“Sir,” said he to the hawker of birds, “this should be a city of great occasions, it has the smell of opulence5. But it is all unknown to me, I have not heard the story of its arts and policy, or of its people and their governors. What annalists have you recording6 all its magnificence and glory, or what poets to tell if its record be just?”
“I have not heard of these,” said the other, “tell me, tell me.”
The bird man drew finger and thumb downwards8 from the bridge of his long nose to its extremity10, and sliding the finger across his pliant11 nostrils12 said: “I will tell you.” They both sat down upon a coffer of wheat. “I will tell you,” repeated the bird man, and he asked the other if he had heard of the tomb in which none could lie, nor die, nor mortify13.
207
“No,” said he.
“No,” answered the man in the stripéd jacket, and a talking bird in a cage screamed: “No, no, no, no!” The traveller whistled caressingly15 to the bird, tapping his finger nail along the rods of its cage, while the bird man continued: “Or of Fax, Mint, and Bombassor, the three faithful brothers?”
“No,” replied he again.
“They had a sister of beauty, of beauty indeed, beyond imagination. (Soo-eet! soo-eet! chirped16 the oracular bird.) It smote17 even the hearts of kings like a reaping hook among grass, and her favour was a ransom18 from death itself, as I will tell you.”
“Friend,” said he of the stripéd jacket, “tell me of that woman.”
“I will tell you,” answered the other; and he told him, and this was the way of it.
There was once a king of this country, mighty19 with riches and homage20, with tribute from his enemies—for he was a great warrior21—and the favour of many excellent queens. His ancestors were numberless as the hairs of his black beard; so ancient was his lineage that he may have sprung from divinity itself, but he had a heart of brass23, his bowels24 were of lead, and at times he was afflicted25 with madness.
One day he called for his captain of the guard, Tanil, a valiant26, debonair27 man of much courtesy, and delivered to him his commands.
Tanil took a company of the guard and they208 marched to that green hill on the plain—it is but a league away. At the foot of the hill they crossed a stream; beyond that was a white dwelling28 and a garden; at the gate of the garden was a stumbling stone; a flock grazed on the hill. The soldiers threw down the stone and, coming into the vineyard, they hacked29 down the vines until they heard a voice call to them. They saw at the door of the white dwelling a woman so beautiful that the weapons slid from their hands at the wonder of it. “Friends, friends!” said she. Tanil told her the King’s bidding, how they must destroy the vineyard, the dwelling, and the flock, and turn Fax, Mint, and Bombassor, with the foster sister Flaune, out from the kingdom of Cumac.
“You have denied the King tribute,” said he.
“We are wanderers from the eastern world,” Flaune answered. “Is not the mountain a free mountain? Does not this stream divide it from Cumac’s country?”
“Sir,” said she to Tanil, “I will go to your King. Take me to your King.”
And when Tanil agreed to do this she sent a message secretly to her brothers to drive the flock away into a hiding-place. So while Flaune was gone a-journeying to the palace with Tanil’s troup, Fax, Mint, and Bombassor set back the stumbling stone and took away the sheep.
The King was resting in his palace garden, throwing crumbs32 into the lake, and beans to his peacocks, but when Flaune was brought to him he rose and209 bowed himself to the pavement at her feet. The woman said nothing, she walked to and fro before him, and he was content to let his gaze rest upon her. The carp under the fountain watched them, the rose drooped34 on its envious35 briar, the heart of King Cumac was like a tree full of chirping36 birds.
Tanil confessed his fault; might the King be merciful and forgive him! but the lady had taken their trespass37 with a soft temper and policy that had overcome both his loyalty38 and his mind. It was unpardonable, but it was not guilt39, it was infirmity, she had bewitched him. Cumac grinned and nodded. He bade Tanil return to the vineyard and restore the vines, bade him requite40 the brothers and confirm them in those pastures for ever. But as to this Flaune he would not let her go.
She paces before him, or she dips her palm into the fountain, spilling its drops upon the ground; she smiles and she is silent.
Cumac gave her into the care of his groom41 of the women, Yali, the sister of Tanil, and thereafter, every day and many a day, the King courted and coveted42 Flaune. But he could not take her; her pride, her cunning words, and her lustre43 bore her like an anchored boat upon the tide of his purpose. At one moment full of pride and gloom, and in the next full of humility44 and love, he would bring gifts and praises.
“I will cover you,” he whispered,210 “with green garnets and jargoons. A collar of onyx and ruby45, that is for you; breastknots of beryl, and rings for the finger, wrist, and ear. Take them, take them! For you I would tear the moon asunder46.”
But all her desire was only to return to the green mountain and her brothers and the flock by the stumbling stone. The King was merged48 in anger and in grief.
“Do not so,” he pleaded, “I have given freedom to your men; will you not give freedom to me?”
“What freedom, Cumac?” she asked him.
And he said: “Love.”
“How may the bound give freedom?”
“With the gift of love.”
“The spirit of the gift lies only in the giver.” Her voice was mournful and low.
He was confused and cast down. “You humble49 me with words, but words are nothing, beautiful one. Put on your collar of onyx, and fasten your breastknots of beryl. Have I not griefs, fierce griefs, that crash upon my brain, and frenzies50 that shoot in fire! Does not your voice—that rest-recovering lure51—allay them, your presence numb22 them! I cannot let you go, I cannot let you go.”
“He who woos and does not win,” so said Flaune, “wins what he does not woo for.”
“Though I beg but a rose,” murmured the King, “do you offer me a sword?”
“Time’s sword is laid at the breast of every rose.”
“But I am your lowly servant,” he cried. “You have that which all secretly seek and denyingly long for; it is seen without sight and affirmed without speech.”
“What is the thing you seek and long for?”
“Purity,” said he.
“Purity!” She seemed to muse52 upon it as a211 theme of mystery. “If you found purity, what would you match it with?”
“Cumac,” said the wise woman, with no pride then but only pity, “you seek to conquer that which strikes the conqueror54 dead.”
Then, indeed, for a while he was mute, and then for a while he talked of his sickness and his frenzy55. “Are there not charms,” he asked, “or magic herbs, to find and bind56 these demons57?”
There was no charm—she told him—but the mind, and no magic but in the tranquillity58 of freedom.
“I do not know this,” he sighed, “it will never be known.”
The unknown—she told him—was better than the known.
“It is everywhere,” said Flaune, “but it is like a sweet herb that withers60 in the ground. All may gather it—and it is not gathered. All may see it—and it is not seen. All destroy it—and it never dies....”
“It is the wind’s way among the roses. It has horns of bright brass and quiet harps62 of silver. Its golden boats flash in every tossing bay.”
Cumac laughed again, but still he would not let her go.212 “The fox has many tricks, the cat but one,” he said, and caused her ankles to be fastened with two jewelled links tied with a hopple of gold. But in a day he struck them from her with his own hands, and hung the hopple upon her lustrous63 neck.
And still he would not let her go; so Yali and Tanil connived64 to send news to the brothers, and in a little time Bombassor came to her aid.
Bombassor was a dancer without blemish65, in beauty or movement either. He came into the palace to Cumac who did not know him, and the King’s household came to the beaten gongs to witness the art of Bombassor. Yali brought Flaune a harp2 of ivory, and to its music Bombassor caracoled and spun66 before the delighted King. Then Flaune (who spoke67 as a stranger to him) asked Bombassor if he would dance with her, and he said they would take the dance of “The Flying Ph?nix.” The King was enchanted68; he vowed69 he would grant any wish of Bombassor’s, any wish; yes, he would cut the moon in half did he desire it. “I will dance for your pledge,” said Bombassor.
It seemed to the King then as if a little whirling wind made of flame, and a music that was perfume, gyred and rose before him: the tapped gongs, the tinkle70 of harp, the surprise of Flaune’s swaying and reeling, now coy, now passionate71, the lure of her wooing arms, the rhythm of her flying feet, the chanting of the onlookers72, and the flashing buoyance of Bombassor, so thrilled and distracted him that he shouted like an eager boy.
But when Bombassor desired Cumac to give him the maiden73 Flaune, the King was astonished.213 “No, no,” he said, “but give him an urn30 full of diamonds,” and Bombassor was given an urn full of diamonds. He let it fall at the King’s feet, and the gems74 clattered75 upon the pavement like a heap of peas. “Give him Yali, then,” Cumac shouted. Yali was a nymph of splendour, but Bombassor called aloud, “No, a pledge is a pledge!”
Then the King’s joy went from him and, like a star falling, left darkness and terror.
And so was Bombassor destroyed, while the King continued ignorantly to woo his sister. Silent and proud was she, silent and proud, but her beauty began to droop33 until Yali and Tanil, perceiving this, connived again to send to her brothers, and in a little time Mint came. To race on foot he was fleeter than any of Cumac’s champions; they strove with him, but he was like the unreturning wind, and although they cunningly moved the bounds of the course, and threw thorns and rocks under his feet, he defeated them all, and the King jeered77 at his own champions. Then Mint called for an antelope78 to be set in the midst of the plain and cried: “Who will catch this for the King?” All were amazed and Cumac said: “Whoever will do it I will give him whatever a King may give, though I crack the moon for it.”
The men let go the hind80 and it swooped81 away, Mint pursuing. Fast and far they sped until no man’s gaze could discern them, but in a while Mint returned bearing the breathing hind upon his back. “Take off his shoes,” cried the King,214 “and fill them with gold.” But when this was done Mint spilled the gold back at the King’s feet.
“Give me,” said he, “this maiden Flaune.”
The King grinned and refused him.
“Was it not in the bond?” asked Mint.
“Ay,” replied Cumac, “but choose again.”
“It was a living bond,” said the King, “but death can sever83 it. Let this dog be riven in sunder47 and his bowels spilled to the foxes.” Mint died on the moment, and Cumac continued ignorantly to woo his sister.
Then Flaune conferred with Tanil and with Yali about a means of escape. Tanil feared to be about this, but he loved Flaune, and his sister Yali persuaded him. He showed them a great door in the back of the palace, a concealed85 issue through the city wall, from which Flaune might go in a darkness could but the door be opened. But it had not been opened for a hundred years, and they feared the hinges would shriek86 and the wards9 grind in the lock and so discover them.
“Let us bring oil to-morrow,” they said, “and oil it.”
In the morning they brought oil to the hinge and brushed it with drops from a cock’s feather. The hinge gave up its squeak87 but yet it groaned89. They filled Yali’s thimble that was made of tortoise horn and poured this upon it. The hinge gave up its groan88 but yet it sighed. They filled the eggshell of a goose with oil and poured upon the hinge until it was silent. Then they turned to the lock, which, as they threw215 back the wards, cried clack, clack. Tanil lapped the great key with ointment90, but still the lock clattered. He filled his mouth with oil and spat91 into the hole, but still it clinked. Then Flaune caught a grasshopper92 which she dipped in oil and cast into the lock. After that the lock was silent too.
On the mid79 of night Tanil ushered93 Flaune to the great door, and it opened in peace. She said “Farewell” to him tenderly, and vanished away into the darkness, and so to the green mountain. As he stooped, watching her until his eyes could see no more, the door suddenly closed and locked against him, leaving him outside the wall. Lights came, and an outcry and a voice roaring: “Tanil is fled with the King’s mistress. Turn out the guard.” Tanil knew it to be the voice of a jealous captain, and, filled with consternation94, he too turned and fled away into the night; not towards the mountains, but to the sea, hoping to catch a ship that would deliver him.
Throughout the night he was going, striving or sleeping, and it was stark95 noon before he came to the shore and passed over the strait in a ship conveying merchants to a fair where no one knew him and all were friendly. He hobnobbed with the merchants for several days, feeding and sleeping in the booths until the morning of the sixth day, and on that day a crier came into the fair ringing and bawling96, bawling and ringing, and what he cried was this:
That King Cumac, Lord of the Forty Kingdoms, Prince of the Moon, and Chieftain under God, laid a ban upon all who should aid or relieve his treacherous97 servant Tanil, who had conspired98 against the King216 and fled. Furthermore it was to be known that Yali, the sister of Tanil, was taken as hostage for him, that if he failed to redeem99 her and deliver up his own body Yali herself was doomed100 to perish at sunset of the seventh day after his flight.
Tanil scarcely waited to hear the conclusion, for he had but one day more and he could suffer not his sister Yali to die. He turned from the fair and ran to the sea. As he ran he slipped upon a rock and was stunned102, but a good wife restored him and soon he reached the harbour. Here none of the sailors would convey him over the strait, for they were bound to the merchantmen who intended not to sail that day. Having so little time to reckon Tanil offered them bribes103 (but in vain), and threats (but they would not), and he was in torment104 and anguish105 until he came to an old man who said he would take him within the hour if the wind held and the tide turned. But if the wind failed, although the tide should ebb106 never so kindly107, yet he would not go: and even should the tide ebb strongly, yet if the wind wavered from its quarter he would not go: and if by mysterious caprice (for all was in the hands of God and a great wonder) the tide itself should not turn, then the wind might blow a dainty squall but he would not be able to undertake him. Upon this they agreed, and Tanil and the old sailor sat down in the little ship to play at checkers. Alas, fortune was against Tanil, he could not conquer the sailor, so he made to pay down his loss.
“Friend,” said the sailor,217 “a game is but a game, put up your purse.”
Tanil would not put back the money and the sailor said: “Let us then play on, friend; double or quits.” They played on, and again Tanil lost, and, as before, tendered his money. “Nay,” said the sailor, “a game is but a pastime, put back your money.” But Tanil laid it in a heap upon one of the thwarts108. The old sailor sighed and said: “Come, you are now at the turn of fortune; is not an egg made of water and a stone of fire: let us play once more; double or quits.” And so continually, until it was long past noon ere they began to sail in a course for Cumac’s shore, two leagues over the strait. Now they had accomplished109 about three parts of this voyage when the wind slackened away like a wisp of smoke; slowly they drifted onwards until at eve the boat lay becalmed, and as yet some way out from the land. “Friend,” said the old sailor, laying out the checkers again, “let us tempt110 the winds of fortune.” But, full of grief at having squandered111 the precious hours, Tanil leaped into the sea and swam towards the shore. Soon the tide checked and was changed, and a current washed him far down the strait until the fading of day; then he was cast upon a crooking112 cape84 of sand in such darkness of night and such weariness of mind and body that he could not rise. He lay there for a while consumed with languor113 and hunger until the peace refreshed him; the winds of night were lulled114 and the waves; but though there were stars in the sky they could not guide him.
“Alas,” he groaned,218 “darkness and the oddness of the coast deceive me. Whether I venture to the right hand or the left, how shall I make my way? How little is man’s power; the fox and the hare may wander deceitfully but undeterred, yet here in this darkness I go groping like a worm laid upon a rock. Yali, my sister, how shall I preserve you?”
He went wandering across a hill away from the sea until he stumbled upon a hurdle115 and fell; and where he fell he lay still, sleeping.
Not until the dawn did Tanil wake; then he lay shivering in bonds, with a company of sheep watchers that stood by and mocked at him. Their shadows were long, a hundred-fold, for day was but newly dawned.
Their master was not yet risen from his bed, but the watchers carried Tanil to the door of his house and called to him.
Now the sleepy master lay with a new bride, and he would not stir.
“Come, master, we have taken a robber,” they cried again. And still he did not move, but the bride rose and came to the window.
“What sheep has he stole?”
She looked down at Tanil with her pleasant eyes, and bade the men unbind him.
“Who guards now the sheep from robbers and wolves?” she called. They were all silent, and some made to go off. She bade them mend their ways, and went back to her lover. When the thongs118 were loosened from Tanil he begged them to give him a219 little food for he was empty and weak, but they scolded him and went hastily away. Their shadows were long, a hundred-fold.
Tanil travelled on wings. Yali was to die at fall of night. He hastened like a lover, but sickness and hunger overcame him; at noon he lay down in a cool cavern119 to recover. No other travellers came by him and no homes were near, for he was passing across the fringe of a desert to shorten his journey, and the highway crooked120 round far to the eastward121. Nothing that man could eat was there to sustain him, but he slept. When he rose his legs weakened and he limped onwards like a slow beggar whose life lies all behind him. Again he sank down, again he could not keep from sleeping. The sun was setting when he awoke, the coloured towers of his city shone only a league away. Then in his heart despair leaped and maddened him—Yali had died while he tarried.
Searching through a thicket122 for some place where he could hang himself he came upon a river, and saw, close to the shore, a small ship standing123 slowly down towards the straits from which he had come. Under her slack sail a man was playing on a pipe; with him was a monkey gazing sorrowfully from the deck at the great glow in the sky.
“Shipman,” cried Tanil, “will you give me bread, I am at an end?”
The man with a smile of malice124 held up from the deck a dish of fruits and said: “Take. I have done.”
But the hungry man could not reach it. “Throw it to me,” he cried, following the ship. But the sailor had no mind to throw it upon the shore; he went220 leaning against his mast, piping an air, while the monkey peered at him and gabbled. Tanil plunged125 into the river and swam beneath the ship’s keel. Taking a knife from his girdle he was for mounting by a little hawser126, but the man beflogged him with a cudgel until he fell back into the water. There he would have died but that a large barque presently catched him up on board and recovered him.
The ship carried Tanil from the river past the straits and so to the great sea, where for the space of a year he was borne in absence, willy-nilly, while the ship voyaged among the archipelagos, coasted grim seaboards, or lay against strange wharves127 docking her cargo128 of oil. Faithfully he laboured for wages under this ship’s captain, being a man of pith and limb, valiant in storm, and enamoured of the uncouth129 work: the haul of anchor, and men singing; setting, reefing, furling, and men singing; the watch, the sleep, the song; the treading of unknown waters, the crying gust130, the change to glassy endless calm, and the change again from green day to black night and the bending of the harsh sheet in a starry131 squall, the crumpling132 of far thunder, the rattle133 of halyard and block, the howl of cordage. Grand it was in some bright tempest to watch the lubber wave slide greenly to the bows and crack in showers of flying diamonds, but best of all was the long crunch134 in from the vast gulfs, and the wafture to some blue bay sighing below a white dock and the homes of men.
Forgotten was Yali his loved sister, but that proud living Flaune who had brought Yali to her death, she was not forgotten. He sailed the seas and he sailed221 the seas, but she was ever a soft recalling wonder in his breast, the sound of a bell of glass beaten by a spirit.
After a year of hazards the ship by chance docked in that harbour where Tanil had heard the crier crying of Yali and her doom101. Looking about him he espied135 an old sailor sitting in his boat playing a game of checkers with a young man. The crier bawled136 in the market place, but he had no news for Tanil. Standing again amid the merchants and the kind coloured sweetness of streets and people, this bliss137 of home so welled up in his breast that he hastened back to the ship. “Master,” he said, “give me my wages, and let me go.” The shipman gave him his wages, and he went back to the town.
But only nine days did he linger there, for joy, like truth, lives in the bottom of a well, and he cast in his wages. Then he went off with a hunter to trap leopards138 in a forest. A month they were gone, and they trapped the leopards and sold them, and then, having parted from the hunter, Tanil roved back to the port to spend his gains among the women of the town. Often his soul invited him to return to that city of Cumac, but death awaited him there and he did not go. Now he was come to poverty, but he was blithe139, and evil could not chain him. “Surely,” said Tanil, “life is a hope unquenched and a tree of longing140. There is none so poor but he can love himself.” With a stolen net he used to catch fish and live. Then he lost the net at dicing141. So he went to bake loaves for certain scholars, but they were unmonied men and he desisted, and went wandering from village to village snaring142 birds, or living like the222 wild dogs, until a friendly warrior enlisted143 him to convoy144 a caravan145 across the desert to the great lakes. When he came again to the harbour town two years had withered146 since he had flown from Cumac’s city.
He went to lodge147 at the inn, and as he paced in the evening along the wharf148 a man accosted149 him, called him by name, and would not let him go, and then Tanil knew it was Fax, the brother of that Flaune. His heart rocked in his breast when he took Fax to the inn and related all his adventure. “Tell me the tidings of our city, what comes or goes there, what lives or dies.” And Fax replied: “I have wandered in the world searching after you from that time. I bring a greeting from my sister Flaune,” he said, “and from your sister Yali, my beloved.”
The wonder then, the joy and shame of Tanil, cannot be told: he threw himself down and wept, and begged Fax to tell him of the miracle: “For,” said he, “my mind has misused150 me in this.”
“Know then,” proceeded Fax,223 “that after the unlocking of the door my sister flees in darkness to the green mountain. I go watching and lurking151, and learn that the King is in jealous madness, for your enemy spreads a slander152 and Cumac is deceived. He believes that my sister’s love has been cozened by you. Yali is caught fast in his net. My heart quivers in fear of his bloody153 intent, and I say to Flaune: ‘What shall follow if Tanil return not?’ And she smiles and says ever: ‘He will return.’ And again I say: ‘He tarries. What if he be dead?’ And she smiles and says ever: ‘He is not dead.’ But you come not, your steps are turned from us, no one has seen you, you are like a hare that has fallen into a pit, and you do not come. Then in that last hour Flaune goes to Cumac. He raves154 of deceit and treachery. ‘It is my sin,’ my sister pleads, ‘the blame is mine. Spare but this Yali and I will wash out the blame.’ ’Ay, you will wash it out with words!‘ ’I will pay the debt in kind,’ says my sister Flaune, ‘if Tanil does not return.’ But the cunning King will not yield up Yali unless my sister yield in love to him. So thus it stands even now, but whether they live in peace and love I do not know. I only know that Yali lives and serves her in the palace there. But they wait, and I too wait. Now the thread is ravelled to its end; I have lived only to seek you. My flock is lost, perished; my vineyard fades, but I came seeking.”
At dawn then they sailed over the straits and landed, and having bargained with a wine carrier for two asses156 they rode off in the direction of the city. Tanil’s heart was filled with joy and love, his voice carolled, his mind hummed like a homing bee. “Surely,” he said, “life is a hope unquenched, a tree of longing. It yields its branches into a little world of summer. The asp and the dragon appear, but the tree buds, the enriching bough157 cherishes its leaves, and, lo, the fruit hangs.”
But the heart of Fax was very grave within him. “For,” thought he,224 “this man will surely die. Yet I would rather this than lose the love of Yali, and though they slay158 him I will bring him there.”
So they rode along upon the asses, and a great bird on high followed them and hovered159 on its wings.
“A vulture.”
When King Cumac heard that they were come he ordered them to be bound, and they were bound, and the guard clustered around them. Tanil saw that his enemy was now captain of the men, and that the King was sour and distraught.
“You come!” cried Cumac, “why do you come?”
They told him it was to redeem the bond and make quittance.
“Bonds and quittances! What bond can lie between a King and faithless subjects?”
Said Fax: “It lies between the King and my sister Flaune.”
“How if I kill you both?”
“The bond will hold,” said Fax.
“Come, is a bond everlasting161 then, shall nothing break it?”
“Neither everlasting, nor to be broken.”
“What then?”
“It shall be fulfilled.”
“Nothing,” said Fax.
“Nothing? Nothing? Fools!” laughed the King, “the woman is happy, and desires not to leave me!”
Tanil stood bowed in silence and shame, and Cumac turned upon him.225 “What says this rude passionate beast!” The King’s anger rose like a blast among oaks. “Has he no talk of bonds, this toad163 that crawled into my heart and drank my living blood? Has he nothing to restore? or gives he and takes he at the will of the wind?”
“I have a life to give,” said Tanil.
“To give! You have a life to lose!”
“Take it, Cumac,” said he.
The King sprang up and seized Tanil by the beard, rocking him, and shouting through his gritting164 teeth: “Ay, bonds should be kept—should they not?—in truth and trust—should they not?”
Then he flung from him and went wailing165 in misery166, swinging his hands, and raging to and fro, up and down.
“Did she not come to me, come to me? Was it not agreed? Bonds and again bonds! Yet when I woo her she denies me still. O, honesty in petticoats is a saint with a devil’s claw. The bitter virginal thing turned her wild heart to this piece of cloven honour. Bonds, more bonds! Spare me these supple167 bonds! O, you spread cunning nets, but what fowler ever thrived in his own snare168? Did she not come to me? Was it not agreed?”
“Ay,” cried a voice.
“Now I will make an end,” said King Cumac. “Prop them against the casements170.” They carried Tanil to a casement on his right hand, and Fax to a casement on his left hand. Tanil saw Flaune standing in the palace garden amid a troop of Ethiopians,226 each with a green turban and red shoes and a tunic171 coloured like a stone, but she half-clad with only black pantaloons, and her long dark locks flowing. And Fax saw Yali in fetters172 amid another troop of black soldiers.
Again a sigh from the King; two great swords flashed, and Tanil, at one casement, saw the head of Flaune turn over backwards173 and topple to the ground, her body falling after with a great swathe of shorn tresses floating over it. Fax at the other casement saw Yali die, screaming a long cry that it seemed would never end. Tanil swayed at the casement.
Then Cumac turned with a moan of grief, his madness all gone. “The bond is ended. I have done. I say I have done.” He seemed to wake as from sleep, and, seeing the two captive men, he asked: “Why did they come? What brought them here? Take them away, the bond is ended, I say I have done. There shall be no more bonds given in the world. But take them out of the city gate and unbind them and cast them both loose; then clap fast the gate again. No more death, I would not have them die; let them wander in the live world, and dog each other for ever. Tanil, you rotten core of constancy, Fax brought you here and so Flaune, bitter and beautiful, dies. But Fax still lives—do you not see him?—I give Fax to you: may he die daily for ever. Fax, blundering jackal, you spoke of bonds. The bond is met, and so Yali is dead, but Tanil still lives: I give you Tanil as an offering, but not of peace. May he die daily for ever.”
227
So the guard took Fax and Tamil out of the city, struck off their shackles174, and left them there together.
The bird man finished; there was a silence; the other yawned. “Did you hear this?” asked the bird man. And the man in the stripéd jacket replied: “Ay, with both ears, and so may God bless you.” So saying, he rose and went out singing.
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1
verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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harp
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| n.竖琴；天琴座 | |
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3
mound
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| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
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4
populous
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| adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的 | |
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opulence
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| n.财富，富裕 | |
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6
recording
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| n.录音，记录 | |
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7
tellers
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| n.（银行）出纳员( teller的名词复数 )；（投票时的）计票员；讲故事等的人；讲述者 | |
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8
downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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9
wards
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| 区( ward的名词复数 )； 病房； 受监护的未成年者； 被人照顾或控制的状态 | |
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10
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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11
pliant
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| adj.顺从的；可弯曲的 | |
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12
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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13
mortify
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| v.克制，禁欲，使受辱 | |
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14
oracle
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| n.神谕，神谕处，预言 | |
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15
caressingly
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| 爱抚地，亲切地 | |
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16
chirped
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| 鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的过去式 ) | |
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17
smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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18
ransom
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| n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救 | |
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19
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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20
homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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21
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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22
numb
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| adj.麻木的，失去感觉的；v.使麻木 | |
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23
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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24
bowels
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| n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处 | |
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25
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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26
valiant
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| adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人 | |
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27
debonair
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| adj.殷勤的，快乐的 | |
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28
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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29
hacked
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| 生气 | |
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30
urn
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| n.（有座脚的）瓮；坟墓；骨灰瓮 | |
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31
pitcher
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| n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手 | |
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32
crumbs
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| int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式 | |
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33
droop
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| v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡 | |
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34
drooped
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| 弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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35
envious
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| adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的 | |
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36
chirping
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| 鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的现在分词 ) | |
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37
trespass
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| n./v.侵犯，闯入私人领地 | |
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38
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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39
guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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40
requite
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| v.报酬，报答 | |
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41
groom
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| vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁 | |
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42
coveted
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| adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图 | |
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43
lustre
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| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
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44
humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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45
ruby
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| n.红宝石，红宝石色 | |
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46
asunder
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| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
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47
sunder
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| v.分开；隔离；n.分离，分开 | |
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48
merged
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| （使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中 | |
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49
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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50
frenzies
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| 狂乱( frenzy的名词复数 )； 极度的激动 | |
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51
lure
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| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
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52
muse
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| n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感 | |
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53
mingle
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| vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往 | |
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54
conqueror
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| n.征服者，胜利者 | |
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55
frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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56
bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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57
demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
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58
tranquillity
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| n. 平静, 安静 | |
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59
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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60
withers
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| 马肩隆 | |
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61
gush
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| v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发 | |
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62
harps
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| abbr.harpsichord 拨弦古钢琴n.竖琴( harp的名词复数 ) | |
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63
lustrous
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| adj.有光泽的；光辉的 | |
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64
connived
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| v.密谋 ( connive的过去式和过去分词 )；搞阴谋；默许；纵容 | |
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65
blemish
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| v.损害；玷污；瑕疵，缺点 | |
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66
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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67
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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68
enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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69
vowed
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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70
tinkle
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| vi.叮当作响；n.叮当声 | |
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71
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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72
onlookers
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| n.旁观者，观看者( onlooker的名词复数 ) | |
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73
maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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74
gems
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| growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
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75
clattered
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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76
axe
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|
| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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77
jeered
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| v.嘲笑( jeer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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78
antelope
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| n.羚羊；羚羊皮 | |
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79
mid
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|
| adj.中央的，中间的 | |
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80
hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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81
swooped
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| 俯冲，猛冲( swoop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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82
sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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83
sever
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| v.切开，割开；断绝，中断 | |
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84
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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85
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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86
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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87
squeak
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| n.吱吱声，逃脱；v.（发出）吱吱叫，侥幸通过；（俚）告密 | |
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88
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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89
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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90
ointment
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| n.药膏，油膏，软膏 | |
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91
spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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92
grasshopper
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| n.蚱蜢，蝗虫，蚂蚱 | |
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93
ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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94
consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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95
stark
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| adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地 | |
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96
bawling
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| v.大叫，大喊( bawl的现在分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物） | |
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97
treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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98
conspired
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| 密谋( conspire的过去式和过去分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致 | |
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99
redeem
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| v.买回，赎回，挽回，恢复，履行（诺言等） | |
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100
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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101
doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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102
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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103
bribes
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| n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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104
torment
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| n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠 | |
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105
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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106
ebb
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| vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态 | |
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107
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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108
thwarts
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| 阻挠( thwart的第三人称单数 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过 | |
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109
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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110
tempt
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| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
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111
squandered
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| v.（指钱，财产等）浪费，乱花( squander的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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112
crooking
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| n.弯曲（木材等的缺陷）v.弯成钩形( crook的现在分词 ) | |
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113
languor
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| n.无精力，倦怠 | |
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114
lulled
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| vt.使镇静，使安静（lull的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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115
hurdle
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| n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛 | |
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116
feigning
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| 假装，伪装( feign的现在分词 )； 捏造（借口、理由等） | |
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117
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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118
thongs
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| 的东西 | |
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119
cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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120
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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121
eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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122
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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123
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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124
malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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125
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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126
hawser
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| n.大缆；大索 | |
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127
wharves
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| n.码头，停泊处( wharf的名词复数 ) | |
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128
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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129
uncouth
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| adj.无教养的，粗鲁的 | |
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130
gust
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| n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发 | |
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131
starry
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| adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的 | |
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132
crumpling
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| 压皱，弄皱( crumple的现在分词 )； 变皱 | |
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133
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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134
crunch
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| n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声 | |
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135
espied
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| v.看到( espy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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136
bawled
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| v.大叫，大喊( bawl的过去式和过去分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物） | |
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137
bliss
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| n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福 | |
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138
leopards
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| n.豹( leopard的名词复数 )；本性难移 | |
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139
blithe
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| adj.快乐的，无忧无虑的 | |
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140
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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141
dicing
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| n.掷骰子，（皮革上的）菱形装饰v.将…切成小方块，切成丁（ dice的现在分词 ） | |
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142
snaring
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| v.用罗网捕捉，诱陷，陷害( snare的现在分词 ) | |
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143
enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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144
convoy
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| vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队 | |
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145
caravan
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| n.大蓬车；活动房屋 | |
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146
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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147
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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148
wharf
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| n.码头，停泊处 | |
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149
accosted
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| v.走过去跟…讲话( accost的过去式和过去分词 )；跟…搭讪；（乞丐等）上前向…乞讨；（妓女等）勾搭 | |
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150
misused
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| v.使用…不当( misuse的过去式和过去分词 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用 | |
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151
lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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152
slander
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| n./v.诽谤，污蔑 | |
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153
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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154
raves
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| n.狂欢晚会( rave的名词复数 )v.胡言乱语( rave的第三人称单数 )；愤怒地说；咆哮；痴心地说 | |
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155
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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156
asses
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| n. 驴，愚蠢的人，臀部 adv. (常用作后置)用于贬损或骂人 | |
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157
bough
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| n.大树枝，主枝 | |
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158
slay
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| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
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159
hovered
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| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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160
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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161
everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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162
amend
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| vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿 | |
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163
toad
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| n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆 | |
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164
gritting
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| v.以沙砾覆盖（某物），撒沙砾于( grit的现在分词 )；咬紧牙关 | |
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165
wailing
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱 | |
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166
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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167
supple
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| adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺 | |
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168
snare
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| n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑 | |
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169
casement
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| n.竖铰链窗；窗扉 | |
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170
casements
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| n.窗扉( casement的名词复数 ) | |
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171
tunic
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| n.束腰外衣 | |
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172
fetters
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| n.脚镣( fetter的名词复数 )；束缚v.给…上脚镣，束缚( fetter的第三人称单数 ) | |
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173
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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174
shackles
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| 手铐( shackle的名词复数 )； 脚镣； 束缚； 羁绊 | |
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