As I had surmised4, Miss Beverley had been amply provided for by her father, and was bound to Madame de Stämer by no other ties than those of friendship and esteem5. Very reluctantly I released her, on our returning to the house; for she, perforce, hurried off to Madame’s room, leaving me looking after her in a state of delightful6 bewilderment, the significance of which I could not disguise from myself. The absurd suspicions of Inspector7 Aylesbury were forgotten; so was the shadow upon the blind of Colonel Menendez’s study. I only knew that love had come to me, an unbidden guest, to stay for ever.
Manoel informed me that a number of pressmen, not to be denied, had taken photographs of the Tudor garden and of the spot where Colonel Menendez had been found, but Pedro, following my instructions, had referred them all to Market Hilton.
I was standing8 in the doorway9 talking to the man when I heard the drone of Harley’s motor in the avenue, and a moment later he and Wessex stepped out in front of the porch and joined me. I thought that Wessex looked stern and rather confused, but Harley was quite his old self, his keen eyes gleaming humorously, and an expression of geniality10 upon his tanned features.
“Hullo, Knox!” he cried, “any developments?”
“Yes,” I said. “Suppose we go up to your room and talk.”
“Good enough.”
Inspector Wessex nodded without speaking, and the three of us mounted the staircase and entered Paul Harley’s room. Harley seated himself upon the bed and began to load his pipe, whilst Wessex, who seemed very restless, stood staring out of the window. I sat down in the armchair, and:
“I have had an interesting interview with Mrs. Camber,” I said.
“What?” exclaimed Harley. “Good. Tell us all about it.”
Wessex turned, hands clasped behind him, and listened in silence to an account which I gave of my visit to the Guest House. When I had finished:
“It seems to me,” said the Inspector, slowly, “that the only doubtful point in the case against Camber is cleared up; namely, his motive11.”
“It certainly looks like it,” agreed Harley. “But how strangely Mrs. Camber’s story differs from that of Menendez although there are points of contact. I regret, however, that you were unable to settle the most important matter of all.”
“You mean whether or not she had visited Cray’s Folly?”
“Exactly.”
“Then you still consider my theory to be correct?” I asked eagerly.
“Up to a point it has been proved to be,” he returned. “I must congratulate you upon a piece of really brilliant reasoning, Knox. But respecting the most crucial moment of all, we are still without information, unfortunately. However, whilst the presence or otherwise, of Mrs. Camber in Cray’s Folly on the night preceding the tragedy may prove to bear intimately upon the case, an experiment which I propose to make presently will give the matter an entirely12 different significance.”
“Hm,” said Wessex, doubtfully, “I am looking forward to this experiment of yours, Mr. Harley, with great interest. To be perfectly13 honest, I have no more idea than the man in the moon how you hope to clear Camber.”
“No,” replied Harley, musingly14, “the weight of evidence against him is crushing. But you are a man of great experience, Wessex, in criminal investigations15. Tell me honestly, have you ever known a murder case in which there was such conclusive16 material for the prosecution17?”
“You have seen Camber,” continued Harley, “and have been enabled to form some sort of judgment19 respecting his character. You will admit that he is a clever man, brilliantly clever. Keep this fact in mind. Remember his studies, and he does not deny that they have included Voodoo. Remember his enquiries into the significance of Bat Wing. Remember, as we now learn definitely from Mrs. Camber’s evidence, that he was in Cuba at the same time as the late Colonel Menendez, and once, at least, actually in the same hotel in the United States. Consider the rifle found under the floor of the hut; and, having weighed all these points judicially20, Wessex, tell me frankly21, if in the whole course of your experience, you have ever met with a more perfect frame-up?”
“What!” shouted Wessex, in sudden excitement. “What!”
“I said a frame-up,” repeated Harley, quietly. “An American term, but one which will be familiar to you.”
“Good God!” muttered the detective, “you have turned all my ideas upside down.”
“What may be termed the physical evidence,” continued Harley, “is complete, I admit: too complete. There lies the weak spot. But what I will call the psychological evidence points in a totally different direction. A man clever enough to have planned this crime, and Camber undoubtedly22 is such a man, could not—it is humanly impossible—have been fool enough, deliberately23 to lay such a train of damning facts. It’s a frame-up, Wessex! I had begun to suspect this even before I met Camber. Having met him, I knew that I was right. Then came an inspiration. I saw where there must be a flaw in the plan. It was geographically24 impossible that this could be otherwise.”
“Geographical is the term, Knox. I admit that the discovery of the rifle beneath the floor of the hut appalled26 me.”
“I could see that it did.”
“It was the crowning piece of evidence, Knox, evidence of such fiendish cleverness on the part of those who had plotted Menendez’s death that I began to wonder whether after all it would be possible to defeat them. I realized that Camber’s life hung upon a hair. For the production of that rifle before a jury of twelve moderately stupid men and true could not fail to carry enormous weight. Whereas the delicate point upon which my counter case rested might be more difficult to demonstrate in court. To-night, however, we shall put it to the test, and there are means, no doubt, which will occur to me later, of making its significance evident to one not acquainted with the locality. The press photographs, which I understand have been taken, may possibly help us in this.”
Bewildered by my friend’s revolutionary ideas, which explained the hitherto mysterious nature of his enquiries, I scarcely knew what to say; but:
“If it’s a frame-up, Mr. Harley,” said Wessex, “and the more I think about it the more it has that look to me, practically speaking, we have not yet started on the search for the murderer.”
“We have not,” replied Harley, grimly. “But I have a dawning idea of a method by which we shall be enabled to narrow down this enquiry.”
It must be unnecessary for me to speak of the state of suppressed excitement in which we passed the remainder of that afternoon and evening. Dr. Rolleston called again to see Madame de Stämer, and reported that she was quite calm. In fact, he almost echoed Val Beverley’s words spoken earlier in the day.
“She is unnaturally28 calm, Mr. Knox,” he said in confidence. “I understand that the dead man was a cousin, but I almost suspect that she was madly in love with him.”
I nodded shortly, admiring his acute intelligence.
“I think you are right, doctor,” I replied, “and if it is so, her amazing fortitude29 is all the more admirable.”
“Admirable?” he echoed. “As I said before, she has the courage of ten men.”
A formal dinner was out of the question, of course; indeed, no one attempted to dress. Val Beverley excused herself, saying that she would dine in Madame’s room, and Harley, Wessex, and I, partook of wine and sandwiches in the library.
Inspector Aylesbury arrived about eight o’clock in a mood of repressed irritation30. Pedro showed him in to where the three of us were seated, and:
“Good evening, gentlemen,” said he, “here I am, as arranged, but as I am up to my eyes in work on the case, I will ask you, Mr. Harley, to carry out this experiment of yours as quickly as possible.”
“No time shall be lost,” replied my friend, quietly. “May I request you to accompany Detective-Inspector Wessex and Mr. Knox to the Guest House by the high road? Do not needlessly alarm Mrs. Camber. Indeed, I think you might confine your attention to Mrs. Powis. Merely request permission to walk down the garden to the hut, and be good enough to wait there until I join you, which will be in a few minutes after your arrival.”
Inspector Aylesbury uttered an inarticulate, grunting31 sound, but I, who knew Harley so well, could see that he felt himself to be upon the eve of a signal triumph. What he proposed to do, I had no idea, save that it was designed to clear Colin Camber. I prayed that it might also clear his pathetic girl-wife; and in a sort of gloomy silence I set out with Wessex and Aylesbury, down the drive, past the lodge32, which seemed to be deserted33 to-night, and along the tree-lined high road, cool and sweet in the dusk of evening.
Aylesbury was very morose34, and Wessex, who had lighted his pipe, did not seem to be in a talkative mood either. He had the utmost faith in Paul Harley, but it was evident enough that he was oppressed by the weight of evidence against Camber. I divined the fact that he was turning over in his mind the idea of the frame-up, and endeavouring to re-adjust the established facts in accordance with this new point of view.
We were admitted to the Guest House by Mrs. Powis, a cheery old soul; one of those born optimists35 whose special task in life seems to be that of a friend in need.
As she opened the door, she smiled, shook her head, and raised her finger to her lips.
“Be as quiet as you can, sir,” she said. “I have got her to sleep.”
“There will be no occasion to disturb her, Mrs. Powis,” I replied. “We merely wish to walk down to the bottom of the garden to make a few enquiries.”
“Yes, gentlemen,” she whispered, quietly closing the door as we all entered the hall.
She led us through the rear portion of the house, and past the quarters of Ah Tsong into that neglected garden which I remembered so well.
“There you are, sir, and may Heaven help you to find the truth.”
“Rest assured that the truth will be found, Mrs. Powis,” I answered.
Inspector Aylesbury cleared his throat, but Wessex, puffing36 at his pipe, made no remark whatever until we were all come to the hut overhanging the little ravine.
“This is where I found the rifle, Detective-Inspector,” explained Aylesbury.
Wessex nodded absently.
It was another perfect night, with only a faint tracery of cloud to be seen like lingering smoke over on the western horizon. Everything seemed very still, so that although we were several miles from the railway line, when presently a train sped on its way one might have supposed, from the apparent nearness of the sound, that the track was no farther off than the grounds of Cray’s Folly.
Toward those grounds, automatically, our glances were drawn37; and we stood there staring down at the ghostly map of the gardens, and all wondering, no doubt, what Harley was doing and when he would be joining us.
Very faintly I could hear the water of the little stream bubbling beneath us. Then, just as this awkward silence was becoming intolerable, there came a scraping and scratching from the shadows of the gully, and:
“Give me a hand, Knox!” cried the voice of Harley from below. “I want to avoid the barbed wire if possible.”
He had come across country, and as I scrambled38 down the slope to meet him I could not help wondering with what object he had sent us ahead by the high road. Presently, when he came clambering up into the garden, this in a measure was explained, for:
“You are all wondering,” he began, rapidly, “what I am up to, no doubt. Let me endeavour to make it clear. In order that my test should be conclusive, and in no way influenced by pre-knowledge of certain arrangements which I had made, I sent you on ahead of me. Not wishing to waste time, I followed by the shorter route. And now, gentlemen, let us begin.”
“Good,” muttered Inspector Aylesbury.
“But first of all,” continued Harley, “I wish each one of you in turn to look out of the window of the hut, and down into the Tudor garden of Cray’s Folly. Will you begin, Wessex?”
Wessex, taking his pipe out of his mouth, and staring hard at the speaker, nodded, entered the hut, and kneeling on the wooden seat, looked out of the window.
Wessex slid the panes open and stared intently down into the valley.
“Do you see anything unusual in the garden?”
“Nothing,” he reported.
“And now, Inspector Aylesbury.”
“I can see the garden,” he said.
“Can you see the sun-dial?”
“Quite clearly.”
“Good. And now you, Knox.”
I followed, filled with astonishment41.
“Do you see the sun-dial?” asked Harley, again.
“Quite clearly.”
“And beyond it?”
“Yes, I can see beyond it. I can even see its shadow lying like a black band on the path.”
“Of course.”
“But nothing else? Nothing unusual?”
“Nothing.”
“Very well,” said Harley, tersely43. “And now, gentlemen, we take to the rough ground, proceeding44 due east. Will you be good enough to follow?”
Walking around the hut he found an opening in the hedge, and scrambled down into the place where rank grass grew and through which he and I on a previous occasion had made our way to the high road. To-night, however, he did not turn toward the high road, but proceeded along the crest45 of the hill.
I followed him, excited by the novelty of the proceedings46. Wessex, very silent, came behind me, and Inspector Aylesbury, swearing under his breath, waded47 through the long grass at the rear.
“Will you all turn your attention to the garden again, please?” cried Harley.
We all paused, looking to the right.
“Anything unusual?”
We were agreed that there was not.
“Very well,” said my friend. “You will kindly48 note that from this point onward49 the formation of the ground prevents our obtaining any other view of Cray’s Folly or its gardens until we reach the path to the valley, or turn on to the high road. From a point on the latter the tower may be seen but that is all. The first part of my experiment is concluded, gentlemen. We will now return.”
Giving us no opportunity for comment, he plunged50 on in the direction of the stream, and at a point which I regarded as unnecessarily difficult, crossed it, to the great discomfiture51 of the heavy Inspector Aylesbury. A few minutes later we found ourselves once more in the grounds of Cray’s Folly.
Harley, evidently with a definite objective in view, led the way up the terraces, through the rhododendrons, and round the base of the tower. He crossed to the sunken garden, and at the top of the steps paused.
“Be good enough to regard the sun-dial from this point,” he directed.
Beyond the sun-dial and slightly to the left of it, viewed from where we stood, a faint, elfin light flickered53, at a point apparently54 some four or five feet above the ground!
“What’s this?” muttered Wessex.
“Follow again, gentlemen,” said Harley quietly.
He led the way down to the garden and along the path to the sun-dial. This he passed, pausing immediately in front of the yew tree in which I knew the bullet to be embedded55.
A piece of candle, some four inches long, was attached by means of a nail to the bark of the tree, so that its flame burned immediately in front of the bullet embedded there!
For perhaps ten seconds no one spoke; indeed I think no one moved. Then:
“Good God!” murmured Wessex. “You have done some clever things to my knowledge, Mr. Harley, but this crowns them all.”
“Clever things!” said Inspector Aylesbury. “I think it’s a lot of damned tomfoolery.”
“Do you, Inspector?” asked the Scotland Yard man, quietly. “I don’t. I think it has saved the life of an innocent man.”
“What’s that? What’s that?” cried Aylesbury.
“This candle was burning here on the yew tree,” explained Harley, “at the time that you looked out of the window of the hut. You could not see it. You could not see it from the crest adjoining the Guest House—the only other spot in the neighbourhood from which this garden is visible. Now, since the course of a bullet is more or less straight, and since the nature of the murdered man’s wound proves that it was not deflected57 in any way, I submit that the one embedded in the yew tree before you could not possibly have been fired from the Guest House! The second part of my experiment, gentlemen, will be designed to prove from whence it was fired.”
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1
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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surmised
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| v.臆测，推断( surmise的过去式和过去分词 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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6
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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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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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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geniality
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| n.和蔼，诚恳；愉快 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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musingly
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| adv.沉思地，冥想地 | |
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15
investigations
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| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
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16
conclusive
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| adj.最后的，结论的；确凿的，消除怀疑的 | |
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prosecution
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| n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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judicially
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| 依法判决地，公平地 | |
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frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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geographically
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| adv.地理学上，在地理上，地理方面 | |
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astounded
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| v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶 | |
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appalled
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| v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的 | |
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27
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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unnaturally
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| adv.违反习俗地；不自然地；勉强地；不近人情地 | |
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fortitude
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| n.坚忍不拔；刚毅 | |
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irritation
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| n.激怒，恼怒，生气 | |
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grunting
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| 咕哝的，呼噜的 | |
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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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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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morose
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| adj.脾气坏的，不高兴的 | |
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optimists
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| n.乐观主义者( optimist的名词复数 ) | |
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36
puffing
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| v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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panes
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| 窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 ) | |
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briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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42
yew
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| n.紫杉属树木 | |
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tersely
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| adv. 简捷地, 简要地 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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45
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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46
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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47
waded
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| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
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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49
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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50
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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51
discomfiture
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| n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑 | |
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52
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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53
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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54
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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55
embedded
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| a.扎牢的 | |
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56
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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57
deflected
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| 偏离的 | |
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