She turned at last, impelled7 to seek aid from some one. But at sight of the room, womanish panic took her by the throat, and the hysterical8 fit almost overcame her. For what help, what hope of help, lay in any of those whom she saw round her? The Countess indeed had crept to her side, and cast her arm about her, but she was a child, and ashake already. For the others, the Vicomte sat sunk in lethargy, heeding10 no one, ignorant apparently11 that his son had left the room; and Fulbert, whose wits had exhausted12 themselves in the effort that had saved his mistress, stood faithful indeed, but brainless, dull, dumb. Only Solomon, who leant against the wall beside the door, his old face gloomy, his eyebrows13 knit, only to him could she look for a spark of comfort or suggestion. He, it was clear, appreciated the crisis, for he was listening intently, his head inclined, his hand on a weapon. But he was old, and there was not a man of Vlaye's troopers who was not more than a match for him foot to foot.
Still, he was her only hope, if her brother did not return. And she turned again to the casement14, and, scarcely breathing, listened with a keenness of anxiety almost indescribable. If only Roger would return! Roger, who had seemed so weak a prop15 a few minutes before, and who, now that she had lost him, seemed everything! But the voices of Ampoule and his companion disputing in the outer hall rose louder, drowning more distant sounds; and the minutes were passing. And still Roger did not return.
Then a thought came to her; or rather two thoughts. The first was that all now hung on her--and that steadied her. The second, that he whose grasp had brought the blood to her cheeks that morning had bidden her hold out to the last, fight to the last, play the man to the last; and this moved her to action. Better do anything than succumb16 like her father. She flew to Solomon, dragging the Countess with her.
"We are not safe here," she said. "These men are drinking. They have kept Roger, and that bodes17 us no good. Were it not better to go upstairs to the Tower Room?"
"It were the best course," the old man answered slowly, with his eyes on the Vicomte. "Out and away the best course, mademoiselle. Fulbert and I could guard the stairs awhile at any rate."
"Then let us go!"
But he looked at the Vicomte. "If my lord says so," he answered. All his life the Vicomte's word had been his law.
In a moment she was at her father's side. "The Countess will be safer upstairs, sir," she said, speaking with a boldness that surprised herself--but who could long remain in fear of the failing old man whose leaden eyes met hers with scarce a gleam of meaning? "The Countess is frightened here, sir," she continued. "If you would guard us upstairs----"
"Have done!" he struck at her with feeble passion, and waved her off. "Let me alone."
"But----"
"Peace, girl, I say!" he repeated irascibly. "Who are you to fix comings and goings? Get to your stool and your needle. God knows," in a burst of childish petulance18, "what the world is coming to--when children order their elders! But since--there, begone! Begone!"
She wrung19 her hands in despair. Outside, fuel was beginning to fail, the fire was burning low, the court growing dark. Within, the two guttering20 candles showed only the Vicomte's figure sunk low in his chair, and here and there a pale face projected from the shadow. But the noise of riot and disorder21 did not slacken, rather it grew more menacing; and what was she to do? Desperate, she returned to the attack.
"Sir," she said, "there is no one to escort the Countess of Rochechouart to her room. She wishes to retire, and it is late."
He got abruptly22 to his feet, and looked about him with something of his ordinary air. "Where is the Countess?" he asked peevishly23. And then addressing Solomon, "Take candles! Take candles!" he continued. "And you, sirrah, light the way! Don't you know your duty? The Countess to her room! Mordieu, girl, we are fallen low indeed if we don't know how to behave to our guests. Madame--or, to be sure, Mademoiselle la Comtesse," with a puzzled look at the shrinking child, "let me have the honour. Things are out of gear to-night, and we must do the best we can. But to-morrow--to-morrow all shall be in order."
He marshalled Solomon out and followed, bowing the young Countess before him. Bonne overjoyed went next; Fulbert, like a patient dog, brought up the rear. All was not done yet, however, as Bonne knew; and she nerved herself for the effort. On the landing her father would have stopped, but she passed him lightly and opened the door that led by way of the roof, to the Tower Chamber24. "This way!" she muttered to Solomon, as he hesitated. "The Countess is timid to-night, sir," she continued aloud, "and craves25 leave to lie in the Tower as the room is empty."
He frowned. "Still this silliness!" he exclaimed, and then passing his hand over his brow, "There was something said about it, I remember. But I thought I----"
"Gave permission, sir? Yes!" Bonne murmured, pushing the girl steadily26 forward. "Solomon, do you hear? Light along the leads!"
Great as was his fear of the Vicomte, the old porter succumbed27 to her will, and all were on the point of following, when a door on the landing opened, and the Abbess appeared on the threshold of her room. She held a light above her head, and with a sneer28 on her handsome face, contemplated29 the group.
"What is this?" she asked. And then, gathering30 their intention from their looks--possibly she had had some inkling of it, "You do not mean to tell me," she continued, partly in temper, and partly in feigned31 surprise, "that a half-dozen of roystering troopers, sir, are driving the Vicomte de Villeneuve from his own chamber? To take refuge among the owls32 and bats? For shame, sir, for shame!"
Bonne tried to stay her by a gesture.
In vain. "A fine tale they will have to tell to-morrow!" the elder sister continued in tones of savage33 raillery. "M. de Villeneuve afraid of a handful of rascals34, whom their master keeps within bounds with a stick! The Lord of Villeneuve bearded in his own house by a scum of riders!"
"Peace, daughter!" the Vicomte cried; he even raised his hand in anger. "You lie! It is not I"--his head trembling--"I indeed, but the Countess! You don't see her. The Countess of Rochechouart----"
"Oh!" said the Abbess. And, the light she held shining on her arrogant35 beauty, she swept a great curtsy, as if she had not seen her intended guest before; as if her scornful eyes had not from the first descried36 the girl; as if the small beginnings of hate, hate that scarcely knew itself, were not already in her breast. "Oh," she said again, "it is the Countess of Rochechouart, is it, who is afraid?"
"And with reason," Bonne answered, intervening hurriedly, but in a low voice. "The men are drinking and growing violent. Roger went to them some time ago, and has not come back."
"Roger!" the Abbess ejaculated, shrugging her shoulders. "Did you think that he could do anything?"
But she who of all those present seemed least likely to interfere37 spoke38 up at that. Whether the young Countess resented--Heaven knows why she should--the sneer at Roger's expense, or only the contempt of herself which the Abbess's manner expressed, she plucked up a spirit. After all she was not only a Rochechouart, but she was a woman; and there is in all women, even the meekest39, a spark of temper that, being fanned by one of their own sex, blazes up. "It is true," she replied coldly, her face faintly pink. "It is I who am afraid, mademoiselle. But it is not of the men downstairs. It is their master whom I fear."
"You fear M. de Vlaye?" the Abbess repeated. And she laughed aloud, a little over merrily, at the absurdity40 of the notion. "You--fear M. de Vlaye? Why? If I may venture to ask?"
"Why?" the Countess replied. She had learned somewhat during the day, and was too young to hide her knowledge, being provoked. "Do you ask why, mademoiselle? Because, to be plain, I fear that which it may be you do not fear."
The Abbess flushed crimson42 to her very throat. "And what, to be plain, do you mean by that?" she retorted in a tone that shook with passion. "If you think that this story is true that they tell----"
"That M. de Vlaye waylaid43 and would have seized me?" the little Countess retorted undismayed. "It is quite true."
"You say that!" The young Abbess was pale and red by turns. "How do you know? What do you know?"
"I know the Captain of Vlaye," the girl answered firmly. "I have seen him more than once at Angoulême, His mask fell yesterday, and I could not be mistaken. It was he!"
The Abbess bit her lip until the blood came in the vain attempt to mask feelings which her temper rendered her impotent to control. She no longer doubted the story. She saw that it was true; and jealousy44, rage, and amazement45--amazement at Vlaye's treachery, amazement at the discovery of a rival in one so insignificant47 in all save rank--deprived her of the power of speech. Fortunately at this moment the clash of steel reached Solomon's ears, and, startled, the porter gave the alarm.
"My lord, they are fighting!" he cried. And then emboldened48 by the emergency, "Were it not well," he continued, "to put the ladies in a place of safety?"
The Vicomte, urged up the steps by the women, leant over the parapet, and learned the truth for himself. Bonne, the Countess, the Abbess and her women, all followed, and in a twinkling were standing49 on the roof in the dark night, the round tower rising beside them, and the croaking50 of the frogs coming up to them from below.
But the brief clash of weapons was over, and they could make out no more than a group of figures gathered about two prostrate51 men. The movement of the lights, now here now there, augmented52 the difficulty of seeing, and for a while Bonne's heart stood still. She made no lamentations, for she came of the old blood, but she thought Roger dead. And then a man raised a light, and she distinguished53 his figure leaning over one of the injured men.
"Thank God!" she murmured. "There is Roger. He is not hurt!"
"Who are they? Who are they?" the Vicomte babbled54, clinging to the parapet. "Eh? Who are they? Cannot any one see?"
But no one could see, and the Abbess's women began to cry. She paid no heed9 to them. She leant with the others over the parapet, and she listened with them to the shuffling55 feet of the men below, as slowly in a double line they bore the cloaked form towards the house. But whether their thoughts were her thoughts, their anxiety her anxiety, whether she was wrapt, as they were, in the scene that passed below, or chewed instead the cud of other and more bitter reflections, was known only to herself. Her proud spirit, whose worst failings hitherto had not gone beyond selfishness and vanity, hung, it may be, during those moments between good and evil, the better and the worse; took, perhaps, the turn that must decide its life; flung from it, perhaps, in passionate56 abandonment the last heart-strings that bound it to the purer and more generous affections.
Perhaps; but none of those who stood beside her had an inkling of her mood. For the troopers had passed with their mysterious burden into the house, and no sooner were they gone than one of the Abbess's women cried in a panic that they would be murdered, and in a trice all, succumbing57 to the impulse, made for the Tower Chamber, and herded58 into it pell-mell, some shrugging their shoulders and showing that they gave way to the more timid, and the men not knowing from whom to take orders. In the chamber were already two or three of the house-women, who had sought that refuge earlier in the evening, and these, seeing the Vicomte, looked for nothing but slaughter59, and by their shrill60 lamentations added to the confusion.
The security of all depended entirely61 on their holding the way across the leads, and here the men should have remained; but the women would not part with them and all entered together. Some one locked the outer door, and there they were, in all eleven or twelve persons, in the great, dreary62 chamber, where a few feeble candles that served to make darkness visible disclosed their blanched63 faces. At the slightest sound the women shrieked64 or clung to one another, and with every second the boldest expected to hear the tramp of feet without, and the clatter65 of weapons on the oak.
There was something ridiculous in this noisy panic; yet something terrifying also to those who, like Bonne, kept their heads. She strove in vain to make herself heard; her voice was drowned; the disorder overwhelmed her as a flood overwhelms a strong swimmer. She seized a girl by the arm to silence her: the wench took it for a fresh alarm and squalled the louder. She flew to her father and begged him to interpose; flurried, he fell into a rage with her, and stormed at her as if it were she who caused the confusion. For the others the young Countess, though quiet, was scared; and Odette, seated at a distance, noticed her companions only at intervals66 in the dark current of her thoughts--and then with a look of disdain67.
At length Bonne betook herself to Solomon. "Some one should hold the roof!" she said.
He shrugged68 his shoulders. "Ay, ay, mademoiselle," he said, "but we have no orders and the door is locked, and he has the key."
"You could do something there?"
"Ay, if we had orders."
She flew to the Vicomte at that. "Some one should be holding the roof, sir," she said. "Solomon and Fulbert could maintain it awhile. Could you not give them orders?"
He swore at her. "We are mad to be here," he exclaimed, veering69 about on an instant. "This comes of letting women have a voice! Silence, you hell-babes!" he continued, turning with his staff raised upon two of the women, who had chosen that moment to raise a new outcry. "We are all mad! Mad, I say!"
"I will silence them, sir," she answered. And stepping on a bed, "Listen! Listen to me!" she cried stoutly70. "We are in little danger here if we are quiet. Therefore let us make no noise. They will not then know where to find us. And let the men go to the door, and the maids to the other end of the room. And----"
Shrieks71 stopped her. The two whom the Vicomte had upbraided72 flung themselves screaming on Solomon. "The window! The window!" they cried, glaring over their shoulders. And before the astonished old man could free himself, or the Vicomte give vent41 to his passion, "The window! They are coming in!" they shrieked.
The words were the signal for a wild rush towards the door. Two or three of the candles were knocked down, the Vicomte was well-nigh carried off his legs, the Abbess, who tried to rise, was pinned where she was by her women; who flung themselves on their knees before her and hid their faces in her robe. Only Bonne, interrupted in the midst of her appeal, retained both her presence of mind and her freedom of action. After obeying the generous instinct which bade her thrust the young Countess behind her, she remained motionless, staring intently at the window--staring in a mixture of hope and fear.
The hope was justified73. They were the faces of friends that showed in the dark opening of the window. They were friends who entered--Charles first, that the alarm might be the sooner quelled74, des Ageaux second; if first and second they could be called, when the feet of the two touched the floor almost at the same instant. But Charles wore a new and radiant face, and des Ageaux a look of command, that to Bonne after what she had gone through was as wine to a fainting man. There were some whom that look did not reach, but even these--women with their faces hidden--stilled their cries, and raised their heads when he spoke. For a trumpet75 could not have rung more firm in that panic-laden air.
"We are friends!" he said. "And we are in time! M. le Vicomte, we must act and ask your leave afterwards." Turning again to the window he spoke to the night.
Not in vain. At the word troopers came tumbling in man after man; the foremost, a lean, lank-visaged veteran, who looked neither to right nor left, but in three strides, and with one salute77 in the Vicomte's direction, put himself at the door and on guard. He had a long, odd-looking sword with a steel basket hilt, with which he signed to the men to stand here or there.
For they continued to come in, until the Vicomte, stunned78 by the sight of his son, awoke to fresh wonder; and, speechless, counted a round dozen and three to boot, besides his guest and Charles. Moreover they were men of a certain stamp, quiet but grim, who, being bidden, did and asked no questions.
When they had all filed through the group of staring women now fallen silent, and had ranged themselves beside the Bat--for he it was--at the door, des Ageaux spoke.
"Do you hear them?"
"No, my lord."
"Unlock softly, then, but do not open! And wait the word! M. le Vicomte"--he turned courteously79 to the old man--"the occasion presses, or I would ask your pardon. Mademoiselle"--but as he turned to Bonne he lowered his voice, and what he said escaped other ears. Not her ears, for from brow to neck, though he had but praised her courage and firmness, she blushed vividly80.
"I did only what I could," she replied, lifting her eyes once to his and as quickly dropping them. "Roger----"
"Ha! What of Roger?"
He knit his brows. "That was not of my contrivance," he said. And then with a gleam of humour in his eyes, "Masked was he? Another knight-errant, it seems, and less fortunate than the first! You do not lack supporters in your misfortunes, mademoiselle. But--what is it?"
"They come, my lord," the Bat answered, raising his hand to gain attention.
All, at the word, listened with quickened pulses, and in the silence the harsh rending82 of wood came to the ear, a little dulled by distance. Then a murmur of voices, then another crash! The men about the door poised83 themselves, each with a foot advanced, and his weapon ready; their strained muscles and gleaming eyes told of their excitement. A moment and they would be let loose! A moment--and then, too late, Bonne saw Charles beside the Bat.
Too late; but it mattered nothing. She might have spoken, but he, panting for the fight, exulting84 in the occasion, would not have heeded85 if an angel had spoken. And before she could find words, the thing was done. The Bat flung the door open, and with a roar of defiance86 the mob of men charged out and across the roof, Charles among the foremost.
A shot, a scream, a tumult87 of cries, the jarring of steel on steel, and the fight rolled down through the house in a whirl of strident voices. The candles, long-wicked and guttering, flamed wildly in the wind; the room was half in shadow, half in light. The Vicomte, who had seen all in a maze46 of stupefaction, stiffened88 himself--as the old war-horse that scents89 the battle. Bonne hid her face and prayed.
Not so the Abbess. She sat unmoved, a sneer on her face, a dark look in her eyes. And so Bonne, glancing up, saw her; and a strange pang90 shot through the younger girl's breast. If he had praised her courage--and that with a look and in a tone that had brought the blood to her cheeks--what would he think of her handsome sister? How could he fail to admire her, not for her beauty only, but for her stately pride, for the composure that not even this could alter, for the challenge that shone in her haughty91 eyes?
The next moment Bonne reproached herself for entertaining such a thought, while Charles's life and perhaps Roger's hung in the balance, and the cries of men in direst straits still rung in her ears. What a worm she was, what a crawling thing! God pardon her! God protect them!
The Abbess's voice--she had risen at last and moved--cut short her supplications. "Who is he?" Odette de Villeneuve muttered in a fierce whisper. "Who is he, girl?" She pointed92 to des Ageaux, who kept his station on the threshold, his ear following the course of the fight. "Who is that man? They call him my lord! Who is he?"
"I do not know," Bonne said.
"You do not know?"
"No."
The candles flared93 higher. The Lieutenant94 turned and saw the two sisters standing together looking at him.
He crossed the room to them, halting midway to listen, his attention divided between them and the conflict below. His eyes dwelt awhile on the Abbess, but settled, as he drew nearer, on Bonne. He desired to reassure95 her. "Have no fear, mademoiselle," he said quietly. "Your brother runs little risk. They were taken by surprise. By this time it is over."
The Vicomte heard and his lips trembled, but no words came. It was the Abbess who spoke for him. "And what next?" she asked harshly.
Des Ageaux, still lending an ear to the sounds below, looked at her with attention, but did not answer.
"What next?" she repeated. "You have entered forcibly. By what right?"
"The right, mademoiselle," he replied, "that every man has to resist a wrong. The right that every man has to protect women, and to save his friends. If you desire more than this," he continued, with a change of tone that answered the challenge of her eyes, "in the King's name, mademoiselle, and my own!"
"And you are?"
"His Majesty's Lieutenant in Périgord," he answered, bowing. His attention was fixed96 on her, yet he was vividly conscious of the colour that mounted suddenly to Bonne's cheeks, dyed her brows, shone in her eyes.
"Of Périgord?" the Abbess repeated in astonishment97.
"Of Périgord," he replied, bowing again. "It is true," he continued, shrugging his shoulders, "that I am a league or two beyond my border, but great wrongs beget98 little ones, mademoiselle."
She hated him. As he stood there successful, she hated him. But she had not found an answer, nor had Bonne stilled the fluttering, half painful, half pleasant, of her heart, when the tread of returning feet heralded99 news. The Bat and two others entered, bearing a lanthorn that lit up their damp swarthy faces. The first was Roger.
He was wildly excited. "Great news!" he cried, waving his hand. "Great news! I have downstairs----"
One look from des Ageaux's eyes silenced him. Des Ageaux looked from him to the Bat. "What have you done?" he asked curtly100.
"Their horses?"
"We have their horses."
Des Ageaux paused an instant. Then, "You have closed the gates?"
"And set a guard, my lord!" the Bat answered. "We have no wounded, but----"
"The Duke of Joyeuse lies below, and is wounded!" Roger cried in a breath. He could restrain himself no longer.
If his object was to shatter des Ageaux's indifference102, he succeeded to a marvel103. "The Duke of Joyeuse?" the Lieutenant exclaimed in stupefaction. "Impossible!"
"But no!" Roger retorted. "He is lying below--wounded. It is not impossible!"
"But he was not--of those?" des Ageaux returned, indicating by a gesture the men whom they had just expelled. For an instant the notion that he had attacked and routed friends instead of foes104 darkened his face.
"No!" Roger explained fluently--excitement had rid him of his diffidence. "No! He was the man who rode into the courtyard--but you have not heard? They were going to maltreat him, and he killed their leader, Ampoule--that was before you came!" Roger's eyes shone; it was evident that he had transferred his allegiance.
Des Ageaux's look sought the Bat and asked a question. "There is a dead man below," the Bat answered. "He had it through the throat."
"And the Duke of Joyeuse?"
"He is there--alone apparently."
"Alone?"
The Bat's eyes sought the wall and gazed on it stonily105. "There are more fools than one in the world," he said gruffly.
Des Ageaux pondered an instant. Then, "I will see him," he said. "But first," he turned courteously to the Vicomte, "I have to provide for your safety, M. le Vicomte, and that of your family. I can only ensure it, I fear, by removing you from here. I have not sufficient force to hold the chateau106, and short of that I see no way of protecting you from the Captain of Vlaye's resentment107."
The Vicomte, who had aged76 years in the last few days, as the old sometimes do, sat down weakly on a bed. "Go--from here?" he muttered, his hands moving nervously108 on his knees. "From my house?"
"It is necessary."
"Why?" A younger and stronger voice flung the question at des Ageaux. The Abbess stood forward beside her father. "Why?" she repeated imperiously. "Why should we go from here--from our own house? Or why should we fear M. de Vlaye?"
"To the latter question--because he does not lightly forgive, mademoiselle," des Ageaux replied drily. "To the former because I have neither men nor means to defend this house. To both, because you have with you"--he pointed to the Countess--"this lady, whom it is not consonant109 with the Vicomte's honour either to abandon or to surrender. To be plain, M. de Vlaye's plans have been thwarted110 and his men routed, and to-morrow's sun will not be an hour high before he takes the road. To remain here were to abide111 the utmost of his power; which," he added drily, "is at present of importance, however it may stand in a week's time."
She looked at him darkly beautiful, temper and high disdain in her face. And as she looked there began to take shape in her mind the wish to destroy him; a wish that even as she looked, in a space of time too short to be measured by our clumsy methods, became a fixed thought. Why had he intervened? Who had invited him to intervene? With a woman's inconsistency she left out of sight the wrong M. de Vlaye would have done her, she forgot the child-Countess, she overlooked all except that this man was the enemy of the man she loved. She felt that but for him all would have been well! But for him--for even that she laid at his door--and his hostility112 the Captain of Vlaye had never been driven to think of that other way of securing his fortunes.
These thoughts passed through her mind in a pause so short that the listeners scarcely marked it for a pause. Then, "And if we will not go?" she cried.
"All in the house will go," he replied.
"Whither?"
"I shall decide that," he answered coldly. And he turned from her. Before she could retort he was giving orders, and men were coming and going and calling to one another, and lights were flitting in all directions through the house, and all about her was hubbub113 and stir and confusion. She saw that resistance was vain. Her father was passive, her brothers were des Ageaux's most eager ministrants. The servants were awed115 into silence, or, like old Solomon, who for once was mute on the glories of the race, were anxious to escape for their own sakes.
Then into her hatred116 of him entered a little of that leaven117 of fear which makes hatred active. For amid the confusion he was cool. His voice was firm, his eye commanded on this side, his hand beckoned118 on that, men ran for him. She knew the dread119 in which M. de Vlaye was held. But this she saw was not the awe114 in which men hold him whose caprice it may be to punish, but the awe in which men stand of him who is just; whose nature it is out of chaos120 to create order, and who to that end will spend himself and all. A man cold of face and something passionless; even hard, we have seen, when a rope, a bough121, and a villain122 forced themselves on his attention.
She would not have known him had she seen him leaning over Joyeuse a few minutes later, while his lean subaltern held a shaded taper123 on the other side of the makeshift pallet. The door was locked on them, they had the room to themselves, and between them the Duke lay in the dead sleep of exhaustion124. "I do not think that we can move him," des Ageaux muttered, his brow clouded by care.
The Bat, with the light touch of one who had handled many a dying man, felt the Duke's pulse, without rousing him. "He will bear it," he said, "in a litter."
"Over that road? Think what a road it is!"
"Needs must!"
"He brought the money, found me gone, and followed," des Ageaux murmured in a voice softening125 by feeling. "You think we dare take him?"
"To leave him to the Captain of Vlaye were worse."
"Worse for us," des Ageaux muttered doubtfully. "That is true."
"Worse for all," the Bat grunted126. He took liberties in private that for all the world he would not have had suspected.
Still his master, who had been so firm above-stairs, hung undecided over the sick man's couch. "M. de Vlaye would not be so foolish as to harm him," he said.
"He would only pluck him!" the Bat retorted. "And wing us with the first feather, the Lady Countess with the second, the Crocans with the third, and the King with the fourth." He stopped. It was a long speech for him.
Des Ageaux assented127. "Yes, he is the master-card," he said slowly. "I suppose we must take him. But Heavens knows how we shall get him there."
"Leave that to me!" said the Bat, undertaking128 more than he knew. Nor did he guess with whose assistance he was to perform the task.
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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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flattening
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| n. 修平 动词flatten的现在分词 | |
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panes
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| 窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 ) | |
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gateway
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| n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法 | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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jeers
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| n.操纵帆桁下部（使其上下的）索具；嘲讽( jeer的名词复数 )v.嘲笑( jeer的第三人称单数 ) | |
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impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hysterical
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| adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的 | |
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heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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heeding
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| v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的现在分词 ) | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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13
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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14
casement
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| n.竖铰链窗；窗扉 | |
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15
prop
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| vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山 | |
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succumb
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| v.屈服，屈从；死 | |
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17
bodes
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| v.预示，预告，预言( bode的第三人称单数 )；等待，停留( bide的过去分词 )；居住；（过去式用bided）等待 | |
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18
petulance
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| n.发脾气，生气，易怒，暴躁，性急 | |
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19
wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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20
guttering
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| n.用于建排水系统的材料；沟状切除术；开沟 | |
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21
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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22
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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23
peevishly
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| adv．暴躁地 | |
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24
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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25
craves
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| 渴望，热望( crave的第三人称单数 )； 恳求，请求 | |
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26
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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27
succumbed
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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28
sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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29
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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30
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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31
feigned
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| a.假装的，不真诚的 | |
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32
owls
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| n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 ) | |
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33
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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34
rascals
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| 流氓( rascal的名词复数 )； 无赖； （开玩笑说法）淘气的人（尤指小孩）； 恶作剧的人 | |
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35
arrogant
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的 | |
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36
descried
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| adj.被注意到的，被发现的，被看到的 | |
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37
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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38
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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39
meekest
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| adj.温顺的，驯服的( meek的最高级 ) | |
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40
absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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41
vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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42
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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43
waylaid
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| v.拦截，拦路( waylay的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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44
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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45
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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46
maze
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| n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑 | |
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47
insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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48
emboldened
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| v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49
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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50
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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51
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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52
Augmented
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| adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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53
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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54
babbled
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| v.喋喋不休( babble的过去式和过去分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密 | |
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55
shuffling
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| adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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56
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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57
succumbing
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的现在分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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58
herded
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| 群集，纠结( herd的过去式和过去分词 )； 放牧； （使）向…移动 | |
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59
slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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60
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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61
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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62
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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63
blanched
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| v.使变白( blanch的过去式 )；使（植物）不见阳光而变白；酸洗（金属）使有光泽；用沸水烫（杏仁等）以便去皮 | |
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64
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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65
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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66
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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67
disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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68
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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69
veering
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| n.改变的；犹豫的；顺时针方向转向；特指使船尾转向上风来改变航向v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的现在分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转 | |
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70
stoutly
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| adv.牢固地，粗壮的 | |
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71
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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72
upbraided
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| v.责备，申斥，谴责( upbraid的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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73
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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74
quelled
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| v.（用武力）制止，结束，镇压( quell的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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75
trumpet
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| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
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76
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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77
salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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78
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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79
courteously
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| adv.有礼貌地，亲切地 | |
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80
vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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81
concisely
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| adv.简明地 | |
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82
rending
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| v.撕碎( rend的现在分词 )；分裂；（因愤怒、痛苦等而）揪扯（衣服或头发等）；（声音等）刺破 | |
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83
poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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84
exulting
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| vi. 欢欣鼓舞，狂喜 | |
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85
heeded
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| v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的过去式和过去分词 )；变平，使（某物）变平( flatten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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86
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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87
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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88
stiffened
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| 加强的 | |
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89
scents
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| n.香水( scent的名词复数 )；气味；（动物的）臭迹；（尤指狗的）嗅觉 | |
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90
pang
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| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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91
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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92
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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93
Flared
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| adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词 | |
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94
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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95
reassure
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| v.使放心，使消除疑虑 | |
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96
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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97
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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98
beget
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| v.引起；产生 | |
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99
heralded
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| v.预示( herald的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布（好或重要） | |
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100
curtly
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| adv.简短地 | |
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101
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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102
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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103
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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104
foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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105
stonily
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| 石头地，冷酷地 | |
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106
chateau
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| n.城堡，别墅 | |
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107
resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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108
nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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109
consonant
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| n.辅音；adj.[音]符合的 | |
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110
thwarted
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| 阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过 | |
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111
abide
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| vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受 | |
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112
hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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113
hubbub
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| n.嘈杂；骚乱 | |
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114
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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115
awed
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| adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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116
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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117
leaven
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| v.使发酵；n.酵母；影响 | |
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118
beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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119
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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120
chaos
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| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
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121
bough
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| n.大树枝，主枝 | |
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122
villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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123
taper
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| n.小蜡烛，尖细，渐弱；adj.尖细的；v.逐渐变小 | |
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124
exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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125
softening
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| 变软，软化 | |
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126
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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127
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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128
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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