Chapter 3

 The village lay in a cup-shaped valley. The main street was also a direct highway out of Thanlar. On either side of the highway, the farmer's fields stretched, checkered¹ brown and green, to the foothills. The entire valley was not more than a mile wide, and the fields extended only a quarter of a mile on either side of the main road. The foothills added another quarter of a mile, and then, abruptly², the mountains started.

Though one of the principal highways to Thanlar, the main street was fairly narrow, bordered closely on either side by the small business district, composed mostly of single story buildings constructed out of native lumber³ from the hills.

Wolf decided⁴ the center of the business district would offer the most concealment⁵. Any group of men at any other place would be viewed with suspicion by Mayne Landing's bodyguards⁶, and their chances would be proportionately diminished.

It remained to determine the most effective weapon. Explosive? No, too many villagers would be killed. Yet that would certainly be the most certain way, a grenade thrown from the roof of one of the low buildings. He wondered how thoroughly⁷ the Administrator⁸'s men would check the village before the procession.

Joseph Carroll told him the check was cursory⁹; except for the spasmodic attacks of the revolution underground, the Colonies were submissive enough, and the precautions taken were in the nature of routine.

It looked to be easy, Wolf thought wryly¹⁰. The easiest of them all, since the planet was fairly distant from the scene of previous underground operations.

They wouldn't be expecting it, he thought. Down the main street in procession, the Administrator standing¹¹ in the little ground car, smiling and waving to his subjects, genial¹², effusive¹³. And then—

"Joseph," said Wolf suddenly. "How many men can I depend on?"

"Perhaps thirty," said the farmer. "Perhaps a few more."

"Are they completely dependable?"

"Within reason," said Carroll. "They are farmers, not soldiers. Plows¹⁴ are more familiar to them than guns."

"How many can you get me that will obey me without question, no matter what?"

Joseph Carroll tugged¹⁵ absently at his ear. Finally, he shrugged¹⁶. "Perhaps five," he said. "Including myself."

"All right," sighed Wolf. "It will have to be that way, then. But the others can be depended on 'within reason?'"

"Yes," Carroll said. "Do not expect too much. They do not like this business."

"Neither do you," Wolf said. "But you count yourself among the five trustworthy."

Carroll didn't answer, and Wolf took his silence as a declaration of faith.

"All right," he said. "Leave me now. At sunset, bring your men to me, all of them. I will work out the attack."

"Very well," said Carroll, and started to leave.

"Joseph," said Wolf softly, and the older man turned at the door.

"What is it?"

"What about Daimya?"

"What about her?"

"Where will she be during—this attack?"

"At home, I expect," said Carroll. "Where she belongs."

Wolf toyed for a moment with the map that lay before him.

"Joseph," he said. "What will happen to the village?"

"You don't know?" asked Carroll in surprise.

"No," Wolf admitted. "I have never stayed behind."

Carroll laughed bitterly. "One of two things," he said. "They will either demolish¹⁷ it from the air, including the populace, or they will put everyone in one of the forced labor¹⁸ camps." The farmer made a small gesture of resignation.

"I didn't know," Wolf said, almost under his breath. Can I be responsible for that?

"They don't like Colonists¹⁹ cooperating with the revolutionaries," Carroll continued. "Did you expect they exempted²⁰ us all from our taxes as a reward?"

"No," Wolf said. "But I didn't know it was so—complete."

"They are thorough," the old man shrugged. "Any village where an incident occurs is made an example. Before long, you people will not find much welcome in the Colonies."

"I suppose not," Wolf mused²¹. "Perhaps by then—"

"You really believe you're going to succeed in overthrowing²² the Federation²³, don't you?"

"I must," said Wolf. "Without that, all this—" he gestured to the map before him, traced with arrows, notations²⁴, ideas, "—is meaningless slaughter²⁵."

"So it seems," Carroll said flatly.

"Joseph," said Wolf suddenly. "With luck, there will be a ship waiting for me in the mountains when I've—finished here."

"That's your good fortune," Carroll said grimly.

"Will you come with me?"

"And join the revolutionaries?"

"You—and Daimya."

Carroll considered it slowly. "No," he said finally. "Not I. I have gotten my people into this, I must stay with them. All were against it when you first contacted us. All but me. It is my fault. I have to stay with them."

Wolf felt a sudden surge of affection for the old man. Reluctant he might be, but he knew what he was doing and he knew the consequences and was willing to accept them.

"And Daimya?"

"That is a different matter," said Carroll. "It is not right that she should suffer for her father's folly²⁶."

Or that a father should suffer for his son's folly, thought Wolf. But he said nothing.

"You would take her?" Carroll asked.

"If I am—able," said Wolf.

"All right," said the old man. "I will see to it. Better she should be alive than dead. That is all that matters."

1 checkered   

adj.有方格图案的

参考例句：

• The ground under the trees was checkered with sunlight and shade.林地光影交错。
• He’d had a checkered past in the government.他过去在政界浮沉。

2 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

3 lumber   

n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动

参考例句：

• The truck was sent to carry lumber.卡车被派出去运木材。
• They slapped together a cabin out of old lumber.他们利用旧木料草草地盖起了一间小屋。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 concealment   

n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒

参考例句：

• the concealment of crime 对罪行的隐瞒
• Stay in concealment until the danger has passed. 把自己藏起来，待危险过去后再出来。

6 bodyguards   

n.保镖，卫士，警卫员( bodyguard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks came to Jim's office accompanied—like always—by his two bodyguards. 和往常一样，在两名保镖的陪同下，布鲁克斯去吉姆的办公室。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Three of his bodyguards were injured in the attack. 在这次袭击事件中，他有3名保镖受了伤。 来自辞典例句

7 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

8 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

9 cursory   

adj.粗略的；草率的；匆促的

参考例句：

• He signed with only a cursory glance at the report.他只草草看了一眼报告就签了名。
• The only industry mentioned is agriculture and it is discussed in a cursory sentence.实业方面只谈到农业,而且只是匆匆带了一句。

10 wryly   

adv. 挖苦地，嘲弄地

参考例句：

• Molly smiled rather wryly and said nothing. 莫莉苦笑着，一句话也没说。
• He smiled wryly, then closed his eyes and gnawed his lips. 他狞笑一声，就闭了眼睛，咬着嘴唇。 来自子夜部分

11 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

12 genial   

adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的

参考例句：

• Orlando is a genial man.奥兰多是一位和蔼可亲的人。
• He was a warm-hearted friend and genial host.他是个热心的朋友，也是友善待客的主人。

13 effusive   

adj.热情洋溢的；感情(过多)流露的

参考例句：

• Every visitor noticed that her effusive welcome was not sincere.所有的客人都看出来她那过分热情的欢迎是不真诚的。
• Her effusive thanks embarrassed everybody.她道谢时非常激动，弄得大家不好意思。

14 plows   

n.犁( plow的名词复数 )；犁型铲雪机v.耕( plow的第三人称单数 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• Alex and Tony were turning awkward hands to plows and hoe handles. 亚历克斯和托尼在犁耙等农活方面都几乎变成新手了。
• Plows are still pulled by oxen in some countries. 在一些国家犁头仍由牛拖拉。

15 tugged   

v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
• A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

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

17 demolish   

v.拆毁(建筑物等)，推翻(计划、制度等)

参考例句：

• They're going to demolish that old building.他们将拆毁那座旧建筑物。
• He was helping to demolish an underground garage when part of the roof collapsed.他当时正在帮忙拆除一个地下汽车库，屋顶的一部份突然倒塌。

18 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

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

19 colonists   

n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Colonists from Europe populated many parts of the Americas. 欧洲的殖民者移居到了美洲的许多地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some of the early colonists were cruel to the native population. 有些早期移居殖民地的人对当地居民很残忍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 exempted   

使免除[豁免]( exempt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His bad eyesight exempted him from military service. 他因视力不好而免服兵役。
• Her illness exempted her from the examination. 她因病而免试。

21 mused   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们，”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道：‘我们这是在干什么？” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

22 overthrowing   

v.打倒，推翻( overthrow的现在分词 )；使终止

参考例句：

• They succeeded in overthrowing the fascist dictatorship. 他们成功推翻了法西斯独裁统治。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I always delight in overthrowing those kinds of schemes. 我一向喜欢戳穿人家的诡计。 来自辞典例句

23 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

24 notations   

记号，标记法( notation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was frowning and wishing he could decode the notations on the slips. 他皱着眉，挖空心思地想认出赌签上的记号。 来自教父部分
• In section 2, we give some notations and some lemmas. 在本文第二部分，我们给出一些符号及引理。

25 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

26 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。