, beneath the
sun, so as to seem dark and indistinct. Whatever was pinkish of it was now hidden by a skerry of weedy boulders28. But he perceived that it was made up of seven rounded
bodies, distinct or connected, and that the birds kept up a constant croaking29 and screaming, but seemed afraid to approach it too closely.
Mr. Fison, torn by curiosity, began picking his way across the wave-worn rocks, and, finding the wet seaweed that covered them thickly rendered them extremely
slippery, he stopped, removed his shoes and socks, and coiled his trousers above his knees. His object was, of course, merely to avoid stumbling into the rocky pools
about him, and perhaps he was rather glad, as all men are, of an excuse to resume, even for a moment, the sensations of his boyhood. At any rate, it is to this, no
doubt, that he owes his life.
He approached his mark with all the assurance which the absolute security of this country against all forms of animal life gives its inhabitants. The round bodies
moved to and fro, but it was only when he surmounted30 the skerry of boulders I have mentioned that he realised the horrible nature of the discovery. It came upon him
with some suddenness.
The rounded bodies fell apart as he came into 446sight over the ridge31, and displayed the pinkish object to be the partially32 devoured33 body of a human being, but whether
of a man or woman he was unable to say. And the rounded bodies were new and ghastly-looking creatures, in shape somewhat resembling an octopus34, and with huge and very
long and flexible tentacles35, coiled copiously36 on the ground. The skin had a glistening38 texture39, unpleasant to see, like shiny leather. The downward bend of the
tentacle-surrounded mouth, the curious excrescence at the bend, the tentacles, and the large, intelligent eyes, gave the creatures a grotesque40 suggestion of a face.
They were the size of a fair-sized swine about the body, and the tentacles seemed to him to be many feet in length. There were, he thinks, seven or eight at least of
the creatures. Twenty yards beyond them, amid the surf of the now returning tide, two others were emerging from the sea.
Their bodies lay flatly on the rocks, and their eyes regarded him with evil interest; but it does not appear that Mr. Fison was afraid, or that he realised that he was
in any danger. Possibly his confidence is to be ascribed to the limpness of their attitudes. But he was horrified41, of course, and intensely excited and indignant at
such revolting creatures preying42 upon human flesh. He thought they had chanced upon a drowned body. He shouted to them, with the idea of driving them off, and, finding
And then, slowly uncoiling their tentacles, they all began moving towards him—creeping at first deliberately44, and making a soft, purring sound to each other.
In a moment Mr. Fison realised that he was in danger. He shouted again, threw both his boots, and started off, with a leap, forthwith. Twenty yards off he stopped and
faced about, judging them slow, and, behold45! the tentacles of their leader were already pouring over the rocky ridge on which he had just been standing46!
At that he shouted again, but this time not threatening, but a cry of dismay, and began jumping, striding, slipping, wading47 across the uneven48 expanse between him and
the beach. The tall red cliffs seemed suddenly at a vast distance, and he saw, as though they were creatures in another world, two minute workmen engaged in the repair
of the ladder-way, and little suspecting the race for life that was beginning below them. At one time he could hear the creatures splashing in the pools not a dozen
feet behind him, and once he slipped and almost fell.
They chased him to the very foot of the cliffs, and desisted only when he had been joined by the workmen at the foot of the ladder-way up the cliff. All three of the
men pelted49 them with stones for a time, and then hurried to the cliff top and along 448the path towards Sidmouth, to secure assistance and a boat, and to rescue the
II
And, as if he had not already been in sufficient peril52 that day, Mr. Fison went with the boat to point out the exact spot of his adventure.
As the tide was down, it required a considerable detour53 to reach the spot, and when at last they came off the ladder-way, the mangled54 body had disappeared. The water
was now running in, submerging first one slab55 of slimy rock and then another, and the four men in the boat—the workmen, that is, the boatman, and Mr. Fison—now
turned their attention from the bearings off shore to the water beneath the keel.
At first they could see little below them, save a dark jungle of laminaria, with an occasional darting56 fish. Their minds were set on adventure, and they expressed
their disappointment freely. But presently they saw one of the monsters swimming through the water seaward, with a curious rolling motion that suggested to Mr. Fison
the spinning roll of a captive balloon. Almost immediately after, the waving streamers of laminaria were extraordinarily57 perturbed58, parted for a moment, and three of
these beasts became darkly visible, struggling for what was probably some fragment of the 449drowned man. In a moment the copious37 olive-green ribbons had poured again
At that all four men, greatly excited, began beating the water with oars60 and shouting, and immediately they saw a tumultuous movement among the weeds. They desisted,
to see more clearly, and as soon as the water was smooth, they saw, as it seemed to them, the whole sea bottom among the weeds set with eyes.
“Ugly swine!” cried one of the men. “Why, there’s dozens!”
And forthwith the things began to rise through the water about them. Mr. Fison has since described to the writer this startling eruption62 out of the waving laminaria
meadows. To him it seemed to occupy a considerable time, but it is probable that really it was an affair of a few seconds only. For a time nothing but eyes, and then
he speaks of tentacles streaming out and parting the weed fronds63 this way and that. Then these things, growing larger, until at last the bottom was hidden by their
intercoiling forms, and the tips of tentacles rose darkly here and there into the air above the swell64 of the waters.
One came up boldly to the side of the boat, and, clinging to this with three of its sucker-set tentacles, threw four others over the gunwale, as if with an intention
either of oversetting the boat or of clambering into it. Mr. Fison at once 450caught up the boathook, and, jabbing furiously at the soft tentacles, forced it to
desist. He was struck in the back and almost pitched overboard by the boatman, who was using his oar16 to resist a similar attack on the other side of the boat. But the
tentacles on either side at once relaxed their hold at this, slid out of sight, and splashed into the water.
“We’d better get out of this,” said Mr. Fison, who was trembling violently. He went to the tiller, while the boatman and one of the workmen seated themselves and
began rowing. The other workman stood up in the fore6 part of the boat, with the boathook, ready to strike any more tentacles that might appear. Nothing else seems to
have been said. Mr. Fison had expressed the common feeling beyond amendment65. In a hushed, scared mood, with faces white and drawn66, they set about escaping from the
position into which they had so recklessly blundered.
But the oars had scarcely dropped into the water before dark, tapering67, serpentine68 ropes had bound them, and were about the rudder; and creeping up the sides of the
boat with a looping motion came the suckers again. The men gripped their oars and pulled, but it was like trying to move a boat in a floating raft of weeds. “Help
Then the man with the boathook—his name 451was Ewan, or Ewen—sprang up with a curse, and began striking downward over the side, as far as he could reach, at the bank
of tentacles that now clustered along the boat’s bottom. And, at the same time, the two rowers stood up to get a better purchase for the recovery of their oars. The
boatman handed his to Mr. Fison, who lugged70 desperately71, and, meanwhile, the boatman opened a big clasp-knife, and, leaning over the side of the boat, began hacking72 at
Mr. Fison, staggering with the quivering rocking of the boat, his teeth set, his breath coming short, and the veins75 starting on his hands as he pulled at his oar,
suddenly cast his eyes seaward. And there, not fifty yards off, across the long rollers of the incoming tide, was a large boat standing in towards them, with three
women and a little child in it. A boatman was rowing, and a little man in a pink-ribboned straw hat and whites stood in the stern, hailing them. For a moment, of
course, Mr. Fison thought of help, and then he thought of the child. He abandoned his oar forthwith, threw up his arms in a frantic76 gesture, and screamed to the party
in the boat to keep away “for God’s sake!” It says much for the modesty77 and courage of Mr. Fison that he does not seem to be aware that there was any quality of
heroism78 in his action at this juncture79. The oar he had abandoned was at once drawn 452under, and presently reappeared floating about twenty yards away.
At the same moment Mr. Fison felt the boat under him lurch80 violently, and a hoarse81 scream, a prolonged cry of terror from Hill, the boatman, caused him to forget the
party of excursionists altogether. He turned, and saw Hill crouching82 by the forward rowlock, his face convulsed with terror, and his right arm over the side and drawn
tightly down. He gave now a succession of short, sharp cries, “Oh! oh! oh!—oh!” Mr. Fison believes that he must have been hacking at the tentacles below the water-
line, and have been grasped by them, but, of course, it is quite impossible to say now certainly what had happened. The boat was heeling over, so that the gunwale was
within ten inches of the water, and both Ewan and the other labourer were striking down into the water, with oar and boathook, on either side of Hill’s arm. Mr. Fison
instinctively83 placed himself to counterpoise them.
Then Hill, who was a burly, powerful man, made a strenuous84 effort, and rose almost to a standing position. He lifted his arm, indeed, clean out of the water. Hanging
to it was a complicated tangle85 of brown ropes; and the eyes of one of the brutes86 that had hold of him, glaring straight and resolute87, showed momentarily above the
surface. The boat heeled more and more, and the green-brown water came pouring in a cascade88 over the side. 453Then Hill slipped and fell with his ribs89 across the side,
and his arm and the mass of tentacles about it splashed back into the water. He rolled over; his boot kicked Mr. Fison’s knee as that gentleman rushed forward to
seize him, and in another moment fresh tentacles had whipped about his waist and neck, and after a brief, convulsive struggle, in which the boat was nearly capsized,
Hill was lugged overboard. The boat righted with a violent jerk that all but sent Mr. Fison over the other side, and hid the struggle in the water from his eyes.
He stood staggering to recover his balance for a moment, and as he did so, he became aware that the struggle and the inflowing tide had carried them close upon the
weedy rocks again. Not four yards off a table of rock still rose in rhythmic90 movements above the in-wash of the tide. In a moment Mr. Fison seized the oar from Ewan,
gave one vigorous stroke, then, dropping it, ran to the bows and leapt. He felt his feet slide over the rock, and, by a frantic effort, leapt again towards a further
mass. He stumbled over this, came to his knees, and rose again.
“Look out!” cried some one, and a large drab body struck him. He was knocked flat into a tidal pool by one of the workmen, and as he went down he heard smothered,
choking cries, that he believed at the time came from Hill. Then he found himself 454marvelling at the shrillness91 and variety of Hill’s voice. Some one jumped over
him, and a curving rush of foamy92 water poured over him, and passed. He scrambled94 to his feet, dripping, and, without looking seaward, ran as fast as his terror would
let him shoreward. Before him, over the flat space of scattered95 rocks, stumbled the two workmen—one a dozen yards in front of the other.
He looked over his shoulder at last, and, seeing that he was not pursued, faced about. He was astonished. From the moment of the rising of the cephalopods out of the
water, he had been acting96 too swiftly to fully97 comprehend his actions. Now it seemed to him as if he had suddenly jumped out of an evil dream.
For there were the sky, cloudless and blazing with the afternoon sun, the sea, weltering under its pitiless brightness, the soft creamy foam93 of the breaking water, and
the low, long, dark ridges98 of rock. The righted boat floated, rising and falling gently on the swell about a dozen yards from shore. Hill and the monsters, all the
Mr. Fison’s heart was beating violently; he was throbbing99 to the finger-tips, and his breath came deep.
There was something missing. For some seconds he could not think clearly enough what 455this might be. Sun, sky, sea, rocks—what was it? Then he remembered the
boatload of excursionists. It had vanished. He wondered whether he had imagined it. He turned, and saw the two workmen standing side by side under the projecting
masses of the tall pink cliffs. He hesitated whether he should make one last attempt to save the man Hill. His physical excitement seemed to desert him suddenly, and
leave him aimless and helpless. He turned shoreward, stumbling and wading towards his two companions.
He looked back again, and there were now two boats floating, and the one farthest out at sea pitched clumsily, bottom upward.
III
So it was Haploteuthis ferox made its appearance upon the Devonshire coast. So far, this has been its most serious aggression100. Mr. Fison’s account, taken together
with the wave of boating and bathing casualties to which I have already alluded101, and the absence of fish from the Cornish coasts that year, points clearly to a shoal
of these voracious102 deep-sea monsters prowling slowly along the sub-tidal coast-line. Hunger migration has, I know, been suggested as the force that drove them hither;
but, for my own part, I prefer to believe the alternative theory of Hemsley. Hemsley holds that a pack or shoal of these creatures may have 456become enamoured of
human flesh by the accident of a foundered103 ship sinking among them, and have wandered in search of it out of their accustomed zone; first waylaying104 and following
ships, and so coming to our shores in the wake of the Atlantic traffic. But to discuss Hemsley’s cogent105 and admirably-stated arguments would be out of place here.
It would seem that the appetites of the shoal were satisfied by the catch of eleven people—for so far as can be ascertained106, there were ten people in the second boat,
and certainly these creatures gave no further signs of their presence off Sidmouth that day. The coast between Seaton and Budleigh Salterton was patrolled all that
evening and night by four Preventive Service boats, the men in which were armed with harpoons107 and cutlasses, and as the evening advanced, a number of more or less
similarly equipped expeditions, organised by private individuals, joined them. Mr. Fison took no part in any of these expeditions.
About midnight excited hails were heard from a boat about a couple of miles out at sea to the south-east of Sidmouth, and a lantern was seen waving in a strange manner
to and fro and up and down. The nearer boats at once hurried towards the alarm. The venturesome occupants of the boat, a seaman108, a curate, and two schoolboys, had
actually seen the monsters passing under their boat. The creatures, it seems, like most deep-sea 457organisms, were phosphorescent, and they had been floating, five
fathoms109 deep or so, like creatures of moonshine through the blackness of the water, their tentacles retracted110 and as if asleep, rolling over and over, and moving
slowly in a wedge-like formation towards the south-east.
These people told their story in gesticulated fragments, as first one boat drew alongside and then another. At last there was a little fleet of eight or nine boats
collected together, and from them a tumult, like the chatter111 of a marketplace, rose into the stillness of the night. There was little or no disposition112 to pursue the
shoal, the people had neither weapons nor experience for such a dubious113 chase, and presently—even with a certain relief, it may be—the boats turned shoreward.
And now to tell what is perhaps the most astonishing fact in this whole astonishing raid. We have not the slightest knowledge of the subsequent movements of the shoal,
although the whole southwest coast was now alert for it. But it may, perhaps, be significant that a cachalot was stranded off Sark on June 3. Two weeks and three days
after this Sidmouth affair, a living Haploteuthis came ashore114 on Calais sands. It was alive, because several witnesses saw its tentacles moving in a convulsive way.
But it is probable that it was dying. A gentleman named Pouchet obtained a rifle and shot it.
458That was the last appearance of a living Haploteuthis. No others were seen on the French coast. On the 15th of June a dead body, almost complete, was washed ashore
near Torquay, and a few days later a boat from the Marine115 Biological station, engaged in dredging off Plymouth, picked up a rotting specimen9, slashed116 deeply with a
cutlass wound. How the former specimen had come by its death it is impossible to say. And on the last day of June, Mr. Egbert Caine, an artist, bathing near Newlyn,
threw up his arms, shrieked117, and was drawn under. A friend bathing with him made no attempt to save him, but swam at once for the shore. This is the last fact to tell
of this extraordinary raid from the deeper sea. Whether it is really the last of these horrible creatures it is, as yet, premature118 to say. But it is believed, and
certainly it is to be hoped, that they have returned now, and returned for good, to the sunless depths of the middle seas, out of which they have so strangely and so
mysteriously arisen.
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1
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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generically
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tentacle
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| n.触角，触须，触手 | |
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nibbled
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| v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的过去式和过去分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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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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specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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agile
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| adj.敏捷的，灵活的 | |
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salmon
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| n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的 | |
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migration
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| n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙 | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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fatalities
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| n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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oar
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| n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行 | |
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glistened
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| v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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interspersed
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| adj.[医]散开的；点缀的v.intersperse的过去式和过去分词 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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gulls
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| n.鸥( gull的名词复数 )v.欺骗某人( gull的第三人称单数 ) | |
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smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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insufficient
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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stranded
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| a.搁浅的，进退两难的 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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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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incandescent
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| adj.遇热发光的， 白炽的，感情强烈的 | |
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boulders
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| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
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croaking
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的现在分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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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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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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octopus
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| n.章鱼 | |
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tentacles
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| n.触手( tentacle的名词复数 )；触角；触须；触毛 | |
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copiously
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copious
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| adj.丰富的，大量的 | |
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glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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texture
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| n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理 | |
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grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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41
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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42
preying
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| v.掠食( prey的现在分词 )；掠食；折磨；（人）靠欺诈为生 | |
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43
budge
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| v.移动一点儿；改变立场 | |
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44
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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45
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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46
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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47
wading
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| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的现在分词 ) | |
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48
uneven
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| adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的 | |
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49
pelted
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| （连续地）投掷( pelt的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续抨击； 攻击； 剥去…的皮 | |
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50
desecrated
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| 毁坏或亵渎( desecrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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51
abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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52
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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53
detour
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| n.绕行的路，迂回路；v.迂回，绕道 | |
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54
mangled
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| vt.乱砍（mangle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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55
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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56
darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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57
extraordinarily
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| adv.格外地；极端地 | |
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58
perturbed
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| adj.烦燥不安的v.使（某人）烦恼，不安( perturb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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59
writhing
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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60
oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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61
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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62
eruption
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| n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作 | |
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63
fronds
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| n.蕨类或棕榈类植物的叶子( frond的名词复数 ) | |
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64
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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65
amendment
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| n.改正，修正，改善，修正案 | |
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66
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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67
tapering
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| adj.尖端细的 | |
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68
serpentine
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| adj.蜿蜒的，弯曲的 | |
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69
lug
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| n.柄，突出部，螺帽；(英）耳朵；（俚）笨蛋；vt.拖，拉，用力拖动 | |
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70
lugged
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| vt.用力拖拉（lug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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71
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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72
hacking
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| n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动 | |
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73
spiring
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| v.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的现在分词 ) | |
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74
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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75
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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76
frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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77
modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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78
heroism
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| n.大无畏精神，英勇 | |
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79
juncture
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| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
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80
lurch
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| n.突然向前或旁边倒；v.蹒跚而行 | |
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81
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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82
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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83
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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84
strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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85
tangle
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| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
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86
brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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87
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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88
cascade
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| n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下 | |
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89
ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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90
rhythmic
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| adj.有节奏的，有韵律的 | |
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91
shrillness
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| 尖锐刺耳 | |
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92
foamy
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| adj.全是泡沫的，泡沫的，起泡沫的 | |
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93
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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94
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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95
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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96
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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97
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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98
ridges
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| n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊 | |
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99
throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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100
aggression
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| n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害 | |
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101
alluded
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| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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102
voracious
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| adj.狼吞虎咽的，贪婪的 | |
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103
foundered
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| v.创始人( founder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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104
waylaying
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| v.拦截，拦路( waylay的现在分词 ) | |
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105
cogent
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| adj.强有力的，有说服力的 | |
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106
ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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107
harpoons
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| n.鱼镖，鱼叉( harpoon的名词复数 )v.鱼镖，鱼叉( harpoon的第三人称单数 ) | |
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108
seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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109
fathoms
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| 英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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110
retracted
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| v.撤回或撤消( retract的过去式和过去分词 )；拒绝执行或遵守；缩回；拉回 | |
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111
chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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112
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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113
dubious
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| adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的 | |
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114
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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115
marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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116
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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117
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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118
premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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