I’m roughish now, sir; but I was entered at the Middle Temple once, and studied for the bar. Tom—worse luck!—was one of my fellow-students; and a wildish time we had of it, until at last our finances ran short, and we were compelled to give up our so-called studies, and look about for some part of the world where two young fellows with strong arms and sound constitutions might make their mark. In those days the tide of emigration had scarcely begun to set in toward Africa, and so we thought our best chance would be down at Cape Colony. Well,—to make a long story short,—we set sail, and were deposited in Cape Town with less than five pounds in our pockets; and there we parted. We each tried our hands at many things, and had ups and downs; but when, at the end of three years, chance led each of us up-country and we met again, we were, I regret to say, in almost as bad a plight4 as when we started.
Well, this was not much of a commencement; and very disheartened we were, so disheartened that Tom spoke5 of going back to England and getting a clerkship. For you see we didn’t know that we had played out all our small cards, and that the trumps6 were going to turn up. No; we thought our “hands” were bad all through. It was a very lonely part of the country that we were in, inhabited by a few scattered7 farms, whose houses were stockaded and fenced in to defend them against the Kaffirs. Tom Donahue and I had a little hut right out in the bush; but we were known to possess nothing, and to be handy with our revolvers, so we had little to fear. There we waited, doing odd jobs, and hoping that something would turn up. Well, after we had been there about a month something did turn up upon a certain night, something which was the making of both of us; and it’s about that night, sir, that I’m going to tell you. I remember it well. The wind was howling past our cabin, and the rain threatened to burst in our rude window. We had a great wood fire crackling and sputtering8 on the hearth9, by which I was sitting mending a whip, while Tom was lying in his bunk10 groaning12 disconsolately13 at the chance which had led him to such a place.
“Cheer up, Tom—cheer up,” said I. “No man ever knows what may be awaiting him.”
“Ill luck, ill luck, Jack14,” he answered. “I always was an unlucky dog. Here have I been three years in this abominable15 country; and I see lads fresh from England jingling16 the money in their pockets, while I am as poor as when I landed. Ah, Jack, if you want to keep your head above water, old friend, you must try your fortune away from me.”
“Nonsense, Tom; you’re down in your luck to-night. But hark! Here’s some one coming outside. Dick Wharton, by the tread; he’ll rouse you, if any man can.”
Even as I spoke the door was flung open, and honest Dick Wharton, with the water pouring from him, stepped in, his hearty17 red face looming18 through the haze19 like a harvest-moon. He shook himself, and after greeting us sat down by the fire to warm himself.
“Where away, Dick, on such a night as this?” said I. “You’ll find the rheumatism20 a worse foe21 than the Kaffirs, unless you keep more regular hours.”
Dick was looking unusually serious, almost frightened, one would say, if one did not know the man. “Had to go,” he replied—“had to go. One of Madison’s cattle was seen straying down Sasassa Valley, and of course none of our blacks would go down that valley at night; and if we had waited till morning, the brute22 would have been in Kaffirland.”
“Why wouldn’t they go down Sasassa Valley at night?” asked Tom.
“Kaffirs, I suppose,” said I.
“Ghosts,” said Dick.
We both laughed.
“I suppose they didn’t give such a matter-of-fact fellow as you a sight of their charms?” said Tom, from the bunk.
“Yes,” said Dick, seriously, “yes; I saw what the niggers talk about; and I promise you, lads, I don’t want ever to see it again.”
Tom sat up in his bed. “Nonsense, Dick; you’re joking, man! Come, tell us all about it; the legend first, and your own experience afterward23. Pass him over the bottle, Jack.”
“Well, as to the legend,” began Dick. “It seems that the niggers have had it handed down to them that Sasassa Valley is haunted by a frightful24 fiend. Hunters and wanderers passing down the defile25 have seen its glowing eyes under the shadows of the cliff; and the story goes that whoever has chanced to encounter that baleful glare has had his after-life blighted26 by the malignant27 power of this creature. Whether that be true or not,” continued Dick, ruefully, “I may have an opportunity of judging for myself.”
“Go on, Dick—go on,” cried Tom. “Let’s hear about what you saw.”
“Well, I was groping down the valley, looking for that cow of Madison’s, and I had, I suppose, got half-way down, where a black craggy cliff juts29 into the ravine on the right, when I halted to have a pull at my flask30. I had my eye fixed31 at the time upon the projecting cliff I have mentioned, and noticed nothing unusual about it. I then put up my flask and took a step or two forward, when in a moment there burst, apparently32 from the base of the rock, about eight feet from the ground and a hundred yards from me, a strange, lurid33 glare, flickering34 and oscillating, gradually dying away and then reappearing again. No, no; I’ve seen many a glow-worm and firefly—nothing of that sort. There it was, burning away, and I suppose I gazed at it, trembling in every limb, for fully28 ten minutes. Then I took a step forward, when instantly it vanished, vanished like a candle blown out. I stepped back again; but it was some time before I could find the exact spot and position from which it was visible. At last, there it was, the weird35 reddish light, flickering away as before. Then I screwed up my courage, and made for the rock; but the ground was so uneven36 that it was impossible to steer37 straight; and though I walked along the whole base of the cliff, I could see nothing. Then I made tracks for home; and I can tell you, boys, that, until you remarked it, I never knew it was raining, the whole way along. But hollo! what’s the matter with Tom?”
What indeed? Tom was now sitting with his legs over the side of the bunk, and his whole face betraying excitement so intense as to be almost painful. “The fiend would have two eyes. How many lights did you see, Dick? Speak out!”
“Only one.”
“Hurrah!” cried Tom, “that’s better.” Whereupon he kicked the blankets into the middle of the room, and began pacing up and down with long feverish38 strides. Suddenly he stopped opposite Dick, and laid his hand upon his shoulder. “I say, Dick, could we get to Sasassa Valley before sunrise?”
“Scarcely,” said Dick.
“Well, look here; we are old friends, Dick Wharton, you and I. Now don’t you tell any other man what you have told us, for a week. You’ll promise that, won’t you?”
I could see by the look on Dick’s face as he acquiesced39 that he considered poor Tom to be mad; and indeed I was myself completely mystified by his conduct. I had, however, seen so many proofs of my friend’s good sense and quickness of apprehension40 that I thought it quite possible that Wharton’s story had had a meaning in his eyes which I was too obtuse41 to take in.
All night Tom Donahue was greatly excited, and when Wharton left he begged him to remember his promise, and also elicited43 from him a description of the exact spot at which he had seen the apparition44, as well as the hour at which it appeared. After his departure, which must have been about four in the morning, I turned into my bunk and watched Tom sitting by the fire splicing45 two sticks together, until I fell asleep. I suppose I must have slept about two hours; but when I awoke Tom was still sitting working away in almost the same position. He had fixed the one stick across the top of the other so as to form a rough T, and was now busy in fitting a smaller stick into the angle between them, by manipulating which, the cross one could be either cocked up or depressed46 to any extent. He had cut notches47, too, in the perpendicular48 stick, so that, by the aid of the small prop49, the cross one could be kept in any position for an indefinite time.
“Look here, Jack!” he cried, when he saw that I was awake. “Come and give me your opinion. Suppose I put this cross-stick pointing straight at a thing, and arranged this small one so as to keep it so, and left it, I could find that thing again if I wanted it—don’t you think I could, Jack—don’t you think so?” he continued, nervously50, clutching me by the arm.
“Well,” I answered, “it would depend on how far off the thing was, and how accurately51 it was pointed52. If it were any distance, I’d cut sights on your cross-stick; then a string tied to the end of it, and held in a plumb-line forward, would lend you pretty near what you wanted. But surely, Tom, you don’t intend to localise the ghost in that way?”
“You’ll see to-night, old friend—you’ll see to-night. I’ll carry this to the Sasassa Valley. You get the loan of Madison’s crowbar, and come with me; but mind you tell no man where you are going, or what you want it for.”
All day Tom was walking up and down the room, or working hard at the apparatus53. His eyes were glistening54, his cheeks hectic55, and he had all the symptoms of high fever. “Heaven grant that Dick’s diagnosis56 be not correct!” I thought, as I returned with the crowbar; and yet, as evening drew near, I found myself imperceptibly sharing the excitement.
About six o’clock Tom sprang to his feet and seized his sticks. “I can stand it no longer, Jack,” he cried; “up with your crowbar, and hey for Sasassa Valley! To-night’s work, my lad, will either make us or mar3 us! Take your six-shooter, in case we meet the Kaffirs. I daren’t take mine, Jack,” he continued, putting his hands upon my shoulders—“I daren’t take mine; for if my ill luck sticks to me to-night, I don’t know what I might not do with it.”
Well, having filled our pockets with provisions, we set out, and, as we took our wearisome way toward the Sasassa Valley, I frequently attempted to elicit42 from my companion some clue as to his intentions. But his only answer was: “Let us hurry on, Jack. Who knows how many have heard of Wharton’s adventure by this time! Let us hurry on, or we may not be first in the field!”
Well, sir, we struggled on through the hills for a matter of ten miles; till at last, after descending57 a crag, we saw opening out in front of us a ravine so sombre and dark that it might have been the gate of Hades itself; cliffs many hundred feet shut in on every side the gloomy boulder-studded passage which led through the haunted defile into Kaffirland. The moon, rising above the crags, threw into strong relief the rough, irregular pinnacles58 of rock by which they were topped, while all below was dark as Erebus.
“The Sasassa Valley?” said I.
“Yes,” said Tom.
I looked at him. He was calm now; the flush and feverishness59 had passed away; his actions were deliberate and slow. Yet there was a certain rigidity60 in his face and glitter in his eye which showed that a crisis had come.
We entered the pass, stumbling along amid the great boulders61. Suddenly I heard a short, quick exclamation62 from Tom. “That’s the crag!” he cried, pointing to a great mass looming before us in the darkness. “Now, Jack, for any favour use your eyes! We’re about a hundred yards from that cliff, I take it; so you move slowly toward one side and I’ll do the same toward the other. When you see anything, stop and call out. Don’t take more than twelve inches in a step, and keep your eye fixed on the cliff about eight feet from the ground. Are you ready?”
“Yes.” I was even more excited than Tom by this time. What his intention or object was I could not conjecture63, beyond that he wanted to examine by daylight the part of the cliff from which the light came. Yet the influence of the romantic situation and my companion’s suppressed excitement was so great that I could feel the blood coursing through my veins64 and count the pulses throbbing65 at my temples.
“Start!” cried Tom; and we moved off, he to the right, I to the left, each with our eyes fixed intently on the base of the crag. I had moved perhaps twenty feet, when in a moment it burst upon me. Through the growing darkness there shone a small, ruddy, glowing point, the light from which waned66 and increased, flickered67 and oscillated, each change producing a more weird effect than the last. The old Kaffir superstition68 came into my mind, and I felt a cold shudder69 pass over me. In my excitement I stepped a pace backward, when instantly the light went out, leaving utter darkness in its place; but when I advanced again, there was the ruddy glare glowing from the base of the cliff. “Tom, Tom!” I cried.
“Ay, ay!” I heard him exclaim, as he hurried over toward me.
“There it is—there, up against the cliff!”
Tom was at my elbow. “I see nothing,” said he.
“Why, there, there, man, in front of you!” I stepped to the right as I spoke, when the light instantly vanished from my eyes.
But from Tom’s ejaculations of delight it was clear that from my former position it was visible to him also. “Jack,” he cried, as he turned and wrung70 my hand—“Jack, you and I can never complain of our luck again. Now heap up a few stones where we are standing71. That’s right. Now we must fix my sign-post firmly in at the top. There! It would take a strong wind to blow that down; and we only need it to hold out till morning. O Jack, my boy, to think that only yesterday we were talking of becoming clerks, and you saying that no man knew what was awaiting him, too! By Jove, Jack, it would make a good story!”
By this time we had firmly fixed the perpendicular stick in between the two large stones; and Tom bent72 down and peered along the horizontal one. For fully a quarter of an hour he was alternately raising and depressing it, until at last, with a sigh of satisfaction, he fixed the prop into the angle, and stood up. “Look along, Jack,” he said. “You have as straight an eye to take a sight as any man I know of.”
I looked along. There beyond the farther sight was the ruddy, scintillating73 speck74, apparently at the end of the stick itself, so accurately had it been adjusted.
“And now, my boy,” said Tom, “let’s have some supper and a sleep. There’s nothing more to be done to-night; but we’ll need all our wits and strength to-morrow. Get some sticks and kindle75 a fire here, and then we’ll be able to keep an eye on our signal-post, and see that nothing happens to it during the night.”
Well, sir, we kindled76 a fire, and had supper with the Sasassa demon77’s eye rolling and glowing in front of us the whole night through. Not always in the same place, though; for after supper, when I glanced along the sights to have another look at it, it was nowhere to be seen. The information did not, however, seem to disturb Tom in any way. He merely remarked, “It’s the moon, not the thing, that has shifted;” and coiling himself up, went to sleep.
By early dawn we were both up, and gazing along our pointer at the cliff; but we could make out nothing save the one dead, monotonous78, slaty79 surface, rougher perhaps at the part we were examining than elsewhere, but otherwise presenting nothing remarkable80.
“Now for your idea, Jack!” said Tom Donahue, unwinding a long thin cord from round his waist. “You fasten it, and guide me while I take the other end.” So saying, he walked off to the base of the cliff, holding one end of the cord, while I drew the other taut81, and wound it round the middle of the horizontal stick, passing it through the sight at the end. By this means I could direct Tom to the right or left, until we had our string stretching from the point of attachment82, through the sight, and on to the rock, which it struck about eight feet from the ground. Tom drew a chalk circle of about three feet diameter round the spot, and then called to me to come and join him. “We’ve managed this business together, Jack,” he said, “and we’ll find what we are to find, together.” The circle he had drawn83 embraced a part of the rock smoother than the rest, save that about the centre there were a few rough protuberances or knobs. One of these Tom pointed to with a cry of delight. It was a roughish, brownish mass about the size of a man’s closed fist, and looking like a bit of dirty glass let into the wall of the cliff. “That’s it!” he cried—“that’s it!”
“That’s what?”
“Why, man, a diamond, and such a one as there isn’t a monarch84 in Europe but would envy Tom Donahue the possession of. Up with your crowbar, and we’ll soon exorcise the demon of Sasassa Valley!”
I was so astounded85 that for a moment I stood speechless with surprise, gazing at the treasure which had so unexpectedly fallen into our hands.
“Here, hand me the crowbar,” said Tom. “Now, by using this little round knob which projects from the cliff here as a fulcrum86, we may be able to lever it off. Yes; there it goes. I never thought it could have come so easily. Now, Jack, the sooner we get back to our hut and then down to Cape Town, the better.”
We wrapped up our treasure, and made our way across the hills toward home. On the way, Tom told me how, while a law student in the Middle Temple, he had come upon a dusty pamphlet in the library, by one Jans van Hounym, which told of an experience very similar to ours, which had befallen that worthy87 Dutchman in the latter part of the seventeenth century, and which resulted in the discovery of a luminous88 diamond. This tale it was which had come into Tom’s head as he listened to honest Dick Wharton’s ghost-story, while the means which he had adopted to verify his supposition sprang from his own fertile Irish brain.
“We’ll take it down to Cape Town,” continued Tom, “and if we can’t dispose of it with advantage there, it will be worth our while to ship for London with it. Let us go along to Madison’s first, though; he knows something of these things, and can perhaps give us some idea of what we may consider a fair price for our treasure.”
We turned off from the track accordingly, before reaching our hut, and kept along the narrow path leading to Madison’s farm. He was at lunch when we entered; and in a minute we were seated at each side of him, enjoying South African hospitality.
“Well,” he said, after the servants were gone, “what’s in the wind now? I see you have something to say to me. What is it?”
Tom produced his packet, and solemnly untied89 the handkerchiefs which enveloped90 it. “There!” he said, putting his crystal on the table; “what would you say was a fair price for that?”
Madison took it up and examined it critically. “Well,” he said, laying it down again, “in its crude state about twelve shillings per ton.”
“Twelve shillings!” cried Tom, starting to his feet. “Don’t you see what it is?”
“Rock-salt!”
“Rock-salt be d—d! a diamond.”
“Taste it!” said Madison.
Tom put it to his lips, dashed it down with a dreadful exclamation, and rushed out of the room.
I felt sad and disappointed enough myself; but presently, remembering what Tom had said about the pistol, I, too left the house, and made for the hut, leaving Madison open-mouthed with astonishment91. When I got in, I found Tom lying in his bunk with his face to the wall, too dispirited apparently to answer my consolations92. Anathematising Dick and Madison, the Sasassa demon, and everything else, I strolled out of the hut, and refreshed myself with a pipe after our wearisome adventure. I was about fifty yards from the hut, when I heard issuing from it the sound which of all others I least expected to hear. Had it been a groan11 or an oath, I should have taken it as a matter of course; but the sound which caused me to stop and take the pipe out of my mouth was a hearty roar of laughter! Next moment Tom himself emerged from the door, his whole face radiant with delight. “Game for another ten-mile walk, old fellow?”
“What! for another lump of rock-salt, at twelve shillings a ton?”
“‘No more of that, Hal, an you love me,’ “ grinned Tom. “Now look here, Jack. What blessed fools we are to be so floored by a trifle! Just sit on this stump93 for five minutes, and I’ll make it as clear as daylight. You’ve seen many a lump of rock-salt stuck in a crag, and so have I, though we did make such a mull of this one. Now, Jack, did any of the pieces you have ever seen shine in the darkness brighter than any fire-fly?”
“Well, I can’t say they ever did.”
“I’d venture to prophesy94 that if we waited until night, which we won’t do, we would see that light still glimmering95 among the rocks. Therefore, Jack, when we took away this worthless salt, we took the wrong crystal. It is no very strange thing in these hills that a piece of rock-salt should be lying within a foot of a diamond. It caught our eyes, and we were excited, and so we made fools of ourselves, and left the real stone behind. Depend upon it, Jack, the Sasassa gem96 is lying within that magic circle of chalk upon the face of yonder cliff. Come, old fellow, light your pipe and stow your revolver, and we’ll be off before that fellow Madison has time to put two and two together.”
I don’t know that I was very sanguine97 this time. I had begun, in fact, to look upon the diamond as a most unmitigated nuisance. However, rather than throw a damper on Tom’s expectations, I announced myself eager to start. What a walk it was! Tom was always a good mountaineer, but his excitement seemed to lend him wings that day, while I scrambled98 along after him as best I could.
When we got within half a mile he broke into the “double,” and never pulled up until he reached the round white circle upon the cliff. Poor old Tom! when I came up, his mood had changed, and he was standing with his hands in his pockets, gazing vacantly before him with a rueful countenance99.
“Look!” he said, “look!” and he pointed at the cliff. Not a sign of anything in the least resembling a diamond there. The circle included nothing but a flat slate-coloured stone, with one large hole, where we had extracted the rock-salt, and one or two smaller depressions. No sign of the gem.
“I’ve been over every inch of it,” said poor Tom. “It’s not there. Some one has been here and noticed the chalk, and taken it. Come home, Jack; I feel sick and tired. Oh, had any man ever luck like mine!”
I turned to go, but took one last look at the cliff first. Tom was already ten paces off.
“Hollo!” I cried, “don’t you see any change in that circle since yesterday?”
“What d’ ye mean?” said Tom.
“Don’t you miss a thing that was there before?”
“The rock-salt?” said Tom.
“No; but the little round knob that we used for a fulcrum. I suppose we must have wrenched100 it off in using the lever. Let’s have a look at what it’s made of.”
Accordingly, at the foot of the cliff we searched about among the loose stones.
“Here you are, Jack! We’ve done it at last! We’re made men!”
I turned round, and there was Tom radiant with delight, and with the little corner of black rock in his hand. At first sight it seemed to be merely a chip from the cliff; but near the base there was projecting from it an object which Tom was now exultingly101 pointing out. It looked at first something like a glass eye; but there was a depth and brilliancy about it such as glass never exhibited. There was no mistake this time; we had certainly got possession of a jewel of great value; and with light hearts we turned from the valley, bearing away with us the “fiend” which had so long reigned102 there.
There, sir; I’ve spun103 my story out too long, and tired you perhaps. You see, when I get talking of those rough old days, I kind of see the little cabin again, and the brook104 beside it, and the bush around, and seem to hear Tom’s honest voice once more. There’s little for me to say now. We prospered105 on the gem. Tom Donahue, as you know, has set up here, and is well known about town. I have done well, farming and ostrich-raising in Africa. We set old Dick Wharton up in business, and he is one of our nearest neighbours. If you should ever be coming up our way, sir, you’ll not forget to ask for Jack Turnbull—Jack Turnbull of Sasassa Farm.
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sobriquet
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| n.绰号 | |
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cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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mar
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| vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟 | |
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plight
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| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
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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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6
trumps
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| abbr.trumpets 喇叭；小号；喇叭形状的东西；喇叭筒v.（牌戏）出王牌赢（一牌或一墩）( trump的过去式 )；吹号公告，吹号庆祝；吹喇叭；捏造 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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sputtering
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| n.反应溅射法；飞溅；阴极真空喷镀；喷射v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的现在分词 )；发劈啪声；喷出；飞溅出 | |
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hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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groaning
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| adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
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disconsolately
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| adv.悲伤地，愁闷地；哭丧着脸 | |
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jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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jingling
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hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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looming
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| n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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rheumatism
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foe
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brute
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afterward
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frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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defile
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| v.弄污，弄脏；n.(山间)小道 | |
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blighted
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| adj.枯萎的，摧毁的 | |
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malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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fully
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juts
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| v.（使）突出( jut的第三人称单数 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
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flask
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| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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lurid
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| adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的 | |
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flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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uneven
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| adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的 | |
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steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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acquiesced
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| v.默认，默许( acquiesce的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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obtuse
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| adj.钝的；愚钝的 | |
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elicit
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| v.引出,抽出,引起 | |
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elicited
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| 引出，探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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splicing
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| n.编接（绳）；插接；捻接；叠接v.绞接( splice的现在分词 )；捻接（两段绳子）；胶接；粘接（胶片、磁带等） | |
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depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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notches
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| n.（边缘或表面上的）V型痕迹( notch的名词复数 )；刻痕；水平；等级 | |
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perpendicular
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| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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prop
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| vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山 | |
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nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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hectic
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| adj.肺病的；消耗热的；发热的；闹哄哄的 | |
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diagnosis
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| n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断 | |
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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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pinnacles
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| 顶峰( pinnacle的名词复数 )； 顶点； 尖顶； 小尖塔 | |
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feverishness
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rigidity
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| adj.钢性，坚硬 | |
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boulders
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| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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waned
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| v.衰落( wane的过去式和过去分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡 | |
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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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superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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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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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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scintillating
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| adj．才气横溢的,闪闪发光的; 闪烁的 | |
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speck
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| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
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kindle
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| v.点燃，着火 | |
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kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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slaty
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| 石板一样的，石板色的 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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taut
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| adj.拉紧的，绷紧的，紧张的 | |
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attachment
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| n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附 | |
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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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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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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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fulcrum
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| n.杠杆支点 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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untied
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| 松开，解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 )； 解除，使自由； 解决 | |
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enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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consolations
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| n.安慰，慰问( consolation的名词复数 )；起安慰作用的人（或事物） | |
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stump
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| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
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prophesy
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| v.预言；预示 | |
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glimmering
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| n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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gem
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| n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel | |
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sanguine
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| adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的 | |
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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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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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exultingly
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| 兴高采烈地，得意地 | |
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reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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103
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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104
brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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prospered
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| 成功，兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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