I HAD just returned from an engagement where I had performed violin solos at the French Presidency2 concert, when I met O’Hara again. I was sitting in the wooden café at Selao at the time.
“Well, what’s the matter now?” I said, as O’Hara greeted me. I noticed that he looked rather mournful.
“Pal4, I’m not going to be done; I’ve made up my mind to marry the girl Fae Fae, and be damned to her old nigger chief, Tautoa!”
One can imagine my astonishment5 as O’Hara blurted7 out the foregoing, for I had no knowledge whatever that he had seen Fae Fae since we had first seen the girl dancing round an idol8 in the forest. Slowly the truth came out. It appeared that O’Hara had been secretly meeting Fae Fae every night since the idol adventure. Things had come to such a pass that Fae Fae had agreed to bolt from the palace and marry him.
“What’s the trouble, then? Don’t you want to marry her?” said I, as O’Hara finished a glowing account of Fae Fae’s affection for him.
Then O’Hara made a further confession10. It appeared that, in his usual careless way, he had been overbold, and so had spoiled his chance of wooing Fae Fae on the sly. He had gone to the Queen’s palace one night, and had serenaded Fae Fae on the guitar, like some old-time 116Spanish cavalier. This mad act had got Fae Fae into trouble, for she, in her impulsive11 way, had rushed from the palace stockade12 gate straight into O’Hara’s arms. It so happened that Tautoa, the chief to whom Fae Fae was betrothed13, caught them in each other’s arms! And my chum had made matters worse, for he had managed to give Tautoa a black eye in the mêlée that followed his mad presumption15. It appeared that Fae Fae was now under strict surveillance. And, more, the head chiefs had laid a charge at the Government Presidency about the matter. And I believe that, even at that early date, a warrant was out for the arrest of O’Hara for disturbing the peace and forcing his presence on a native maid of royal blood. When O’Hara first unfolded his plans for abducting17 Fae Fae, I endeavoured to reason with him.
“It’s ridiculous, pal. You’re talking like a South Sea novel. You can’t seize a beautiful girl of royal blood, a princess, and carry her away from the palace like some old freebooter of the southern seas. Besides, we’ll be arrested by the gendarmes18. And there’s the old Queen to be considered, her consort19, her son, and, last and not least, Fae Fae’s legitimate20 lover, Tautoa.”
O’Hara used a quite unprintable word as I mentioned that last name. Then he stared as though I were mad, and said:
“Me! talking like a novel! I mean to have her.”
His eyes flashed as he blurted out his plans, telling me how easy it was to steal a girl and bolt off into the mountains! His chest swelled21 visibly over his thoughts. Holding up his glass of vile22 Papeete beer in one hand, melodramatic fashion, he lifted his chin and burst into some Irish song that told of maids clasped in the arms of impassioned lovers. As he finished his extemporization23, the native girls who were standing24 at 117the shanty’s door, murmured, “Yorana! Yorana!” One dusky Tahitian belle25, with large, lustrous26 eyes, crossed her bare, smooth arms and one timid knee, and, as she leaned against the door frame, gave a delicious pout27, telling with admiring eyes all that a romantic maid can tell when gazing on a man whose favour she yearns28 to gain.
Though I had sought by wordy wisdom to persuade O’Hara to abandon his mad idea of abducting Fae Fae from Pomare’s palace, my heart was as enthusiastic about it all as was his own. The philosophy of the first fine careless rapture29 of youth was mine. I felt I was out in the world to live, if somewhat faintly, some of the glorious romance that poets wrote about. I well knew that the great crabbed30 philosophies were written by perished feathered quills31 on musty parchments, quills that once fluttered on living wings among the blossoming boughs33. I knew that no pen, however inspired, could sing the impassioned philosophy of life as the throbbing34 red throat of the brown thrush can sing, or as O’Hara and I could live it. And, so, I must confess that the idea of the breadfruit sighing as we sat awaiting the sunset’s close and O’Hara impatiently watching for the favourable35 moment to abduct16 a Tahitian princess from a pagan palace on a South Sea isle36, seemed the perfect music and the most noble endeavour of the Psalm37 of Life!
For several moments I compressed my brows as though in deepest meditation38 over the wisdom or folly39 of doing what O’Hara proposed.
He watched me closely, then suddenly gripped my hand.
“Pal, I’m with you; it shall be done,” I said.
My Irish comrade was satisfied. He knew me. I hadn’t stowed away on sailing and tramp ships, and 118lived with rats in coal bunkers on long voyages across tropic seas, without looking a bit determined40 when I had really made up my mind—well—to make a fool of myself!
I knew that Queen Pomare of Tahiti was allowed a certain amount of authority over her people. Though aged14, she was an attractive, powerful-looking woman. It was also hinted by the officials that she still leaned towards her old creed41. However that may have been, her retinue42 was made up of many old-time, ex-cannibal chiefs. One had only to go by night up the mountain slopes by Tamao to hear the low chanting of festival sounds coming from the solitary43 palace, sounds that were suspiciously like the wild night-wassailing of some frenzied44 heathenland!
The very next night we made our plans. O’Hara smacked45 me on the back, and called down the blessings46 of the Virgin47 on my head for helping48 a pal in trouble. It was finally settled that we should set out on our romantic, risky49 adventure after dusk, the very next day.
The inevitable50 hour arrived. I stood beneath the palms at the arranged spot.
“Are you ready, pal?” said O’Hara, as he met me.
“I am!” said I; and then added: “I suppose you are determined to attempt to abduct Fae Fae?”
“By the holy Virgin, yes!” he muttered.
“I can rely upon you that the maid knows of your intentions, and has agreed to bolt off into the mountains with you?” said I.
O’Hara gave a scornful laugh. It was then he told me that old Tapee had slipped, under the cover of night, into the palace, and had bribed53 one of the sentinels to deliver his billet-doux into Fae Fae’s hands.
“Ho! so that’s how you’ve managed it all, is it?” I answered.
119I felt much relief; for I will admit that I knew O’Hara well enough to realize that he was likely to go off and seize a maid who knew nothing of his coming. At hearing that old Tapee was in the secret, I felt cheered up, and had greater faith in the result of the expedition. So off I went, down the forest track with O’Hara, on the wildest adventure into which I have ever plunged54. We crept across the lonely Broome Road, and passed under the shades of the giant breadfruit trees. The stars were shining. Hardly a breath of wind disturbed the leaves of the mountain palms. O’Hara clutched me by the arms, as though he were afraid I might change my mind—and make a bolt.
“I’m game; don’t worry. I’ll see you through,” said I.
Taking a large flask58 from his pocket, he handed it to me. Though not an imbiber59 of proof spirit, I took rather a bold nip, feeling that a little extra Dutch courage might not be amiss ere the night was out! We had arrived at the outskirts60 of the large cultivated space that half surrounded Queen Pomare’s palace stockade. As we passed through the arcades61, constructed by Nature’s brooding handiwork of interlacing branches of tropical undergrowth twining round the first pillars of giant trees, my heart fluttered slightly.
“Is it some mad dream?” I thought, as we stood on the little moonlit slope that faced the palatial62 stockade of Pomare’s dwelling63. Standing there, by O’Hara’s side, I peeped down the palm-terraced groves64 and spotted66 the large one-storied, verandahed building. It had an ominous67 look about it. Then O’Hara took me up a track where I had never been before.
120We arrived among the thickets69 of dense70 bamboos growing by the wooden gate that was the side entrance to the palace. We stood perfectly71 still and waited. O’Hara gave a low whistle. Our hearts beat like muffled72 drums as we stood there. I looked at the dim outline of the palace. All was silent, phantom73-like, in the rising moonlight. Only one small light flickered74 in the little latticed window-hole by the main entrance.
“What’s that light?” quoth I in a hushed voice.
“It’s where the Queen sleeps,” replied my pal.
“Is it really?” I whispered, as I thought in some mad way of the old romantic novels that I had read in my schooldays.
Yes, and there was I, sure enough, with a mad Irishman, outside a barbarian’s palace, awaiting the psychological moment to seize a heathen princess!
We must have stood there for half an hour before O’Hara gave the fourth whistle and said, “She’s being watched, that’s what it is; otherwise, begorra, she’d have come out of that gate before now.”
“What shall we do now?” said I, feeling fit for any emergency as the spirit commenced to take effect. The romance of the whole situation began to bubble, to thrill in my soul. Indeed, I had become as enthusiastic as O’Hara over the prospective76 elopement of Fae Fae.
“Old pal,” said he, “I’m going into the palace to seize her; that’s what I’m going to do!”
“Good Lord, really!” said I, as visions arose of dramatic scenes that might ensue when we got into that eerie78-looking, big wooden building.
“Won’t they hear us—and club us?” said I.
“Not they! I’ve been in the palace before by night; I know where Fae Fae sleeps, and it’s no hard job to find her.”
“You do, do you!” thought I. Then O’Hara began 121to creep down the orange grove65 and, like some obsequious79 shadow, I followed.
Not a sound broke the primeval stillness as we curved round the small track that led to the main entrance of the palace. At that very moment a night bird, somewhere up in the mangroves, burst into song. It gave a sharp scream as we passed like shadows beneath the trees, and then flapped away. We both leapt back into the deeper gloom. Our hearts nearly stopped, for lo! the bushy head of some high chief suddenly poked80 out of the half-open gate at the main entrance. We watched that big mop-head and fierce-looking face turn to the right and left, peer into the moonlight a moment, then we saw it withdrawn81 from view.
“I’d like to give that cove51 one on his napper!” whispered O’Hara, with a levity82 which I thought considerably83 out of place at such a time. “I know him; it’s old thin-legs, the night sentinel. I’ve tried to bribe52 the old wretch84, but ’twasn’t any go.”
“Oh!” said I, for the want of saying something better at such a moment. Indeed, the most poignant85 phrases that the English language can twist together could not have expressed all that I felt.
“What do you intend doing now?” said I.
“Why, I’m going to slip into the palace and see Fae Fae in her private chamber86. She’ll soon come when she sees us.”
“Are you sure she won’t scream? Don’t you think it’s a bit unwise, in the night-time, like this?”
“Blimey ducks, no!” chuckled87 O’Hara. Thereupon I made up my mind to seize the blessed Queen herself, if O’Hara wished me to do so.
To tell the truth, I had wondered if Fae Fae would not take fright at seeing me with O’Hara. It appeared that my comrade had wooed Fae Fae considerably in 122the little time he had known her. But I had only seen her twice—and there I was, bound for her sleeping-apartment in the dead of night.
Once again we moved on. Arriving before a little door that led into a roomy apartment adjoining the west wing of the palace, O’Hara gently pulled another door open. We both crept in. It was nearly pitch dark; the faint rays of moonlight, peeping through chinks in the roof, just helped us to grope along. As we moved stealthily across the floor, I stumbled over a large calabash. We stood still, breathless with suspense88. I looked around: on the walls, dimly revealed by the moonlight, hung old war-clubs, spears, and other ancient heirlooms of the Pomarean dynasty. We heard a door open, then it was shut again, for the sounds of distant laughter and heathen voices swiftly ceased. It came from somewhere on the other side of the courtyard, that portion of the palace where Queen Pomare and her suite89 dwelt. Once more we crept on. Passing across another room, we suddenly came out into a small courtyard.
Turning to me, O’Hara whispered:
“You see that door over there, on the far side of that wooden building? Well, it opens into a long corridor, and at the far end is the chamber where Fae Fae sleeps.”
I nodded.
“Are you game to follow me, pal?” he added.
“I am!” said I, as I clutched my revolver and thought how “gamey” we might both soon be if we were discovered.
I don’t know if my story sounds like a sketch90 from some semi-comic opera, but I do know that it was a serious thing for us to attempt to get into a native girl’s bedroom as we did that night. But, mind you, I believed implicitly91 in O’Hara’s good intentions. Never once had 123I observed him take a liberty with a maid. He had the Celtic temperament93, but was clean-minded, notwithstanding his sins. We opened the door that led down the corridor to Fae Fae’s bed-chamber; then we took a rather bold nip at the flask of whisky. In complete obedience94 to O’Hara’s whispered directions, I at once went down on my knees, then, hand over hand and knee over knee, we began to travel down that dark, narrow corridor! A stream of moonlight crept through the airholes that were in the roof. I could just discern O’Hara’s ragged95 coat-tails in front of me as I blindly groped along behind him. I saw the dim shadows of the palms waving about, silhouetted96 on the wooden walls as the winds stirred the forest trees outside. Arriving about half-way down the corridor, I whispered to my comrade:
“Supposing she’s asleep? Do you intend to seize her whilst she lies in bed? Won’t she scream if she sees me with you, and awaken97 the whole palace?”
I knew what English girls would do if they suddenly awoke and saw two sunburnt tramps on their knees, peering round the edge of their bedroom door at the dead of night.
My relief was considerable when O’Hara whispered:
“Don’t worry; Fae Fae expects me, and it’s not her who is going to scream.” Then, in a tense whisper, he added: “Besides, she sleeps alone, away from the rest of the palace folk.”
“Thank God for that much!” thought I, as we once more started to creep, like two monstrous98 slugs, down the floor of the corridor.
O’Hara suddenly stopped. My heart gave a slight flutter. I knew we had arrived outside Fae Fae’s chamber. I heard my comrade give two soft taps—so, “tap!” “tap!”—on the door’s bamboo panel with his knuckles99. Each tap seemed to echo and re-echo down the silent 124corridor. I was thankful that I had drunk deeply from the whisky-flask which O’Hara had so thoughtfully handed me. Had we been about to seize a heathen man, or even an old woman, the matter would have seemed different. Notwithstanding that I had knocked about the world, the thought of so rudely disturbing a maiden’s slumber101 and those romantic ideals which I can find no name for here, had still a great influence over me. Consequently, I paused on the threshold of that chamber. She was an innocent girl, none need doubt that much. To the reader, who has never plunged into such a midnight venture as I tell of here, I can confidently say that he would require a little artificial stimulant102 to buck103 his courage up were he placed under like circumstances. There’s something eerie in creeping into a semi-heathen palace and crawling down an interminable corridor to seize a maid as she sleeps in her chamber. And all this, mind you, not for one’s self, but for another! And, again, there was not only the danger of detection by that heathen crew to reckon with, but also the French officials, who would assuredly give us penal104 servitude in the calaboose (jail), or transport us to Noumea should they catch us on this mad venture. But for the fact that we had youth’s superabundant confidence on our side, I am sure we should never have ventured on such an escapade. I recall the breathless hush75 of that supreme105 moment when O’Hara once more gently tapped the maiden’s door.
“Fae Fae!” he whispered.
How eagerly we listened! Only a faint moan came from the forest palms just outside, then all was silent again.
Our hearts thumped—we heard a rustling107 sound, which 125resembled a noise made by someone yawning. An uncomfortable suspicion flashed through my brain: Had O’Hara mistaken the room? and was that chamber occupied by some mighty108 chief?
“What’s that?” I said in a tense whisper, as that eerie sound came again, with the soft patter of bare feet. “Look out, pal!” I whispered, instinctively109 ducking my head in some vague idea that a club was falling on it!
O’Hara tapped again, then softly called the maid’s name. I looked up, my heart in my mouth, as we crouched110 there, both on our hands and knees. The door creaked. We watched—and it was being slowly opened. Through a chink, that was no wider than two inches, peeped two sparkling eyes, half hidden by dishevelled tresses—it was Fae Fae!
“It’s only us, Faey.”
At once the door opened a little wider, and two astonished eyes looked down upon us, both there on our hands and knees!
“Oh, Messieurs, you be killed!” she whispered, as she lifted her hands and gazed upon us in an awestruck manner.
Slinking there, behind O’Hara’s coat-tails, I gazed up at the maid through his armpits!
“Didn’t you hear me whistle, Faey dearest?” said my comrade, as the astonished girl still stared at us in fright.
“No, Monsieur Hara, I sleep fast,” she said, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
At this candid112 confession, O’Hara looked crestfallen113. I, too, must confess that a dash of cold water seemed to have been thrown upon the fires of my romantic soul. I pinched my leg to convince myself that I was not 126dreaming. It was real enough, no dream at all. It was a solid me intruding114 into a girl’s bed-chamber at the dead of night, ready to clutch the maid and help my comrade to carry her away into the mountains!
“Come, Fae Fae, don’t go back on me, darlint,” wailed116 O’Hara, as the pretty maid looked about in a bewildered way, as though hesitating as to what she ought to do under such distressing117 circumstances.
At this moment I poked my head up from behind O’Hara and revealed my physiognomy clearly in the shifting moonlight.
“Oui! oui! Awaie!” she woefully ejaculated, as she recognized my impertinent presence. Then she peered again, and said: “Tre bon! it’s nicer fiddle118 man!”
I rose to my feet as though I had just received a knighthood, and bowed with such courtesy as I felt was due at such a moment. I may have blushed, but I do know that my heart warmed considerably to the possibilities of the whole business. Much of the girl’s apprehension119 seemed to have vanished at discovering that it was I who had accompanied O’Hara on my hands and knees down that damned corridor! Ah me! As she stood there bathed in moonlight, her tiny blue chemise ornamented120 with flowers, I quite envied O’Hara. The hibiscus blossoms in her mass of rich-hued hair were crushed on that side where her pillowed head had lain but a moment before in sleep. I felt the thrill of her presence. Standing there in the gloom, I saw O’Hara put forth121 his arms towards Fae Fae.
“Come on, Faey,” he whispered.
Leaning forward in the gloom, Fae Fae misjudged the distance, and placed her mouth on my flushed cheek. Then it really seemed that the tender pressures of our groping hands got inextricably mixed up. I became 127bolder. Looking into the girl’s face, I said in an appealing way:
“Come, Fae Fae, do come!”
I felt that, to creep into a heathen’s palace to help a maid to elope, and for the maid to refuse to come, would cast a slur122 on my idea of chivalry123 and romance such as I could never forget. I was immensely relieved when I noticed Fae Fae stoop and start shuffling124 about her chamber floor. She was hastily gathering125 together her spare clothing!
“Awaie! Messieurs!” she cried softly. Then she held up a small bundle, and blushed through the brightness of her eyes. Gallantly126 I leaned forward and clutched those delicate garments that made up Fae Fae’s trousseau! As for O’Hara, he grinned and then stared in surprise, as he observed my correct manner when I bowed and offered Fae Fae my arm. (He hadn’t read Alexandre Dumas, Byron, Shelley, and Keats, and slept with his dreaming head on a volume of Don Quixote.)
Suddenly a door banged somewhere across the palace courtyard; we distinctly heard distant sounds of laughter and indistinct voices. Then silence came; the door had been closed again.
“Come on, there’s no time to lose,” I whispered, as I clutched the pretty sandals that Fae Fae hurriedly picked up from beneath her bamboo couch. Down the corridor we crept. As Fae Fae caught hold of my hand I returned the gentle pressures of that frightened Tahitian maid. I gathered that she did not realize the seriousness of the business. As we stole along, a puff127 of wind came down the narrow corridor, and her mass of unkempt hair floated softly against my face. I felt as though some beautiful creation of romance had materialized before my eyes, as a silken tress touched my lips. Only O’Hara’s heavy breathing, as he led the way, and 128Fae Fae’s frightened gasps128, made me realize that the whole business was real enough. We all gave a deep sigh of relief as we stole out into the night. A mighty alarm had seemed to thunder down the silence of that palace corridor. Then O’Hara informed me that he had missed the track whereby we had entered the palace. It was unfortunate, for it necessitated129 our all climbing over a huge wooden wall that ran along the south side of the track that led to the entrance of the palace stockade.
“Come along, Fae Fae,” said I cheerfully, as the cool air of the moonlit night and the glory of physical movement raised my spirits. O’Hara clambered up to the top of the wall first; releasing Fae Fae’s trembling hand, I followed. It was not hard climbing, for the huge, upright logs were thickly overgrown with tough vine. “Look out!” said I, as I stood in that elevated position and nearly stumbled. Squatting130 side by side up there, we looked down. Fae Fae stared up at us; she was half hidden in the forest ferns. O’Hara and I clasped each other’s hand to get a better grip, then, bending down, we very carefully gripped hold of Fae Fae’s extended hands and slowly hauled her up to the top of the wall.
“Oh, Messieurs, it’s tellible!” murmured the frightened girl as she stood high up there beside us. She shivered as she put forth her arms in fright to retain her balance. Her tiny, blue diaphanous131 robe was out-blown as the night wind sighed across the forest height.
“Don’t be frightened, Miss Faey,” I murmured, as the girl swayed in terror, pressed my hand, and looked appealingly into my eyes as we stood up there.
O’Hara and I gripped her carefully by the arms, swayed her to and fro in space for a second, then dropped her softly down into the mossy growth and fern of the forest on the other side of the wall.
129“Awaie!” she cried, as she looked up at us.
Then my comrade and I slid gently down, like threaded spiders, into the mossy scrub.
For a moment we stood breathless, as Fae Fae clung to our arms, trembling in fear. To the right lay the main track; once across that, we could bolt into the forest depth, where we would be safe. I awaited O’Hara’s signal. I was taking no risks. O’Hara knew the place too.
Suddenly my comrade said, “Now!” and off we went, rushing like three phantoms132 across the exposed moonlit track.
“Holy St. Patrick!” breathed my chum, as we stood behind the thick clump133 of bananas that divided us from the twelve yards that we must yet pass ere we were out of sight of the main entrance to the palace.
We were suddenly paralyzed by hearing a terrific yell. We had been observed! That yell smashed to atoms all my indecision as to what was best to do. Metaphorically134 speaking, it arrayed me in armour135, equipped me with all the necessary weapons to fight a desperate battle for life and for the protection of the trembling girl beside me.
I looked down the track: out of the main entrance had rushed three stalwart Tahitian chiefs. They were quivering with excitement. We remained standing still. I felt strangely calm.
“We’re in for it now,” said I.
O’Hara shook his fist and picked up a large stone. A glorious feeling of exultation136 thrilled me at the thought of the coming race for life. It was just in my line, whereas creeping on my hands and knees down a corridor was dead against the grain.
Fae Fae gave a faint cry. It roused us. Simultaneously137 we dashed away into the depths of the breadfruits 130and coco-palms. What a sight!—Fae Fae, bare-footed, encumbered138 only by her pretty native mumu (chemise) of scanty139 width, raced ahead, as O’Hara and I, our arms held high in racing140 attitude, puffed141 on behind!
“Follow her, pal; she knows the way,” murmured O’Hara, as Fae Fae’s dusky flying heels glittered in the moonlight about twelve yards ahead of us! Though I admired that impulsive Irish comrade of mine, I inwardly thought what an ass9 he was; for, though our pursuers were hard on our heels, I distinctly heard him chuckling142 to himself, making ecstatic remarks about Fae Fae’s swaying figure as she fled down the forest track! I turned my head to see how it went with the enemy. I was extremely disconcerted at observing them coming up over the ridge143 of the rising ground, quite distinct in the brilliant moonlight. A giant of a fellow was gaining ground, was far ahead of the other pursuers.
“Wait!” I shouted in O’Hara’s ear. “We must frighten them somehow.” I knew, well enough, that we were in the wrong, that we could be legally charged with a serious, very serious offence. I felt some sad, prophetic pain of a club falling on my romantic skull144 and my head tumbling into the official guillotine basket. This sudden visualizing145 freak of my imagination was made the more vivid through my seeing Fae Fae racing along the track like some frightened child (she was little more than a child in mind), as I lumbered146 on behind her, clutching her delicate trousseau under my arm. Indeed I felt the guiltiest of the three. Fae Fae was a child of the forest; O’Hara was another child, since he was madly in love; while I?—well, instead of giving wise counsel, I was there, an accessory before and after the fact, and with the maid’s scanty wardrobe under my arm! Preposterous147!
131“Go on; never mind me,” said I, when O’Hara suddenly stopped dead short. There, on the track, I held up my revolver and fired over the head of the mop-headed savage148 who was a hundred yards ahead of the others. They slowed down. I saw the leader wave his hand, and heard him yell out some words in his native lingo149, something that ended with the words “Fae Fae!”
“Why, it’s him, that damned Tautoa, who wants to marry my Faey!”
It was with immense relief that I noticed that the pursuers had slowed down and were apparently151 frightened at discovering that I was armed. We couldn’t outrun Fae Fae. O’Hara and I had all we could do to catch up to her as she still raced on, speeding round the curves of the forest track. Indeed at times we could not see her at all, knowing that she preceded us only because of the tiny, smoke-like clouds of dust that we raced through, the diamond-like powder that her bare, flying feet stirred and left behind as she raced along the track. Sometimes the path wound into the full light of the moon; it was then that we sighted Fae Fae’s flying figure and floating hair as we thundered along behind her. I am sure the scene must have looked like some burlesque152 or the rehearsal153 for a cinematograph picture. As we passed the deep lagoons154 by the shore, weird155 shadows whipped across the imaged, broken moons that were shining in the still, glassy depths! For, as the fireflies danced in the leafy bamboo glooms, I saw Fae Fae’s image, with flying hair, race across the lagoon’s surface to the right of us, though she, herself, had passed round the bend and was quite out of sight! To the southward stretched, for miles and miles, the palm-clad slopes. It seemed as if we were racing across a vast landscape oilpainting! 132To the north-west rose the pinnacled156 range of La Diadème. We had reached the Broome Road. As we raced across it we just missed a crowd of hurrying Chinamen who worked in the cool of night in the plantations157 of vanilla159, coffee, sugar-cane, and orange groves.
“Hon kong ching chi chow kow!” yelled a straggler, as his pig-tail tossed up, and he fell sprawling160 in the dust.
“One for his napper!” breathed O’Hara, as he recovered his balance and we rushed across the plantation158. We were safe! There stood Tapee’s bungalow161 to the left of us. All would have gone well had not O’Hara stumbled as he leapt across the stream. He gave a yell of pain, and fell crash on his face.
Fae Fae gave a cry. Then she and I, breathing heavily, picked our comrade up. He groaned162 as I examined him. I was relieved to find that he had done no more than sprain164 his ankle. At this moment a figure emerged from the shadows—it was Tapee.
“You all right?—where’s Fae Fae?” said the old man, as he peered into the jungle depths around us. Fae Fae, who was hiding behind the dwarf165 coco-palms, heard Tapee’s voice, and revealed herself. On sighting the girl, the old idol-worshipper grinned from ear to ear.
“You clever wahine to run way from palace with kind white mans.”
It appeared that O’Hara had acquainted the chief that he was going to get Fae Fae to elope with him from the palace that night. Tapee was delighted to be of assistance to O’Hara, for he had some grudge166 against Tautoa, the chief who was to marry Fae Fae. He was also pleased to annoy Pomare, who had refused to allow Tapee to attend the palace festivities.
When I informed Tapee that the gendarmes were 133already on our track, he simply rubbed his hands and grinned as though the trouble was over. Seeing O’Hara standing on one leg and holding the other off the ground, Tapee and I escorted him into the bungalow hard by. He groaned as we laid him down on the bed mats. On pulling off his boot I saw that he was quite out of action so far as walking was concerned—his ankle was swollen167 to the size of an orange, a lump on the off-side.
Fae Fae, noticing the injury, gave a wail115 of despair. Then Tapee, to my surprise, looked up and said:
“Oh, Messieurs, what shall we do? The popy priest am waiting to marry Fae Fae and Papalagi O’Hara all this whiles down in Papeete.”
This was the first intimation I had received that O’Hara had made the necessary preparations to have a Christian168 marriage with Fae Fae. It was just like him, for, notwithstanding his being a scallawag, he was ever ready to do the right thing at the right moment.
“Go, quick, and let the priest know that the marriage is put off till another night,” moaned O’Hara. And so Tapee went off to postpone169 the wedding. Fae Fae lifted her hands to the roof and wailed out, “Saprista! Aloe, tua” and “Mon Dieu!” (Fae Fae spoke170 broken French as well as English). I was more than glad to see that wedding postponed171. I felt it was quite enough for one night’s work to abduct the maid in readiness for the wedding, and, moreover, Fae Fae was trembling like a leaf and appeared very neurotic172. She was a very high-strung girl. Indeed I saw how artful-hearted Tapee had played with ease on the girl’s romantic, sensitive temperament.
When Tapee returned, about half an hour after, he at once prepared supper. We were all famished173. We closed the door and bolted it. Tapee said that on his 134way back after seeing the priest, he had heard a lot of French officials discussing Fae Fae’s disappearance174 from the palace. O’Hara groaned and Fae Fae wept, while I moodily175 ate mangoes and stewed176, juicy fruits, and wondered what my relatives would think when they heard that I had been hanged for abducting maidens177 in the South Seas! We passed a most wretched night. I dozed178 off once, and dreamed that the world was a vast guillotine, with me sitting in its receiving-basket as Time, and all the stars danced sorrowfully around me, ere the blade fell and severed179 my connection with mundane180 things. When I awoke, O’Hara was looking very ill; but he gave a faint smile as Fae Fae held his head and passed her fingers through his curly hair. At daybreak Tapee went out and hired a kind of char-à-banc owned by a wizened181 Chinaman. We took the Chinaman into our confidence, gave him a good tip, and promised him a lot more than we could ever give him. To tell the truth, if a Chinaman gives one his word of honour, he seldom breaks it. I’d sooner trust a Chinaman than many pious182 people whom I’ve unfortunately met. When we got into that wagon183 the bottom nearly dropped out. It was old and rotten. The horse was an object for pity; it moved at a mile an hour, and the angles of its bones looked decidedly like the angles of the guillotine. We crouched in the bottom of the cart, safe from the vigilant184 eyes of the officials who were on the look-out for us. When we arrived in the Chinese quarter of Papeete, I hired a room in a fan-tan den3, and O’Hara helped me to put up a bed. When all was comfortable, O’Hara fell asleep, and I crept out into the forest and went back to Tapee’s bungalow. When I arrived there, Fae Fae was weeping bitterly. I saw that she had become sane185, and regretted her flight from the palace. She was evidently terrified in her reflection over the 135punishment she would receive from the Queen’s hands. I tried my best to soothe186 her.
“Oh, Monsieur, I so unhappy. Poor Monsieur Ilisham hurt himself too. I feel lone55, and Queen Pomare find me out and punish me, I know, I know!” she wailed.
“Don’t worry, Fae Fae,” said I soothingly187, as she gave me a tender, sympathetic glance. I saw the tears in her eyes as she stared up at me through her dishevelled tresses. Ah, beautiful hair it was! The room was dimly lit by the latticed window-hole. She did look a plaintive188 creature as she sat there swaying in her grief. I smelt189 the sweet odours of the languishing190 flowers that still dangled191, clinging among her scented192 tresses, when she placed her hand caressingly193 on my shoulder, and murmured:
“Oh, take me back to palace, Monsieur.”
We were close together, her eyes gazing beseechingly194 into mine. Her smooth brow, bright in the glory of her vanilla-scented hair, was near my lips. God knows that I would not betray the trust reposed195 in me by a good comrade; but I have my weaknesses. Her hand pressed mine. I somehow tripped forward, and, in some inexplicable196 entanglement197 of the senses, my lips touched hers. Ah me! She gazed deeply into my eyes. In a moment I realized what I had done. I hung my head as she gazed on, and then, to my astonishment, she swiftly lifted my hand and kissed it passionately198. I thought of O’Hara, probably asleep on his bed-mat and of the implicit92 trust he reposed in me. I made a tremendous effort so that my outward demeanour should have no twinship with the turmoil199 of conflicting thoughts within me. Inclining my head affectionately, but at the same time forcing a melancholy200, sober aspect to my blushing visage, I managed to blurt6 out:
136“Oh, Fae Fae, child, my heart is heavy in the thoughts of your sorrows. I don’t know how to advise you!”
It was a near go, I know. Indeed, had I partaken a little more liberally of the toddy that Tapee had given me from his huge flask, my memory of the whole business would not have made such pleasant reading, I feel sure of that. Sober reflections made me realize that, under the circumstance, the best thing for the girl to do would be to go back to the palace. I fully100 realized the clumsy way we had conducted ourselves and the seriousness of the gendarmes being on our tracks.
At this moment Tapee opened the door and walked in. I was relieved by his presence, but, to my consternation201, Fae Fae’s attitude towards me remained the same! Kissing the girl again, as though she were a child, I looked her straight in the eyes, and said:
“I must get away and see O’Hara; it is unsafe for me to stop here.”
The girl responded to this only by falling on her knees before me.
“Oh, Monsieur, stay! stay!” she cried in a plaintive voice.
It was then I noticed the wild, strange stare of her eyes. I gave Tapee an interrogative glance. He touched his brow significantly. I did not quite comprehend his meaning at the time, but subsequent events soon enlightened me as to the state of Fae Fae’s mind. Promising202 Tapee and the girl that I would return soon, I hastened from their presence and went back to O’Hara. He was awake and in great pain when I arrived at our diggings. I sat with him till dusk, and all through the night poured cold water on his sprained203 ankle.
I well knew that while he was lame204 we had little chance of clearing away, if the gendarmes heard of our whereabouts.
137Once again, at O’Hara’s request, I went off to see how Fae Fae was. Arriving at Tapee’s bungalow I found him trembling and muttering in a strange way.
“What’s the matter?” I said.
“Oh, Masser, she gone! She run away in night; she go kill herself, I sure!”
After the old fellow had rambled205 on a good deal, I gathered that he had awakened206 at daybreak, and, discovering that Fae Fae had flown, had spent the morning in searching likely places where she might have hidden herself. I at once got Tapee to send a trusted native friend up to the palace to find out if Fae Fae had returned home. After a while the native came back full of excitement, and informed us that the Queen and her retinue of chiefs had gone off to the French Presidency to inform the officials that Princess Fae Fae had been abducted207 from the palace by two white men. That bit of information seemed to waken me up. I left Tapee at once.
“It’s no good using language like that,” I said, chidingly208 to O’Hara, as I rubbed his ankle with coco-nut oil.
By the next day he could just manage to limp along. He was determined to search for Fae Fae, though I had tried to persuade him to do otherwise. That same day he seemed very depressed209 as he sat under the palms singing to me. (He always sang when he was feeling melancholy.)
“She’ll do herself some injury,” he said.
“She’ll turn up,” I said soothingly, though I must admit I felt dubious210 about it all. I thought of the girl’s strange manner, how she had danced round that idol; I was convinced that she was no ordinary girl.
That same evening we walked into the forest near Katavio. We were intending to meet Tapee, who had 138informed us that he would be in his old hut in that part of the forest where his idol was hidden.
I tried to cheer O’Hara up as we passed under the arch-like banyans that grew on the outskirts of the wooded country. Then we sat down by the lagoons till darkness came. Suddenly we were startled by hearing far-off sounds like the singing of a woman’s beautiful voice. I jumped to my feet. There was something eerie about the night as we listened. Then it came again, the long, low, sweet refrain of an old-time Tahitian himine. Bucking212 up our courage we stole forward, making for the direction where the singing came from. Even the winds seemed hushed, not a sound disturbing the silence of the forest. It seemed as if O’Hara and I walked a stage whereon some thrilling South Sea drama was being enacted213; the tall trees looked unreal, even the wide roof over us might have been some tremendous dark canvas bespangled with stars. The weird, flute-like cadenza of the nightingale up in the branches of the flamboyants did not destroy the unreal effect as it flew off.
“This way,” I whispered, as my comrade limped along.
We were standing on the wooded elevation214 just before the spot where we had first caught Tapee worshipping his wooden image. Moonrise, somewhere to the southward, behind the mountains, was sending a pale brilliance215 over the rugged216 landscape. That weird singer of the forest, or whatever it was, had ceased to sing. Then it came again, a weird, tender wailing217! O’Hara’s big form was leaning against mine when the surprise came: staring there between the tree trunks, we saw the old idol again and, careering around that hideous218 wooden deity219, that which looked like a phantom girl of the woods! I had travelled the world over and seen some 139strange things, but had never seen so weird a sight before.
“It’s Fae Fae,” said O’Hara, as he stumbled on his sprained ankle.
“Impossible!” I responded in a mechanical way.
“She’s dead, and has come back to dance where she first met me!” re-wailed my love-sick Irish comrade.
The girl did look misty220! I looked and wondered, notwithstanding my cynicism over such things as ghosts. I felt that perhaps it was Fae Fae’s ghost dancing before us! I had read of such things, and had met old women who swore they had seen the dead doing strange, unaccountable things.
We both stood still, strangely calm, as the girl whirled and sang in her wild career, her diaphanous robe fluttering out to the breeze or clinging closely to her misty-like figure. Then she lifted her arms and moved towards us, her eyes wide open, apparently staring into vacancy221. The flowers in her unkempt hair, all crumpled222, gave the one touch that told of something real. It was evident that she had not observed us, for in another moment she was again whirling around the space, chanting to the deaf, wooden ears of the massive idol. As she passed by us she came so close that I felt the rush of cool air caused by her swift movements. Though her figure looked ghost-like, I was still extremely sceptical. I knew that mortality, when transformed into that blessed spiritual state that is supposed to follow death, must of a necessity be unable to create any impression through coming into contact with the material elements of mortality. Indeed, I knew that singing itself was an impossibility, since it necessitated an inflection and perfect contraction223 in the throat of the singer. I resolved to seize the first opportunity to substantiate224 my human suspicions as to the possibility of the figure before us being a transfiguration of her whom we had once known 140in mortal shape as Fae Fae. The opportunity presented itself forthwith. Fae Fae’s apparent wraith225, with arms outspread, the body swerving226 with rhythmical227 beauty, was still flitting noiselessly round the small space, coming toward us!
“Keep back!” I whispered to O’Hara, who was staring over my shoulder, endeavouring to get a better glimpse of the figure. On she came, seemingly draped in veils of the moonlight that was falling through the overspreading, dark-fingered palm-leaves. Her lips had begun a chant, her head turned slightly sideways as on her tripping flight she approached and stared at the mighty, yellow-toothed, wooden deity. In a moment she was upon us. I swiftly thrust forth my hand as she flitted past.
“A phantom!” I gasped, as my fist passed right through the folds of her attire228 and then seemingly through her form! For a moment I could only stare. A vulture screeched229 high in the banyans. O’Hara crossed himself and murmured a portion of some Ave Maria, terror-struck. “Impossible! preposterous!” thought I to myself. Then I remembered how I had distinctly felt the material of her robes appeal to my sense of touch as my fist apparently went through her figure; yes, something real and material was there. I had simply missed touching230 her solid figure; that was it, I felt sure. “O’Hara,” I whispered, and my voice sounded cracked as I muttered, “it’s no ghost; it’s her, Fae Fae, right enough. She’s mad, out of her mind!”
“No! Mad!” groaned O’Hara, as he jumped down from the banyan211 bough32 where he had leapt in fright, and peered between the breadfruit trunks. I tried hard to hold him back as he rushed forward; but it was too late—a piece of his ragged coat came off in my hand!
141Fae Fae gave a terrified scream as she spied him.
“It’s me! your O’Hara, darlint!” yelled my comrade, as the girl, turning round, stared at him in a wild, vacant way. Then, with a frightened scream that thrilled us with horror, she fled away into the depths of the forest.
I also rushed off, following O’Hara, who bolted after her. He had not gone far when he tripped and fell with a crash. He gave a groan163 as he held up his afflicted231 foot. I at once came to a standstill. I was not in the mood to go chasing after a mad native girl. Besides, I had had about sufficient of O’Hara’s love affairs. O’Hara was inconsolable that night. At daybreak we were up and ready to go forth in an endeavour to hear something about Fae Fae. Indeed, O’Hara seemed more determined than ever to find her. We had at first intended to go and see Tapee; but Tapee saved us that trouble by suddenly walking into our apartments. Before we could get a chance to tell the old chief of our adventure with Fae Fae, he had started gabbling like one demented.
“Fae Fae, she go mad! and, O Papalagi, that Tautoa, her lover, he have found her crying in the night in the forest, all ’lone,” said the old dark man.
“No!” we both exclaimed in one breath.
“Ah, yes, Messieurs, it all-e-samee true. Fae Fae am now back in palace, they got her now, and Queen Pomare am in terrible rage with white mans. I knower that she am going to send gendarmes after you and Monsieur O’Hara.”
The way O’Hara raved232 and carried on is indescribable. He got quite drunk before midday. Then we were obliged to fly from our lodgings233 and hide away under Tapee’s protection. For, sure enough, a warrant was really out for both O’Hara and myself for trespass234 and 142the abduction of Fae Fae, who from childhood had suffered from mental afffliction!
It was Tapee who gave us this last bit of information. As the old chief crept into the disused native hut and, squatting down by us, told us these things, much became clear to me. I recalled many things about Fae Fae’s manner, which, though fascinating and romantic, seemed out of the normal even in a native maid. We hid in that hut for three days, safe from the French officials; but I felt pretty gloomy as I thought of the prospect77 of our getting three years in the island calaboose. I gave out no hint of my qualms235 to O’Hara, but I well knew that there was a good chance of both of us being transported to the convict settlement at Ill Nou, Noumea! The following night, however, we secured an old canoe, through the help of Tapee, and paddled round to Matavai Bay, where we heard that a tramp steamer was anchored.
And the next day, as we heard the tramping far overhead and the dull pomp-e-te-pomp of engines, we both crept forth, moved our cramped236, huddled237 limbs, and groaned. I chewed a morsel238 off one of our four coco-nuts. Then I caught a shadowy glimpse of O’Hara’s sweating black face as he took a drink from the water-bottle, and groped with his hands amongst the tiers of coal and terrific heat.
“Come on, this way!” I gasped, as I crawled along in that monstrous tomb where we found ourselves buried alive! “That’s better!” I said, as I felt a whiff of purer air come along some dark, labyrinthine239 way. O’Hara sat by me in the gloom, groping about as he carefully replaced the water-bottle and coco-nut in my portmanteau (an old green baize bag that I always carried when I travelled incognito).
Then O’Hara climbed up on my shoulders and peered 143through the little round hole just above our heads. For a long time he stared, gazing away to the far south-west horizon, where rose the rugged pinnacles240 of La Diadem241, still visible.
“We’re safe enough now. They won’t catch us, I’ll bet,” said I.
“Ah, my darlint Fae Fae! I’ll never be happy again.”
“Yes, you will,” I murmured soothingly, as O’Hara still gazed through that dirty coal-bunker’s glass porthole, staring wistfully so as to get the last glimpse, as sunset touched the mountain palms of far-away Tahiti! We were stowaways242 down in the hold of a tramp steamer, far out at sea, outbound for Honolulu!
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1
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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presidency
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| n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期) | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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pal
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| n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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blurt
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| vt.突然说出，脱口说出 | |
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blurted
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| v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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idol
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| n.偶像，红人，宠儿 | |
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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10
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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impulsive
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| adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的 | |
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stockade
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| n.栅栏，围栏；v.用栅栏防护 | |
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betrothed
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| n. 已订婚者 动词betroth的过去式和过去分词 | |
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14
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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presumption
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| n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定 | |
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16
abduct
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| vt.诱拐，拐带，绑架 | |
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abducting
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| 劫持，诱拐( abduct的现在分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展 | |
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18
gendarmes
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| n.宪兵，警官( gendarme的名词复数 ) | |
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consort
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| v.相伴；结交 | |
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legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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extemporization
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| n.即席作成，即兴之作，即席演说 | |
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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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belle
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| n.靓女 | |
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lustrous
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| adj.有光泽的；光辉的 | |
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pout
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| v.撅嘴；绷脸；n.撅嘴；生气，不高兴 | |
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yearns
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| 渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的第三人称单数 ) | |
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rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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crabbed
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| adj.脾气坏的；易怒的；（指字迹）难辨认的；（字迹等）难辨认的v.捕蟹( crab的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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31
quills
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| n.（刺猬或豪猪的）刺( quill的名词复数 )；羽毛管；翮；纡管 | |
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32
bough
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| n.大树枝，主枝 | |
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boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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psalm
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| n.赞美诗，圣诗 | |
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meditation
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| n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录 | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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retinue
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| n.侍从；随员 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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frenzied
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| a.激怒的；疯狂的 | |
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45
smacked
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| 拍，打，掴( smack的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46
blessings
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| n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福 | |
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virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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risky
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| adj.有风险的，冒险的 | |
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inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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51
cove
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| n.小海湾，小峡谷 | |
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52
bribe
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| n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通 | |
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bribed
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| v.贿赂( bribe的过去式和过去分词 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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54
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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55
lone
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| adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的 | |
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56
adventurous
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| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
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amorous
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| adj.多情的；有关爱情的 | |
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58
flask
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| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
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59
imbiber
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60
outskirts
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| n.郊外，郊区 | |
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61
arcades
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| n.商场( arcade的名词复数 )；拱形走道（两旁有商店或娱乐设施）；连拱廊；拱形建筑物 | |
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62
palatial
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| adj.宫殿般的，宏伟的 | |
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63
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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64
groves
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| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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65
grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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66
spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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67
ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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68
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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69
thickets
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| n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物 | |
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70
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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71
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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72
muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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73
phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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74
flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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75
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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76
prospective
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| adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的 | |
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77
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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78
eerie
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| adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的 | |
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79
obsequious
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| adj.谄媚的，奉承的，顺从的 | |
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80
poked
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| v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
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81
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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82
levity
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| n.轻率，轻浮，不稳定，多变 | |
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83
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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84
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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85
poignant
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| adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的 | |
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86
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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87
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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88
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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89
suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
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90
sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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91
implicitly
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| adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地 | |
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92
implicit
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| a.暗示的，含蓄的，不明晰的，绝对的 | |
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93
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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94
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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95
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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96
silhouetted
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| 显出轮廓的，显示影像的 | |
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97
awaken
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| vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起 | |
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98
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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99
knuckles
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| n.（指人）指关节( knuckle的名词复数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝v.（指人）指关节( knuckle的第三人称单数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝 | |
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100
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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101
slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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102
stimulant
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| n.刺激物，兴奋剂 | |
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103
buck
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| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 | |
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104
penal
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| adj.刑罚的；刑法上的 | |
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105
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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106
agonized
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| v.使（极度）痛苦，折磨( agonize的过去式和过去分词 )；苦斗；苦苦思索；感到极度痛苦 | |
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107
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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108
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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109
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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110
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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111
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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112
candid
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| adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的 | |
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113
crestfallen
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| adj. 挫败的，失望的，沮丧的 | |
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114
intruding
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| v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的现在分词)；把…强加于 | |
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115
wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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116
wailed
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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117
distressing
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| a.使人痛苦的 | |
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118
fiddle
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| n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动 | |
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119
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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120
ornamented
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| adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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121
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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122
slur
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| v.含糊地说；诋毁；连唱；n.诋毁；含糊的发音 | |
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123
chivalry
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| n.骑士气概，侠义；（男人）对女人彬彬有礼，献殷勤 | |
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124
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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125
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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126
gallantly
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| adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地 | |
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127
puff
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| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
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128
gasps
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| v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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129
necessitated
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| 使…成为必要，需要( necessitate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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130
squatting
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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131
diaphanous
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| adj.(布)精致的，半透明的 | |
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132
phantoms
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| n.鬼怪，幽灵( phantom的名词复数 ) | |
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133
clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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134
metaphorically
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| adv. 用比喻地 | |
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135
armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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136
exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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137
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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138
encumbered
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| v.妨碍，阻碍，拖累( encumber的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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139
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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140
racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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141
puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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142
chuckling
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 ) | |
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143
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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144
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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145
visualizing
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| 肉眼观察 | |
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146
lumbered
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| 砍伐（lumber的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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147
preposterous
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| adj.荒谬的，可笑的 | |
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148
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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149
lingo
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| n.语言不知所云，外国话，隐语 | |
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150
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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151
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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152
burlesque
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| v.嘲弄，戏仿；n.嘲弄，取笑，滑稽模仿 | |
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153
rehearsal
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| n.排练，排演；练习 | |
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154
lagoons
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| n.污水池( lagoon的名词复数 )；潟湖；（大湖或江河附近的）小而浅的淡水湖；温泉形成的池塘 | |
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155
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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156
pinnacled
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| 小尖塔般耸立的，顶处的 | |
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157
plantations
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| n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 ) | |
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158
plantation
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| n.种植园，大农场 | |
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159
vanilla
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| n.香子兰，香草 | |
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160
sprawling
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| adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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161
bungalow
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| n.平房，周围有阳台的木造小平房 | |
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162
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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163
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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164
sprain
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| n.扭伤,扭筋 | |
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165
dwarf
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| n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小 | |
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166
grudge
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| n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做 | |
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167
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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168
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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169
postpone
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| v.延期，推迟 | |
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170
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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171
postponed
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| vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发） | |
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172
neurotic
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|
| adj.神经病的，神经过敏的；n.神经过敏者，神经病患者 | |
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173
famished
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| adj.饥饿的 | |
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174
disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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175
moodily
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| adv.喜怒无常地；情绪多变地；心情不稳地；易生气地 | |
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176
stewed
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|
| adj.焦虑不安的，烂醉的v.炖( stew的过去式和过去分词 )；煨；思考；担忧 | |
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177
maidens
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| 处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球 | |
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178
dozed
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| v.打盹儿，打瞌睡( doze的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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179
severed
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| v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂 | |
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180
mundane
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| adj.平凡的；尘世的；宇宙的 | |
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181
wizened
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| adj.凋谢的；枯槁的 | |
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182
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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183
wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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184
vigilant
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| adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的 | |
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sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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186
soothe
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| v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承 | |
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187
soothingly
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| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
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188
plaintive
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| adj.可怜的，伤心的 | |
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189
smelt
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| v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼 | |
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190
languishing
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| a. 衰弱下去的 | |
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191
dangled
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| 悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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192
scented
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| adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
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193
caressingly
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| 爱抚地，亲切地 | |
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194
beseechingly
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| adv. 恳求地 | |
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195
reposed
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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196
inexplicable
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| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
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197
entanglement
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| n.纠缠，牵累 | |
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198
passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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199
turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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200
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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201
consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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202
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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203
sprained
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| v.&n. 扭伤 | |
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204
lame
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| adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的 | |
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205
rambled
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| （无目的地）漫游( ramble的过去式和过去分词 )； （喻）漫谈； 扯淡； 长篇大论 | |
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206
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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207
abducted
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| 劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展 | |
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208
chidingly
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| Chidingly | |
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209
depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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210
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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211
banyan
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| n.菩提树，榕树 | |
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212
bucking
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| v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的现在分词 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃 | |
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213
enacted
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| 制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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214
elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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215
brilliance
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| n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智 | |
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216
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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217
wailing
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱 | |
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218
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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219
deity
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| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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220
misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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221
vacancy
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| n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺 | |
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222
crumpled
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| adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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223
contraction
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| n.缩略词，缩写式，害病 | |
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224
substantiate
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| v.证实；证明...有根据 | |
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225
wraith
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| n.幽灵；骨瘦如柴的人 | |
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226
swerving
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| v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的现在分词 ) | |
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227
rhythmical
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| adj.有节奏的，有韵律的 | |
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228
attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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229
screeched
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| v.发出尖叫声( screech的过去式和过去分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫 | |
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230
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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231
afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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232
raved
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| v.胡言乱语( rave的过去式和过去分词 )；愤怒地说；咆哮；痴心地说 | |
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233
lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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234
trespass
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| n./v.侵犯，闯入私人领地 | |
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235
qualms
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| n.不安；内疚 | |
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236
cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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237
huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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238
morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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239
labyrinthine
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| adj.如迷宫的；复杂的 | |
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240
pinnacles
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| 顶峰( pinnacle的名词复数 )； 顶点； 尖顶； 小尖塔 | |
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241
diadem
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| n.王冠，冕 | |
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242
stowaways
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| n.偷乘船[飞机]者( stowaway的名词复数 ) | |
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