The moment was opportune2 for the execution of my project. With these people about the man could not hope to escape from the house. 345, 350, 351, 353—I stood before the door of Edmond Termonde's room; the key was in the lock; chance had served my purpose better than I had ventured to hope. This trifling3 particular bore witness to the security in which the man whom I was about to surprise was living. Was he even aware that I existed?
I paused a moment before the closed door. I wore a short coat, so as to have my revolver within easy reach in the pocket, and I put my right hand upon it, opened the door with my left, and entered without knocking.
"Who is there?" said a man who was lying rather than sitting in an arm-chair, with his feet on a table; he was reading a newspaper and smoking, and his back was turned to the door. He did not trouble himself to rise and see whose hand had opened the door, thinking, no doubt, that a servant had come in; he merely turned his head slightly, and I did not give him time to look completely round.
"M. Rochdale?" I asked.
He started to his feet, pushed away the chair, and rushed to the other side of the table, staring at me with a terrified countenance5; his light blue eyes were unnaturally6 distended7, his face was livid, his mouth was half open, his legs bent8 under him. His tall, robust9 frame had sustained one of those shocks of excessive terror which almost paralyze the forces of life. He uttered but one word—"Cornelis!"
At last I held in my victorious10 hand the proof that I had been seeking for months, and in that moment I was master of all the resources of my being. Yes, I was as calm, as clear of purpose, as my adversary11 was the reverse. He was not accustomed to live, like his accomplice12, in the daily habits of studied dissimulation13. The name, "Rochdale," the terrifying likeness14, the unlooked-for arrival! I had not been mistaken in my calculation. With the amazing rapidity of thought that accompanies action I perceived the necessity of following up this first shock of moral terror by a shock of physical terror. Otherwise, the man would hurl15 himself upon me, in the moment of reaction, thrust me aside and rush away like a madman, at the risk of being stopped on the stairs by the servants, and then? But I had already taken out my revolver, and I now covered the wretch16 with it, calling him by his real name, to prove that I knew all about him.
"M. Edmond Termonde," I said, "if you make one step towards me, I will kill you, like the assassin that you are, as you killed my father."
Pointing to a chair at the corner of the half-open window, I added:
"Sit down!"
He obeyed mechanically. At that instant I exercised absolute control over him; but I felt sure this would cease so soon as he recovered his presence of mind. But even though the rest of the interview were now to go against me, that could not alter the certainty which I had acquired. I had wanted to know whether Edmond Termonde was the man who had called himself Rochdale, and I had secured undeniable proof of the fact. Nevertheless, it was due to myself that I should extract from my enemy the proof of the truth of all my conjectures17, that proof which would place my stepfather at my mercy. This was a fresh phase of the struggle.
I glanced round the room in which I was shut up with the assassin. On the bed, placed on my left, lay a loaded cane18, a hat and an overcoat; on a small table were a steel "knuckle-duster" and a revolver. Among the articles laid out on a chest of drawers on my right a bowie-knife was conspicuous19, a valise was placed against an unused door, a wardrobe with a looking-glass stood before another unused door, then came the toilet-stand, and the man, crouching20 under the aim of my revolver, between the table and the window. He could neither escape, nor reach to any means of defense21 without a personal struggle with me; but he would have to stand my fire first, and besides, if he was tall and robust, I was neither short or feeble. I was twenty-five, he was fifty. All the moral forces were for me, I must win.
"Now," said I, as I took a seat, but without releasing him from the covering barrel of my pistol, "let us talk."
"What do you want of me?" he asked roughly. His voice was both hoarse22 and muffled23; the blood had gone back into his cheeks, his eyes, those eyes so exactly like his brother's, sparkled. The brute-nature was reviving in him after having sustained a fearful shock, as though astonished that it still lived.
Then, as I made him no answer, but continued to threaten him with my pistol, he exclaimed:
"Ah! I understand; it is that blackguard Jacques who has sold me to you in order to get rid of me himself. There's the statute25 of limitations—he thinks he is safe! But has he told you that he was in it himself, good, honest man, and that I have the proof of this? Ah! he thinks I am going to let you kill me, like that, without speaking? No, I shall call out, we shall be arrested, and all will be known."
Fury had seized upon him; he was about to shout "Help!" and the worst of it was that rage was rising in me also. It was he, with that same hand which I saw creeping along the table, strong, hairy, seeking something to throw at me—yes—it was he who had killed my father.
One impulse more of anger and I was lost; a bullet was lodged26 in his body, and I saw his blood flow. Oh, what good it would have done me to see that sight!
But no, I soon made the sacrifice of this particular vengeance27. In a second, I beheld28 myself arrested, obliged to explain everything, and my mother exposed to all the misery29 of it.
Happily for me, he also had an interval30 of reflection. The first idea that must have occurred to him was that his brother had betrayed him, by telling me one-half of the truth, so as to deliver him up to my vengeance. The second, no doubt, was that, for a son who came to avenge31 his dead father, I was making a good deal of delay about it. There was a momentary32 silence between us. This allowed me to regain33 my coolness, and to say: "You are mistaken," so quietly that his amazement34 was visible in his face. He looked at me, then closed his eyes, and knitted his brow. I felt that he could not endure my resemblance to my father.
"Yes, you are mistaken," I continued deliberately35, giving the tone of a business conversation to this terrible interview. "I have not come here either to have you arrested or to kill you. Unless," I added, "you oblige me to do so yourself, as I feared just now you would oblige me. I have come to propose a bargain to you, but it is on the condition that you listen, as I shall speak, with coolness."
Once more we were both silent. In the corridor, almost at the door of the room, there were sounds of feet, voices, and peals36 of laughter. This was enough to recall me to the necessity of controlling myself, and him to the consciousness that he was playing a dangerous game. A shot, a cry, and someone would enter the room, for it opened upon the corridor. Edmond Termonde had heard me with extreme attention; a gleam of hope, succeeded by a singular look of suspicion, had passed over his face.
"Make your conditions," said he.
"If I had intended to kill you," I resumed, so as to convince him of my sincerity37 by the evidence of his senses, "you would be dead already." I raised the revolver. "If I had intended to have you arrested, I would not have taken the trouble to come here myself; two policemen would have been sufficient, for you don't forget that you are a deserter, and still amenable38 to the law."
"True," he replied simply, and then added, following out a mental argument which was of vital importance to the issue of our interview:
"If it is not Jacques, then who is it that has sold me?"
"I held you at my disposal," I continued, without noticing what he had said, "and I have not availed myself of that. Therefore I had a strong reason for sparing you yesterday, ere yesterday, this morning, a little while ago, at the present moment; and it depends upon yourself whether I spare you altogether."
"And you want me to believe you," he answered, pointing to my revolver which I still continued to hold in my hand, but no longer covering him with it. "No, no," and he added, with an expression which smacked39 of the barrack-room, "I don't tumble to that sort of thing."
"Listen to me," said I, now assuming a tone of extreme contempt. "The powerful motive41 which I have for not shooting you like a mad dog, you shall learn. I do not choose that my mother should ever know what a man she married in your brother. Do you now understand why I resolved to let you go? Provided you are of the same mind, however; for even the idea of my mother would not stop me, if you pushed me too far. I will add, for your guidance, that the limitation by which you supposed yourself to be safe from pursuit for the murder in 1864 has been traversed; you are therefore staking your head at this moment. For ten years past you have been successfully levying42 blackmail43 on your brother. I do not suppose you have merely played upon the chord of fraternal love. When you came from America to assume the personality of Rochdale, it was clearly necessary that he should send you some instructions. You have kept those letters. I offer you one hundred thousand francs for them."
"Sir," he replied slowly, and his tone showed me that for the moment he had recovered his self-control, "how can you imagine that I should take such a proposal seriously? Admitting that any such letters were ever written, and that I had kept them, why should I give up a document of this kind to you? What security should I have that you would not have me laid by the heels the moment after! Ah!" he cried, looking me straight in the face, "you know nothing! That name! That likeness! Idiot that I am, you have tricked me."
"You shall pay for this!" he cried; and at the same instant, when he was no longer covered by my pistol, he pushed the table upon me so violently, that if I had not sprung backwards45 I must have been thrown down; but he already had time to fling himself upon me and seize me round the body. Happily for me the violence of the attack had knocked the pistol out of my hands, so that I could not be tempted46 to use it, and a struggle began between us in which not one word was spoken by either.
With his first rush he had flung me to the ground; but I was strong, and the strange premonitions of danger, from which I suffered in my youth, had led me to develop all my physical energy and adroitness47.
I felt his breath on my face, his skin upon my skin, his muscles striving against mine, and at the same time the dread48 that our conflict might be overheard gave me the coolness which he had lost. After a few minutes of this tussle49, and just as his strength was failing, he fastened his teeth in my shoulder so savagely50 that the pain of the bite maddened me. I wrenched52 one of my arms from his grasp and seized him by the throat at the risk of choking him. I held him under me now, and I struck his bead53 against the floor as though I meant to smash it. He remained motionless for a minute, and I thought I had killed him. I first picked up my pistol, which had rolled away to the door, and then bathed his forehead with water in order to revive him.
When I caught sight of myself in the glass, with my coat-collar torn, my face bruised54, my cravat55 in rags, I shuddered56 as if I had seen the specter of another Andre Cornelis. The ignoble57 nature of this adventure filled me with disgust; but it was not a question of fine-gentleman fastidiousness. My enemy was coming to himself, I must end this. I knew in my conscience I had done all that was possible to fulfill58 my vow59 in regard to my mother. The blame must fall upon destiny. the wretch had half-raised himself, and was looking at me; I bent over him, and put the barrel of my revolver within a hair's breadth of his temple.
"There is still time," I said. "I give you five minutes to decide upon the bargain which I proposed to you just now; the letters, and one hundred thousand francs, with your liberty; if not, a bullet in your head. Choose. I wished to spare you on account of my mother; but I will not lose my vengeance both ways. I shall be arrested, your papers will be searched, the letters will be found, it will be known that I had a right to shoot you. My mother will go mad with grief; but I shall be avenged60. I have spoken. You have five minutes, not one more."
No doubt my face expressed invincible61 resolution. The assassin looked at that face, then at the clock. He tried to make a movement, but saw that my finger was about to press the trigger.
"I yield," he said.
I ordered him to rise, and he obeyed me.
"Where are the letters?"
"When you have them," he implored62, with the terror of a trapped beast in his abject63 face, "you will let me go away?"
"I swear it," I answered; and, as I saw doubt and dread in his quailing64 eyes, I added, "by the memory of my father. Where are the letters?"
"There."
"Here is the money."
I flung him the note-case which contained it. Is there a sort of moral magnetism66 in the tone of certain words and in certain expressions of countenance? Was it the nature of the oath which I had just taken, so deeply impressive at that moment, or had this man sufficient strength of mind to say to himself that his single chance of safety resided in belief in my good faith? However that may be, he did not hesitate for a moment; he opened the iron-bound valise, took out a yellow-leather box with a patent lock, and, having opened it, flung its contents—a large sealed envelope-to me, exactly as I had flung the banknotes to him. I, too, for my part, had not a moment's fear that he would produce a weapon from the valise and attack me while I was verifying the contents of the envelope. These consisted of three letters only; the two first bore the double stamp of Paris and New York, the third those of New York and Liverpool, and all three bore the January or February post-marks of the year 1864.
"Is that all?" he asked.
"Not yet," I answered; "you must undertake to leave Paris this evening by the first train, without having seen your brother or written to him."
"I promise; and then?"
"When was he to come back here to see you?"
"On Saturday," he answered, with a shrug67 of his shoulders. "The bargain was concluded. He was determined68 to wait until the day came for me to set out for Havre before paying me the money, so that he might make quite sure I should not stay on in Paris.—The game is up," he added, "and now I wash my hands of it."
"Edmond Termonde," said I, rising, but not loosing him from the hold of my eye, "remember that I have spared you; but you must not tempt40 me a second time by putting yourself in my way, or crossing the path of any whom I love."
Then, with a threatening gesture, I quitted the room, leaving him seated at the table near the window. I had hardly reached the corridor when my nerves, which had been so strangely under my control during the struggle, failed me. My legs bent under me, and I feared I was about to fall. How was I to account for the disorder69 of my clothes? I made a great effort, concealed70 the torn ends of my cravat, turned up the collar of my coat to hide the condition of my shirt, and did my best to repair the damage that had been done to my hat. I then wiped my face with my handkerchief, and went downstairs with a slow and careless step. The inspector71 of the first floor was, doubtless, occupied at the other end of the corridor; but two of the waiters saw me and were evidently surprised at my aspect. They were, however, too busy, luckily for me, to stop me and inquire into the cause of my discomposure. At last I reached the courtyard. If anybody who knew me had been there? I got into the first cab and gave my address. I had kept my word. I had conquered.
I am afraid to kill; but had I been born in Italy, in the fifteenth century, would I have hesitated to poison my father's murderer? Would I have hesitated to shoot him, had I been born in Corsica fifty years ago? Am I then nothing but a civilized72 person, a wretched and impotent dreamer, who would fain act, but shrinks from soiling his hands in the action? I forced myself to contemplate73 the dilemma74 in which I stood, in its absolute, imperative75, inevitable76 distinctness. I must either avenge my father by handing over his murderer to be dealt with by the law, since M. Massol had prudently77 fulfilled all the formalities necessary to bar the limitation, or I must be my own minister of justice. There was a third alternative; that I should spare the murderous wretch, allow him to live on in occupation of his victim's place in my mother's home, from which he had driven me; but at the thought of this my rage revived. The scruples78 of the civilized man did indeed give him pause; but that hesitation79 did not hinder the savage51, who slumbers80 in us all, from feeling the appetite for retaliation81 which stirs the animal nature of man—all his flesh, and all his blood— as hunger and thirst stir it. "Well, then," said I to myself, "I will assassinate82 my stepfather, since that is the right word. Was he afraid to assassinate my father? He killed; he shall be killed. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth; that is the primitive83 law, and all the rest is a lie."
Evening had come while this strife84 was raging in my soul. I was laboring85 under excitement which contrasted strangely with the calmness I had felt a few hours previously86, when ascending87 the stairs in the Grand Hotel. The situation also had undergone a change; then I was preparing for a struggle, a kind of duel88; I was about to confront a man whom I had to conquer, to attack him face to face without any treachery, and I had not flinched89. It was the mean hypocrisy90 of clandestine91 murder that had made me shrink from the idea of killing92 my stepfather, by luring93 him into a snare94. I had controlled this trembling the first time; but I was afraid of its coming again, and that I should have a sleepless95 night, and be unfit to act next day with the cool calmness I desired.
I felt that I could not bear suspense96; on the morrow I must act. The plan on which I should decide, be it what it might, must be executed within the twenty-four hours.
The best means of calming my nerves was by making a beginning now, at once; by doing something beforehand to guard against suspicion. I determined upon letting myself be seen by persons who could bear witness, if necessary, that they had seen me, careless, easy, almost gay. I dressed and went out, intending to dine at a place where I was known, and to pass the most of the night at the club.
When I was in the Avenue des Champs-Elysees, crowded with carriages and people on foot—the May evening was delicious—I shared the physical sensation of the joy of living, which was abroad in the air. The sky quivered with the innumerable throbs97 of the stars, and the young leaves shook at the touch of a slow and gentle breeze. Garlands of light illumined the various pleasure-gardens. I passed in front of a restaurant where the tables extended to the edge of the footpath98, and young men and women were finishing their dinner gaily99.
The contrast between the spring-festival aspect of Paris and the tragedy of my own destiny came home to me too strongly. What had I done to Fate to deserve that I should be the one only person, amid all this crowd, condemned100 to such an experience? Why had my path been crossed by a man capable of pushing passion to the point of crime, in a society in which passion is ordinarily so mild, so harmless, and so lukewarm? Probably there did not exist in all the "good" society of Paris four persons with daring enough to conceive such a plan as that which Jacques Termonde had executed with such cool deliberation under the influence of his passion. And this villain102, who could love so intensely, was my stepfather!
Once more the breath of fatality103, which had already thrilled me with a kind of mysterious horror, passed over me, and I felt that I could no longer bear the sight of the human face. Turning my back upon the lit-up, noisy quarter of the Champs Elysees, I walked on towards the Arc de Triomphe. Without thinking about it I took the road to the Bois, bore to the right to avoid the vehicles, and turned into one of the loneliest paths. Had I unconsciously obeyed one of those almost animal impulses of memory, which bring us back to ways that we have already trodden? By the soft, bluish light of the spring moon I recognized the place where I had walked with my stepfather in the winter, on the occasion of our first drive to the Bois. It was on that day I obliged him to look the portrait of his victim in the face, on that day he came to me on the pretext104 of asking for the Review which my mother had lent me. In my thoughts I beheld him, as he then was, and recalled the strange pity which had stirred my heart at the sight of him, so sad, broken-down, and, so to speak, conquered. He stood before me, in the light of that remembrance, as living and real as if he had been there, close beside me, and the acute sensation of his existence made me feel at the same time all the signification of those fearful and mysterious words: to kill. To kill? I was going to kill him, in a few hours it might be, at the latest in a few days.
I heard voices, and I withdrew into the shade. Two forms passed me, a young man and a girl, lovers, who did not see me. The moonlight fell upon them, as they went on their way, hand in hand. I burst into tears, and wept long, unrestrainedly; for I too was young; in my heart there was a flood of pent-up tenderness, and here I was, on this perfumed, moonlit, starlit night, crouching in a dark corner, meditating105 murder!
No, not murder, an execution. Has my stepfather deserved death? Yes. Is the executioner who lets down the knife on the neck of the condemned criminal to be called an assassin? No! Well, then I shall be the executioner and nothing else. I rose from the bench where I had shed my last tears of resolution and cowardice—for thus I regarded those hot tears to which I now appeal, as a last proof that I was not born for what I have done.
While walking back to Paris, I multiplied and reiterated106 my arguments. Sometimes I succeeded in silencing a voice within me, stronger than my reasoning and my longing107 for vengeance, a voice which pronounced the words formerly108 uttered by my aunt: "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord God." And if there be no God? And if there be, is not the fault His, for He has let this thing be? Yes, such were my wild words and thoughts; and then all these scruples of my conscience appeared to me mere4 vain, futile109 quibbles, fitting for philosophers and confessors.
There remained one indisputable, absolute fact; I could not endure that the murderer of my father should continue to be the husband of my mother.
There was a second no less evident fact; I could not place this man in the hands of justice without, probably, killing my mother on the spot, or, quite certainly, laying her whole life waste. Therefore I would have to be my own tribunal, judge, and executioner in my own cause. What mattered to me the arguments for or against? I was bound to give heed110 first to my final instinct, and it cried out to me "Kill!"
I walked fast, keeping my mind fixed111 on this idea with a kind of tragic112 pleasure, for I felt that my irresolution113 was gone, and that I should act. All of a sudden, as I came close to the Arc de Triomphe, I remembered how, on that very spot, I had met one of my club companions for the last time. He shot himself the next day. Why did this remembrance suddenly suggest to me a series of new thoughts?
I stopped short with a beating heart. I had caught a glimpse of the way of safety. Fool that I had been, led away as usual by an undisciplined imagination! My stepfather should die. I had sentenced him in the name of my inalienable right as an avenging114 son; but could I not condemn101 him to die by his own hand? Had I not that in my possession which would drive him to suicide? If I went to him without any more reserves or circumlocution115, and if I said to him, "I hold the proof that you are the murderer of my father. I give you the choice—either you will kill yourself, or I denounce you to my mother," what would his answer be? He, who loved his wife with that reciprocated116 devotion by which I had suffered so much, would he consent that she should know the truth, that she should regard him as a base, cowardly assassin? No, never; he would rather die.
My heart, weary and worn with pain, rushed towards this door of hope, so suddenly opened. "I shall have done my duty," I thought, "and I shall have no blood on my hands. My conscience will not be stained." I experienced an immense relief from the weight of foreseen remorse117 that had caused me such agony, and I went on drawing a picture of the future, freed at last from one dark image which had veiled the sunshine of my youth. "He will kill himself; my mother will weep for him; but I shall be able to dry her tears. Her heart will bleed, but I will heal the wound with the balm of my tenderness. When the assassin is no longer there, she and I will live over again all the dear time that he stole from us, and then I shall be able to show her how I love her. The caresses118 which I did not give her when I was a child, because the other froze me by his mere presence, I will give her then; the words which I did not speak, the tender words that were stopped upon my lips, she shall hear then. We will leave Paris, and get rid of these sad remembrances. We will retire to some quiet spot, far, far away, where she will have none but me, I none but her, and I will devote myself to her old age. What do I want with any other love, with any other tie? Suffering softens119 the heart; her grief will make her love me more. Ah! how happy we shall be." But once more the voice within resumed: "What if the wretch refuse to kill himself? What if he were not to believe me when I threaten to denounce him?" Had I not been acting120 for months as his accomplice in maintaining the deceit practiced upon my mother? Did he not know how much I loved her, he who had been jealous of me as her son, as I had been jealous of him as her husband? Would he not answer: "Denounce me!" being well assured that I would not deal such a blow at the poor woman? To these objections I replied, that, whereas I had suspected previously, now I knew. No, he will not be entirely121 convinced that the evidence I hold will make me dare everything. Well then, if he refuse, I shall have attempted the impossible to avoid murder—let destiny be accomplished122!
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
chattering
|
|
| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
opportune
|
|
| adj.合适的，适当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
trifling
|
|
| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
countenance
|
|
| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
unnaturally
|
|
| adv.违反习俗地；不自然地；勉强地；不近人情地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
distended
|
|
| v.（使）膨胀，肿胀( distend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
robust
|
|
| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
victorious
|
|
| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
adversary
|
|
| adj.敌手，对手 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
accomplice
|
|
| n.从犯，帮凶，同谋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
dissimulation
|
|
| n.掩饰，虚伪，装糊涂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
likeness
|
|
| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
hurl
|
|
| vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
wretch
|
|
| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
conjectures
|
|
| 推测，猜想( conjecture的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
cane
|
|
| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
conspicuous
|
|
| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
crouching
|
|
| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
defense
|
|
| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
hoarse
|
|
| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
muffled
|
|
| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
clenching
|
|
| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
statute
|
|
| n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
lodged
|
|
| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
vengeance
|
|
| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
beheld
|
|
| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
misery
|
|
| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
interval
|
|
| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
avenge
|
|
| v.为...复仇，为...报仇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
momentary
|
|
| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
regain
|
|
| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
amazement
|
|
| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
deliberately
|
|
| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
peals
|
|
| n.（声音大而持续或重复的）洪亮的响声( peal的名词复数 )；隆隆声；洪亮的钟声；钟乐v.（使）（钟等）鸣响，（雷等）发出隆隆声( peal的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
sincerity
|
|
| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
amenable
|
|
| adj.经得起检验的；顺从的；对负有义务的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
smacked
|
|
| 拍，打，掴( smack的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
tempt
|
|
| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
motive
|
|
| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
levying
|
|
| 征（兵）( levy的现在分词 )； 索取； 发动（战争）； 征税 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
blackmail
|
|
| n.讹诈，敲诈，勒索，胁迫，恫吓 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
crimson
|
|
| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
backwards
|
|
| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
tempted
|
|
| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
adroitness
|
|
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
dread
|
|
| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
tussle
|
|
| n.&v.扭打，搏斗，争辩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
savagely
|
|
| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
savage
|
|
| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
wrenched
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
bead
|
|
| n.念珠；(pl.)珠子项链；水珠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
bruised
|
|
| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
cravat
|
|
| n.领巾，领结；v.使穿有领结的服装，使结领结 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
shuddered
|
|
| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
ignoble
|
|
| adj.不光彩的，卑鄙的；可耻的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
fulfill
|
|
| vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
vow
|
|
| n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
avenged
|
|
| v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的过去式和过去分词 )；为…报复 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
invincible
|
|
| adj.不可征服的，难以制服的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
implored
|
|
| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
abject
|
|
| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
quailing
|
|
| 害怕，发抖，畏缩( quail的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
65
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
magnetism
|
|
| n.磁性，吸引力，磁学 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
shrug
|
|
| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
disorder
|
|
| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
concealed
|
|
| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
inspector
|
|
| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
civilized
|
|
| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
contemplate
|
|
| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
dilemma
|
|
| n.困境，进退两难的局面 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
imperative
|
|
| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
inevitable
|
|
| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
prudently
|
|
| adv. 谨慎地，慎重地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
scruples
|
|
| n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
hesitation
|
|
| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
slumbers
|
|
| 睡眠，安眠( slumber的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
retaliation
|
|
| n.报复，反击 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
assassinate
|
|
| vt.暗杀，行刺，中伤 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
primitive
|
|
| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
strife
|
|
| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
laboring
|
|
| n.劳动，操劳v.努力争取(for)( labor的现在分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
previously
|
|
| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
ascending
|
|
| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
duel
|
|
| n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
flinched
|
|
| v.（因危险和痛苦）退缩，畏惧( flinch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
hypocrisy
|
|
| n.伪善，虚伪 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
clandestine
|
|
| adj.秘密的，暗中从事的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
killing
|
|
| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
luring
|
|
| 吸引，引诱（lure的现在分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
snare
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
sleepless
|
|
| adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
suspense
|
|
| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
throbs
|
|
| 体内的跳动( throb的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
footpath
|
|
| n.小路，人行道 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
gaily
|
|
| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
condemned
|
|
| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
condemn
|
|
| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
villain
|
|
| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
fatality
|
|
| n.不幸，灾祸，天命 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
pretext
|
|
| n.借口，托词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
meditating
|
|
| a.沉思的，冥想的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
reiterated
|
|
| 反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
longing
|
|
| n.（for）渴望 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
formerly
|
|
| adv.从前，以前 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
futile
|
|
| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
heed
|
|
| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
tragic
|
|
| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
irresolution
|
|
| n.不决断，优柔寡断，犹豫不定 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
avenging
|
|
| adj.报仇的，复仇的v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的现在分词 )；为…报复 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
circumlocution
|
|
| n. 绕圈子的话，迂回累赘的陈述 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
reciprocated
|
|
| v.报答，酬答( reciprocate的过去式和过去分词 )；（机器的部件）直线往复运动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
remorse
|
|
| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
caresses
|
|
| 爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
softens
|
|
| （使）变软( soften的第三人称单数 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
acting
|
|
| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
accomplished
|
|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |