Chapter 6

 Then, as quickly as he had come, Wolf was gone. He slipped back through the crowd, into the door of the tailor shop. Seconds later, Joseph Carroll was there, one side of his gray farmer's tunic¹ turning brown-black from the blood that soaked it.

"Come on!" Carroll snapped, running for the back.

"What about the others?"

"Gone," said the old man shortly. "All of them." He dashed out the door of the tailor shop into the back and Wolf followed him.

"Daimya!" Wolf shouted.

"She's waiting for us in the foothills."

The sound of the crowd and the blasting of hand guns was loud behind them as they began their dash across the checkered² fields. For a few moments, nothing followed. Then Wolf heard a faint shout behind them, and a huge gout of dirt erupted from the field beside him, almost knocking him down.

He regained³ his balance and started to run low, crouched⁴ and zig-zagging while the tiny explosive pellets pocked the field around him. It seemed an eternity⁵ before they had crossed the field, but he knew it was not more than a couple of minutes.

Joseph Carroll was ahead of him, already beginning to tear through the scrub growth of the foothills, making his way up. Just as he entered the undergrowth, Wolf saw the old man joined by a smaller, slighter figure.

There was a roar in his ears, and he fell, a searing pain across his back. Numbly⁶, he realized he'd been hit, but somehow it didn't seem important. He picked himself up and followed Carroll into the scrub. Soon he was out of sight of their pursuers, though the explosions of their weapons still followed them with uncanny accuracy.

He caught up with the old man and his daughter in a small clearing. Carroll lay with his head cradled in Daimya's lap, gasping⁷ for breath.

"We've got to go on," Wolf said. "Come on, I'll help."

"You're hurt!" the girl said.

"Not badly. Come on, we've got to get your father out of here!"

The old man put his arms around the shoulders of the other two, and they struggled up the hill, breaking their way through the brush, slipping, sometimes falling. Behind them, there was still the occasional sound of the explosive pellets, and infrequently, one came very near.

"Close," muttered Wolf as an explosion showered them with dirt. "They're on the path now."

They went a few steps farther, and Joseph slumped⁸ between them.

"Dad!" called Daimya. "Please! Please try to go on!"

Wolfs hand slid down the old man's back, came away warm and wet.

He was silent for a moment, then gently lowered the suddenly limp body to the ground.

"Come on," he said to Daimya. The girl was standing⁹ over the inert¹⁰ form of her father, not understanding what had happened, words of encouragement still on her lips.

"Dad?" she said, bewildered.

Wolf took her arm. "Daimya, he's gone. Come on."

"No—Dad—" She knelt beside him on the ground.

"Sorry, Daimya," Wolf said under his breath. He swung, hitting her cleanly behind the head. The girl collapsed¹¹ soundlessly, and he slung¹² her over his shoulder and started on up the hill.

Finally, he cleared the crest¹³. Just beyond it, lying in a tiny meadow lay the black, unmarked shuttle ship. As he came in view, the port opened and a man ran toward him. Wolf stumbled, caught his balance, went on.

"Here," said the crewman, "let me take her."

Silently, out of fatigue¹⁴, Wolf relinquished¹⁵ his load and stumbled toward the port. It slid shut behind them, just in time to keep them from being covered with dirt blown from a hole that suddenly appeared a yard behind. Wolf caught a glimpse of men appearing at the crest.

Inside the ship, he could hear the thud and clang of the explosive cartridges¹⁶ detonating uselessly against the permalloy hull¹⁷. Then the drives roared their song of power, and the shuttle lifted clear.

 

1 tunic   

n.束腰外衣

参考例句：

• The light loose mantle was thrown over his tunic.一件轻质宽大的斗蓬披在上衣外面。
• Your tunic and hose match ill with that jewel,young man.你的外套和裤子跟你那首饰可不相称呢，年轻人。

2 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。

3 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

4 crouched   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
• The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。

5 eternity   

n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷

参考例句：

• The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
• Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。

6 numbly   

adv.失去知觉，麻木

参考例句：

• Back at the rickshaw yard, he slept numbly for two days. 回到车厂，他懊睡了两天。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• He heard it numbly, a little amazed at his audacity. 他自己也听得一呆，对自己的莽撞劲儿有点吃惊。 来自辞典例句

7 gasping   

adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词

参考例句：

• He was gasping for breath. 他在喘气。
• "Did you need a drink?""Yes, I'm gasping!” “你要喝点什么吗？”“我巴不得能喝点！”

8 slumped   

大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]

参考例句：

• Sales have slumped this year. 今年销售量锐减。
• The driver was slumped exhausted over the wheel. 司机伏在方向盘上，疲惫得睡着了。

9 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。

10 inert   

adj.无活动能力的，惰性的；迟钝的

参考例句：

• Inert gas studies are providing valuable information about other planets,too.对惰性气体的研究，也提供了有关其它行星的有价值的资料。
• Elemental nitrogen is a very unreactive and inert material.元素氮是一个十分不活跃的惰性物质。

11 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

12 slung   

抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往

参考例句：

• He slung the bag over his shoulder. 他把包一甩，挎在肩上。
• He stood up and slung his gun over his shoulder. 他站起来把枪往肩上一背。

13 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

14 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

15 relinquished   

交出，让给( relinquish的过去式和过去分词 )； 放弃

参考例句：

• She has relinquished the post to her cousin, Sir Edward. 她把职位让给了表弟爱德华爵士。
• The small dog relinquished his bone to the big dog. 小狗把它的骨头让给那只大狗。

16 cartridges   

子弹( cartridge的名词复数 )； （打印机的）墨盒； 录音带盒； （唱机的）唱头

参考例句：

• computer consumables such as disks and printer cartridges 如磁盘、打印机墨盒之类的电脑耗材
• My new video game player came with three game cartridges included. 我的新电子游戏机附有三盘游戏带。

17 hull   

n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳

参考例句：

• The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
• The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。