“Gosh, we weren’t far off after all!” exclaimed Jim.
Sergeant2 Manley smiled. “You don’t have to be far off to get lost up here,” he said, “and I’m blessin’ the day we met you. Best of luck all around. Saved you boys, saved us the Lord alone knows how many weeks of mushing it, and ended the hunt for Jacquet.”
“Aye, an’ nae forgettin’ the tidy bit o’ siller comin’ to our pockets,” put in the practical Campbell.
“Say, what are they doing on the shore?” cried Tom who had been studying the scene intently. “Look, they’ve got tents and I can see a lot of the men there. Why aren’t they on the brig?”
[250]
Sergeant Manley whipped out his glasses and focused them on the shore of the inlet.
The next moment the powerful Newfoundlands were tearing down the slope with the lighter4, cream-colored Eskimo dogs in the rear, and with the two stalwart policemen riding the runners and “yip-yiing” at the teams. Like the wind the sleds raced down the steep hillside, and the two boys bent5 their heads as the cold wind whistled across their faces.
Out on to the flat they dashed, and leaping off, the two officers brought their teams to a sudden halt within a dozen yards of the first tent.
“Wall, I’ll be squeegeed!” cried Cap’n Pem as he turned at the sound of the party’s arrival. “Where’n——” Then, catching6 sight of the boys’ companions he leaped forward with a hop7 and a skip.
“By the etarnal, I’m glad to see ye!” he cried. “Nor’west perlice, ain’t ye? Where’n Sam Hill’d these youngsters pick ye up?”
“Trouble!” exploded old Pem. “Mut’ny! Them there critters has seized the Ruby an’ won’t let nary a man aboard, dod gast their hides!”
[251]
“Where’s the captain?” snapped out the sergeant as he slipped his carbine from its sheath and Campbell did the same.
“Here he comes,” said Tom. “What started the mutiny, Cap’n Pem?”
“Them there gutter9 snipes!” replied the old whaleman. “Said this here was a salvage10 job an’ wouldn’t stir hand nor foot lessen11 we give ’em half the valer o’ the Narwhal’s cargo12. I swan, I never heered o’ sech a thing. Never knowed a whaleman t’ talk o’ salvage. That’s what comes o’ these here unions an’ new-fangled idees.”
“Hello!” cried Captain Edwards, who now joined the group with Mike and the other members of the Narwhal’s company behind him. “See you’ve brought re?nforcements, boys. Glad you’re here, officers.”
“Understand you’ve a mutiny aboard,” said the Sergeant.
“Not my ship,” replied the captain, “that’s the trouble. We could rush ’em but they’ve got their skipper an’ mates there and she’s a British ship and I don’t know how far we Yankees could go.”
“Got any guns?” snapped out Manley.
“’Bout a dozen,” Captain Edwards assured him.
“Plenty!” declared the Sergeant. “Get your best[252] men together, give them the guns, and I’ll take charge. Campbell, get the kayaks ready.”
Throwing off his mackinaw, Sergeant Manley strode forward, uttered sharp, crisp orders and with twelve of the Narwhal’s crew, including Nate, one-eyed Ned, Swanson, and Mr. Kemp, he marched to the waiting kayaks, ordering the men to shoot and shoot to kill if he gave the word. With ready carbine he stepped into a canoe. Behind him came the little flotilla. Instantly all was excitement on the decks of the brigantine. Men ran here and there. One or two leaped into the rigging, and the watching boys saw the flash of steel, and the glint of gun barrels.
“Golly, they’re going to fight!” exclaimed Jim.
“B’jabbers thin ’twill be a sorry day for thim!” declared Mike. “’Tis the King’s constabulary they do be afther resistin’, bad cess to thim.”
But the battle the boys expected never took place. No sooner did the mutineers recognize the police officers than all ideas of resistance were cast aside. Clambering on to the rail a man waved a white rag frantically14 in token of surrender. An instant later the kayaks were alongside, and Sergeant Manley and Campbell leaped over the bulwarks15.
Cowed, with all the braggadocio16 gone from them,[253] the Ruby’s crew backed away and stood muttering together near the foremast.
“Where’s the captain and mate?” snapped out the Sergeant, keeping the men covered with his weapon.
“Aft, in the cabin,” replied one of the men.
“Search that crowd, Campbell!” ordered the Sergeant, “and hold ’em.”
A minute later he reappeared accompanied by the skipper and his chief officer.
“Those are the ringleaders,” declared the captain, pointing to a big, bull-necked, low-browed fellow and a weasel-faced, shifty-eyed creature. “They started the trouble. Jones there’s the one killed the bo’sun.”
“That’s a lie!” roared the heavy man. “S’help me——”
“Silence!” roared Sergeant Manley. “Here, Campbell——”
With a quick motion, the bull-necked fellow whipped out a revolver. There was a sharp report and the mutineer plunged18 forward upon the deck and his gun clattered19 upon the planking. Campbell nonchalantly threw out the empty shell and snapped another into his carbine.
Terrified at the death of their leader, the mutineers,[254] already frightened at the realization20 of their position, drew back with blanched21 faces while the rat-faced ringleader fell on his knees and pleaded for mercy.
“Get up!” ordered the Sergeant, and as the fellow rose a pair of handcuffs snapped upon his wrists.
“We’ll take him along with us,” announced Sergeant Manley. “Any others you want to lose, Captain?”
“I’d jolly well like to lose the whole bally lot,” replied the skipper earnestly, “but I can’t. Got to handle the ship you know.”
“Don’t think they’ll give you further trouble,” declared the Sergeant. “Have ’em searched. Keep ’em workin’ an’ carry a gun—each of you. Don’t forget you’re on a British ship and labor22 unions don’t go under that flag. You’re boss and let ’em know it. Expect those Yankees’ll be glad to lend you a hand with this crowd.”
Presently Captain Edwards and old Pem, with the remaining members of the Narwhal’s crew, came aboard; the few belongings23 of the shipwrecked whalemen were stowed and preparations were made for departure.
“Think I’ll go along with you to Rowe’s Welcome,” said Sergeant Manley as the whale boats were lowered[255] and the repentant25 crew prepared to tow the Ruby out of the worst of the ice. “Have to report the loss of the Narwhal, and I’d like to see you safe on your way. Campbell, take the dogs and go overland.”
Then, as the brigantine moved slowly from the inlet, bumping her blunt bows into the floating ice and grinding between the cakes which went bobbing astern, the boys had their first chance to tell the story of their adventures.
“Thank heaven, this cruise is over—or near it!” cried Captain Edwards. “I’d be a nervous wreck24 if I had you boys to look after much longer, even if you do always come out smilin’ as a clam13.”
“I’ll be b’iled if ye can’t git into more consarned scrapes’n a passel o’ monkeys!” declared Cap’n Pem. “Fast as ye’re outen one ye’re into a wusser.”
At last the brigantine was clear of the shore ice, ahead stretched patches and lanes of open water, and under a light wind the Ruby went bumping and crashing on her way towards Rowe’s Welcome and the stove Narwhal.
“I suppose you men have a heap of queer adventures,” remarked Mr. Kemp as Sergeant Manley[256] stopped for a chat. “I was mate with a chap what was in the force once, when I was on the destroyer.”
The Sergeant smiled. “Yes, we get our share,” he replied, “but most of ’em pretty much alike—runnin’ down renegades and outlaws28. If any one wants plenty of exercise and out-doors air, I’ll recommend the force. To-day’s job’s the queerest I ever had yet, though. A Northwest policeman’s supposed to do most anything that turns up, but I’d never have dreamed of bein’ called on to board a ship and put down a mutiny.”
The next day the Ruby worked her way past Southampton Island into the Welcome. Eagerly the boys peered ahead for the first glimpse of the Narwhal and the village of their Eskimo friends.
“It’s been a fine cruise,” declared Jim, “but it makes me feel almost sick to think of leaving the old Narwhal here.”
“Humph!” snorted Cap’n Pem. “Ships has got ter go sometimes—same’s folks. Reckon the Welcome’s as good a place’s any ter let her ol’ bones rest. ’Sides, ye won’t lose nothin’, Dixon had her insured ter the limit.”
“That’s not it,” said Tom. “It’s like losing an old friend. Why, you know how we’d feel if we left you or any of the others up here, Cap’n Pem.”
[257]
The old whaleman turned his head, blew his nose loudly on his red cotton handkerchief and cleared his throat. “Derned if I don’t know jes how ye feel,” he replied. “Hate fer to see a ol’ ship go myself. Wall, there ain’t no help fer it. Everlastin’ lucky we salvaged29 all the cargo.”
“And luckier yet the Ruby was up here,” added Captain Edwards.
“Seems to me the whole trip’s been lucky—no matter what happened,” said Tom.
“Even with the cat,” laughed Jim.
“Gosh, where is she?” cried Tom. “I’d forgotten all about her and her kittens.”
“Lef’ her an’ t’others behin’,” said Cap’n Pem. “Ye didn’t think we could be a-totin’ a passel o’ cats ’long o’ us on that there sledge30 trip, did ye? Jes the same, I reckon I got ter take back what I said erbout her. Mebbe times has changed an’ cats is lucky now’days, what with injines an’ bumb lances an’ perlice a-puttin’ down mut’nies an’ all sech new-fangled contraptions.”
“Hurrah, you do admit it!” cried Jim. “If we keep on we’ll knock all your superstitions31 to pieces.”
But Cap’n Pem had not waited to hear.
A few minutes later, the Ruby rounded a jutting32 cape33 and there, before them, was the well-known[258] cove17 with the Narwhal, forsaken34 and deserted35, looming36 above the cakes of ice.
“Why, why—Gosh! She’s afloat!” cried Tom, hardly able to believe his eyes.
“Holy mackerel, she is!” agreed Mr. Kemp.
“I’ll be blowed!” exclaimed Captain Edwards. “By glory, we may go home in her yet!”
With wondering eyes the crew of the Narwhal gazed upon their schooner37, for the ship they had left with her deck bulging38 above the bulwarks from the terrific pressure of the ice; the vessel39 whose stern had been raised high in air and that they were positive would sink to the bottom of the bay when the ice broke up, was now floating on an even keel, low in the water to be sure, but apparently40 sound and unhurt.
Scarcely had the Ruby’s anchor dropped over before Captain Edwards, Pem, Mr. Kemp, and the boys tumbled into a boat and were pulled rapidly to the Narwhal. Grasping the main chains, Tom leaped on to the deck and as he did so a ball of black fur sprang from a coil of rope and with a friendly “meow” the ship’s cat rubbed herself against the boy’s legs.
“Hurrah!” he shouted as the others jumped on to the deck. “It’s all right, here’s the cat!”
“Waall, I’ll be everlastin’ly swizzled!” cried Cap’n[259] Pem as he looked about. “The ol’ deck’s dropped inter41 place. I’ll be b’iled if I think there’s a mite42 the matter with her!”
“Five feet of water in the hold,” announced Mr. Kemp who had been sounding the well.
“Course there is,” replied the captain. “May have sprung a leak, but if she did, it’s stopped now. If it hadn’t she’d have sunk. Reckon she dove off the ice too an’ shipped some down the for’ard hatch. Men, what do you say? Shall we take the chance and sail in the old Narwhal?”
“Aye! aye!” responded the men in chorus. “No lime juicers for us, long’s the schooner’s a-floatin’.”
“But how—how could she be squeezed all together as she was and be all right now?” asked Tom. “Why, her deck was like a hill and her bulwarks were bent in.”
Cap’n Pem chuckled43 and rubbed his hands together in glee. “Didn’t I tell ye whaleships was built to las’ forever?” he cried. “Bless yer souls! what’s a mite o’ squeezin’ to a ol’ hooker like the Narwhal. I bet ye she’s a-sailin’ an’ a-crusin’ an’ a-gettin’ jammed in the ice arter you an’ me and the rest ’re dead an’ gone. Yes, sir, nothin’ like a Yankee whaleship!”
All having agreed that they would sail home in[260] the Narwhal, the crew were transferred from the Ruby. Then Sergeant Manley bade them all good luck and a quick voyage, and joining Campbell, who had arrived the day previously44, he sped swiftly into the southwest towards distant Fort Churchill with his rat-faced mutineer prisoner.
With doleful shakes of his head the skipper of the Ruby said farewell, muttering something about “Yankees taking chances where no sane45 man would,” and hoisting46 sail, he headed his tubby old craft for the open sea.
Working steadily47, toiling48 for hour after hour, the men pumped the water from the Narwhal. They labored49 with light hearts, for steadily they gained and when at last the pumps sucked, and the following day the sounding rod showed less than a foot of water, all knew that the schooner was tight and safe. Rapidly the long deck house was dismantled50, the big foretopmast yard was sent up to the words of a rousing chantey, sails were bent on and running rigging rove. Then, like beavers51, the men and the Eskimos toiled52, bringing the casks of oils, the bales of whalebone, the great bundles of skins and hides, the sacks of ivory, and the countless53 other valuables, as well as stores and supplies, from the shore.
At last all was done. The last of the cargo was[261] stowed. The standing54 rigging was taut55 and well tarred. The carpenter had patched the cracked rails and bulwarks, and had relaid some of the deck planks56. The motor had been overhauled57 and tested. The sails hung loosely in their brails and the boats were at their davits. All this had taken much time to accomplish, and the Arctic spring had come swiftly to the land. The hills and valleys showed gray and bare. The black rocks loomed58 above the patches of sodden59 snow. The ice, rotten and spongy, had almost disappeared from the bay. The Eskimos’ igloos had long since gone, and the natives were living in their skin tents once more. Far overhead in the blue sky, the long files of geese and swans winged northward60; great flocks of eiders gathered on the bay; curlew and snipe filled the night air with their plaintive61 whistling, and the snowbirds twittered from rocks and last year’s weeds.
For the last time the boys paddled ashore62 in their kayak and bade farewell to Nepaluka, to Newilic, to Kemiplu, the wrinkled old story teller63, and to all their Eskimo friends whom they had grown to love and respect.
Then the clank of the windlass and the rousing chantey of the men warned them it was time to leave, and swiftly they paddled to the schooner, gave a[262] farewell wave of their hands to the crowd of Eskimos ashore, and saw their little kayak hoisted64 to the deck.
Oh first came the herring, the king o’ the sea,
Windy weather! Stormy weather!
He jumped on the poop. “I’ll be capt’n,” says he!
Blow ye winds westerly, gentle sou’westerly
Blow ye winds westerly—steady she goes!
Loudly the chantey rang over the bay. Loudly the Eskimos shouted and yelled as the dripping chain came in link by link, and the great anchor rose from the mud that had held it fast for half a year. Up the rigging the men sped. Quickly the huge sails were spread and sheeted home. Braces65 were manned, and the Narwhal slowly gathered way and the short seas splashed in spray from her forefoot. Out towards the vast reaches of the bay she sailed. Behind her, the land grew dim and faint. To a fair, stiff breeze she heeled, with every sail drawing, headed southward.
Battered66 by countless storms, scarred by ice, the veteran of a thousand battles with hurricanes and tempest, with crushing floes and grinding bergs, still staunch and sound, the gallant67 old schooner lifted her bow and plunged through the hissing68 green seas.
Safe within her old hold were the hard won treasures[263] of the Arctic; yard long icicles and masses of frozen spray draped her bobstays, her rails, and her chains. But shaking the icy brine from her decks as she reared on the crests69 of the waves, sliding into the great hollows, crushing ice cakes with her shearing70 bows, she tore onward71, while at braces and halyards and sheets the men roared out that most welcome and glorious of whaleman’s songs:
Did you ever join in with those heart-ringing cheers,
You hoisted your topsails—bound home?
THE END
点击收听单词发音
1 ridge | |
n.山脊;鼻梁;分水岭 | |
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2 sergeant | |
n.警官,中士 | |
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3 ruby | |
n.红宝石,红宝石色 | |
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4 lighter | |
n.打火机,点火器;驳船;v.用驳船运送;light的比较级 | |
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5 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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6 catching | |
adj.易传染的,有魅力的,迷人的,接住 | |
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7 hop | |
n.单脚跳,跳跃;vi.单脚跳,跳跃;着手做某事;vt.跳跃,跃过 | |
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8 queries | |
n.问题( query的名词复数 );疑问;询问;问号v.质疑,对…表示疑问( query的第三人称单数 );询问 | |
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9 gutter | |
n.沟,街沟,水槽,檐槽,贫民窟 | |
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10 salvage | |
v.救助,营救,援救;n.救助,营救 | |
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11 lessen | |
vt.减少,减轻;缩小 | |
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12 cargo | |
n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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13 clam | |
n.蛤,蛤肉 | |
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14 frantically | |
ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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15 bulwarks | |
n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 );保障;支柱;舷墙 | |
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16 braggadocio | |
n.吹牛大王 | |
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17 cove | |
n.小海湾,小峡谷 | |
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18 plunged | |
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降 | |
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19 clattered | |
发出咔哒声(clatter的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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20 realization | |
n.实现;认识到,深刻了解 | |
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21 blanched | |
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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22 labor | |
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦 | |
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23 belongings | |
n.私人物品,私人财物 | |
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24 wreck | |
n.失事,遇难;沉船;vt.(船等)失事,遇难 | |
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25 repentant | |
adj.对…感到悔恨的 | |
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26 spat | |
n.口角,掌击;v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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27 tersely | |
adv. 简捷地, 简要地 | |
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28 outlaws | |
歹徒,亡命之徒( outlaw的名词复数 ); 逃犯 | |
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29 salvaged | |
(从火灾、海难等中)抢救(某物)( salvage的过去式和过去分词 ); 回收利用(某物) | |
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30 sledge | |
n.雪橇,大锤;v.用雪橇搬运,坐雪橇往 | |
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31 superstitions | |
迷信,迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 ) | |
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32 jutting | |
v.(使)突出( jut的现在分词 );伸出;(从…)突出;高出 | |
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33 cape | |
n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风 | |
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34 Forsaken | |
adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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35 deserted | |
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的 | |
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36 looming | |
n.上现蜃景(光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼)v.隐约出现,阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 );隐约出现,阴森地逼近 | |
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37 schooner | |
n.纵帆船 | |
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38 bulging | |
膨胀; 凸出(部); 打气; 折皱 | |
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39 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
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40 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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41 inter | |
v.埋葬 | |
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42 mite | |
n.极小的东西;小铜币 | |
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43 chuckled | |
轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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44 previously | |
adv.以前,先前(地) | |
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45 sane | |
adj.心智健全的,神志清醒的,明智的,稳健的 | |
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46 hoisting | |
起重,提升 | |
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47 steadily | |
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地 | |
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48 toiling | |
长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 ); 艰难缓慢地移动,跋涉 | |
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49 labored | |
adj.吃力的,谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 );苦干;详细分析;(指引擎)缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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50 dismantled | |
拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 ); 拆卸; 废除; 取消 | |
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51 beavers | |
海狸( beaver的名词复数 ); 海狸皮毛; 棕灰色; 拼命工作的人 | |
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52 toiled | |
长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 ); 艰难缓慢地移动,跋涉 | |
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53 countless | |
adj.无数的,多得不计其数的 | |
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54 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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55 taut | |
adj.拉紧的,绷紧的,紧张的 | |
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56 planks | |
(厚)木板( plank的名词复数 ); 政纲条目,政策要点 | |
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57 overhauled | |
v.彻底检查( overhaul的过去式和过去分词 );大修;赶上;超越 | |
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58 loomed | |
v.隐约出现,阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 );隐约出现,阴森地逼近 | |
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59 sodden | |
adj.浑身湿透的;v.使浸透;使呆头呆脑 | |
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60 northward | |
adv.向北;n.北方的地区 | |
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61 plaintive | |
adj.可怜的,伤心的 | |
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62 ashore | |
adv.在(向)岸上,上岸 | |
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63 teller | |
n.银行出纳员;(选举)计票员 | |
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64 hoisted | |
把…吊起,升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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65 braces | |
n.吊带,背带;托架( brace的名词复数 );箍子;括弧;(儿童)牙箍v.支住( brace的第三人称单数 );撑牢;使自己站稳;振作起来 | |
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66 battered | |
adj.磨损的;v.连续猛击;磨损 | |
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67 gallant | |
adj.英勇的,豪侠的;(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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68 hissing | |
n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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69 crests | |
v.到达山顶(或浪峰)( crest的第三人称单数 );到达洪峰,达到顶点 | |
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70 shearing | |
n.剪羊毛,剪取的羊毛v.剪羊毛( shear的现在分词 );切断;剪切 | |
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71 onward | |
adj.向前的,前进的;adv.向前,前进,在先 | |
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72 dome | |
n.圆屋顶,拱顶 | |
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73 laden | |
adj.装满了的;充满了的;负了重担的;苦恼的 | |
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