The mist was still lingering in the valleys, though the remote peaks had been kindled1 more than an hour by the touch of sunrise. As Lynde paced up and down the trottoir in front of the Couronne hotel, he drew out his watch from time to time and glanced expectantly towards the hotel entrance. In the middle of the street stood a couple of guides, idly holding the bridles3 of three mules5, two of which were furnished with side-saddles. It was nearly half an hour past the appointment, and the Denhams, who had retired7 at eight o'clock the night before in order to be fresh for an early start up the mountain, had made no sign. Lynde himself had set the lark9 an example that morning by breakfasting by candle-light. Here were thirty minutes lost. He quickened his pace up and down in front of the hotel, as if his own rapidity of movement would possibly exert some occult influence in hastening the loiterers; but another quarter of an hour dragged on without bringing them.
Lynde was impatiently consulting his watch for the twentieth time when Miss Denham's troubled face showed itself in the doorway11.
"Isn't it too bad, Mr. Lynde? Aunt Gertrude can't go!"
"She has a headache from yesterday's ride. She got up, and dressed, but was obliged to lie down again."
"Then that's the end of it, I suppose," said Lynde despondently13. He beckoned14 to one of the guides.
"I don't know," said Miss Denham, standing15 in an attitude of irresolution16 on the upper step, with her curved eyebrows17 drawn18 together like a couple of blackbirds touching19 bills. "I don't know what to do...she insists on our going. I shall never forgive myself for letting her see that I was disappointed. She added my concern for her illness to my regret about the excursion, and thought me more disappointed than I really was. Then she declared she would go in spite of her headache... unless I went."
The gloom which had overspread Lynde's countenance20 vanished.
"It is not one of her severest turns," continued Miss Ruth, ceasing to be a statue on a pedestal and slowly descending21 the hotel steps with her waterproof22 trailing from her left arm, "and she is quite capable of executing her threat. What shall we do, Mr. Lynde?"
"I think we had better try the mountain--for her sake," answered Lynde. "We need not attempt the Mer de Glace, you know; that can be left for another day. The ascent23 takes only two hours, the descent half an hour less; we can easily be back in time for lunch."
"Then let us do that."
Lynde selected the more amiable24-looking of the two mules with side- saddles, dismissed one of the guides after a brief consultation25, and helped Miss Denham to mount. In attending to these preliminaries Lynde had sufficient mastery over himself not to make any indecorous betrayal of his intense satisfaction at the turn affairs had taken. Fortune had given her into his hands for five hours! She should listen this time to what he had to say, though the mountain should fall.
At a signal from Lynde the remaining guide led the way at a brisk pace through the bustling26 town. In front of the various hotels were noisy groups of tourists about to set forth27 on pilgrimages, some bound for the neighboring glaciers28 and cascades30, and others preparing for more distant and more hardy31 enterprises. It was a perfect Babel of voices--French, Scotch32, German, Italian, and English; with notes of every sort of patois--above which the strident bass33 of the mules soared triumphantly34 at intervals35. There are not many busier spots than Chamouni at early morning in the height of the season.
Our friends soon left the tumult36 and confusion behind them, and were skirting the pleasant meadows outside of the town. Passing by the way of the English church, they crossed to the opposite bank of the Arve, and in a few minutes gained the hamlet lying at the foot of Montanvert. Then the guide took the bridle4 of Miss Ruth's mule6 and the ascent began. The road stretches up the mountain in a succession of zigzags38 with sharp turns. Here and there the path is quarried39 out of the begrudging40 solid rock; in places the terrace is several yards wide and well wooded, but for the most part it is a barren shelf with a shaggy wall rising abruptly41 on one hand and a steep slope descending on the other. Higher up, these slopes become quite respectable precipices43. A dozen turns, which were accomplished44 in unbroken silence, brought the party to an altitude of several hundred feet above the level.
"I--I don't know that I wholly like it," said Miss Ruth, holding on to the pommel of her saddle and looking down into the valley, checkered45 with fields and criss-crossed with shining rivulets46. "Why do the mules persist in walking on the very edge?"
"That is a trick they get from carrying panniers. You are supposed to be a pannier, and the careful animal doesn't want to brush you off against the rocks. See this creature of mine; he has that hind37 hoof47 slipping over the precipice42 all the while. But he'll not slip; he's as sure- footed as a chamois, and has no more taste for tumbling off the cliff than you have. These mules are wonderfully intelligent. Observe how cautiously they will put foot on a loose stone, feeling all around it."
"I wish they were intelligent enough to be led in the middle of the path," said Miss Ruth, "but I suppose the guide knows."
"You may trust to him; he is a person of varied48 accomplishments49, the chief of which is he doesn't understand a word of English. So you can scold, or say anything you like, without the least reserve. I picked him out for that," added Lynde, with a bland50 smile. "His comrade was a linguist51."
"If I have anything disagreeable to say," replied Miss Ruth, with another bland smile, "I shall say it in French."
The guide, who spoke52 four languages, including English, never changed a muscle. Lynde, just before starting, had closely examined the two guides on their lingual53 acquirements--and retained the wrong man.
"I trust you will have no occasion, Miss Denham, to be anything but amiable, and that you will begin by granting me a favor. Will you?"
"Cela depend."
"There you go into French! I haven't offended you?"
"Oh, no. What is the favor?--in English."
"That you will let me call you Miss Ruth, instead of Miss Denham."
"I haven't the slightest objection, Mr. Lynde."
"And now I want you"--
"What, another favor?"
"Of course. Who ever heard of one favor?"
"To be sure! What is the second?"
"I want that you should be a little sorry when all this comes to an end."
"You mean when we leave Chamouni?"
"Yes."
There was something very sweet to Lynde in her candor55, but there was also something that restrained him for the moment from being as explicit56 as he had intended. He rode on awhile without speaking, watching the girl as the mule now and then turned the sharp angle of the path and began a new ascent. This movement always brought her face to face with him a moment--she on the grade above, and he below. Miss Ruth had grown accustomed to the novel situation, and no longer held on by the pommel of the saddle. She sat with her hands folded in her lap, pliantly57 lending herself to the awkward motion of the animal. Over her usual travelling-habit she had thrown the long waterproof which reached to her feet. As she sat there in a half-listless attitude, she was the very picture of the Queen of Sheba seated upon Deacon Twombly's mare58. Lynde could not help seeing it; but he was schooling59 himself by degrees to this fortuitous resemblance. It was painful, but it was inevitable60, and he would get used to it in time. "Perhaps," he mused61, "if I had never had that adventure with the poor insane girl, I might not have looked twice at Miss Denham when we met--and loved her. It was the poor little queen who shaped my destiny, and I oughtn't to be ungrateful." He determined62 to tell the story to Miss Ruth some time when a fitting occasion offered.
It was only when the likeness63 flashed upon Lynde suddenly, as it had done in the grove64 the previous day, that it now had the power to startle him. At the present moment it did not even seriously annoy him. In an idle, pensive65 way he noted66 the coincidence of the man leading the mule. The man was Morton and the mule was Mary! Lynde smiled to himself at the reflection that Mary would probably not accept the analogy with very good grace if she knew about it. This carried him to Rivermouth; then he thought of Cinderella's slipper67, packed away in the old hair-trunk in the closet, and how perfectly68 the slipper would fit one of those feet which a floating fold of the waterproof that instant revealed to him-- and he was in Switzerland again.
"Miss Ruth," he said, looking up quickly and urging his mule as closely behind hers as was practicable, "what are your plans to be when your uncle comes?"
"When my uncle comes we shall have no plans--aunt Gertrude and I. Uncle Denham always plans for everybody."
"I don't imagine he will plan for me," said Lynde gloomily. "I wish he would, for I shall not know what to do with myself."
"I thought you were going to St. Petersburg."
"I have given that up."
"It's to be Northern Germany, then?"
"No, I have dropped that idea, too. Will Mr. Denham remain here any time?"
"Probably not long."
"What is to become of me after you are gone!" exclaimed Lynde. "When I think of Mr. Denham sweeping69 down on Chamouni to carry you off, I am tempted70 to drive this mule straight over the brink71 of one of these precipices!"
The girl leaned forward, looking at the rocky wall of the Flegere through an opening in the pines, and made no reply.
"Miss Ruth," said Lynde, "I must speak!"
"Do not speak," she said, turning upon him with a half-imperious, half- appealing gesture, "I forbid you;" and then, more gently, "We have four or five days, perhaps a week, to be together; we are true, frank friends. Let us be just that to the end."
"Those are mercifully cruel words," returned the young man, with a dull pain at his heart. "It is a sweet way of saying a bitter thing."
"It is a way of saying that your friendship is very dear to me, Mr. Lynde," she replied, sitting erect73 in the saddle, with the brightness and the blackness deepening in her eyes. "I wonder if I can make you understand how I prize it. My life has not been quite like that of other girls, partly because I have lived much abroad, and partly because I have been very delicate ever since my childhood; I had a serious lung trouble then, which has never left me. You would not think it, to look at me. Perhaps it is the anxiety I have given aunt Gertrude which has made her so tenacious74 of my affection that I have scarcely been permitted to form even those intimacies75 which girls form among themselves. I have never known any one--any gentleman--as intimately as I have known you. She has let me have you for my friend."
"But Miss Ruth"--
"Mr. Lynde," she said, interrupting him, "it was solely76 to your friendship that my aunt confided77 me to-day. I should be deceiving her if I allowed you to speak as--as you were speaking."
Lynde saw his mistake. He should have addressed himself in the first instance to the aunt. He had been lacking in proper regard for the convenances, forgetting that Ruth's education had been different from that of American girls. At home, if you love a girl you tell her so; over here, you go and tell her grandmother. Lynde dropped his head and remained silent, resolving to secure an interview with Mrs. Denham that night if possible. After a moment or two he raised his face. "Miss Ruth," said he, "if I had to choose, I would rather be your friend than any other woman's lover."
"That is settled, then," she returned, with heightened color. "We will not refer to this again;" and she brushed away a butterfly that was fluttering about her conceitedly78 in its new golden corselet.
Meanwhile the guide marched on stolidly79 with Ruth's reins80 thrown loosely over the crook81 of his elbow. In his summer courses up and down the mountain, the man, with his four languages, had probably assisted dumbly at much fugitive82 love-making and many a conjugal83 passage-at-arms. He took slight note of the conversation between the two young folks; he was clearly more interested in a strip of black cloud that had come within the half hour and hung itself over the Aiguille du Dru.
The foot-path and the bridle-road from Chamouni unite at the Caillet, a spring of fresh water halfway84 up the mountain. There the riders dismounted and rested five or six minutes at a rude hut perched like a brown bird under the cliff.
"I've the fancy to go on foot the rest of the distance," Lynde remarked, as he assisted Ruth into the saddle again.
"Then I'll let you lead the mule, if you will," said Ruth. "I'm not the least afraid."
"That is an excellent idea! Why did you not think of it sooner? I shall expect a buonamano, like a real guide, you know."
"I will give it you in advance," she said gayly, reaching forward and pretending to hold a coin between her thumb and finger.
Lynde caught her hand and retained it an instant, but did not dare to press it. He was in mortal fear of a thing which he could have crushed like a flower in his palm.
The young man drew the reins over his arm and moved forward, glancing behind him at intervals to assure himself that his charge was all right. As they approached the summit of the mountain the path took abrupter turns, and was crossed in numberless places by the channels of winter avalanches85, which had mown down great pines as if they had been blades of grass. Here and there a dry water-course stretched like a wrinkle along the scarred face of the hill.
"Look at that, Miss Ruth!" cried Lynde, checking the mule and pointing to a slope far below them.
Nature, who loves to do a gentle thing even in her most savage86 moods, had taken one of those empty water-courses and filled it from end to end with forget-me-nots. As the wind ruffled87 the millions of petals88, this bed of flowers, only a few inches wide but nearly a quarter of a mile in length, looked like a flashing stream of heavenly blue water rushing down the mountain side.
By and by the faint kling-kling of a cowbell sounding far up the height told the travellers that they were nearing the plateau. Occasionally they descried89 a herdsman's chalet, pitched at an angle against the wind on the edge of an arete, or clinging like a wasp's-nest to some jutting90 cornice of rock. After making four or five short turns, the party passed through a clump91 of scraggy, wind-swept pines, and suddenly found themselves at the top of Montanvert.
A few paces brought them to the Pavilion, a small inn kept by the guide Couttet. Here the mules were turned over to the hostler, and Miss Ruth and Lynde took a quarter of an hour's rest, examining the collection of crystals and moss-agates and horn-carvings which M. Couttet has for show in the apartment that serves him as salon92, cafe, and museum. Then the two set out for the rocks overlooking the glacier29.
The cliff rises precipitously two hundred and fifty feet above the frozen sea, whose windings93 can be followed, for a distance of five miles, to the walls of the Grandes and Petites Jorasses. Surveyed from this height, the Mer de Glace presents the appearance of an immense ploughed field covered by a fall of snow that has become dingy94. The peculiar95 corrugation of the surface is scarcely discernible, and one sees nothing of the wonderful crevasses96, those narrow and often fathomless97 partings of the ice, to look into which is like looking into a split sapphire98. The first view from the cliff is disappointing, but presently the marvel99 of it all assails100 and possesses one.
"I should like to go down on the ice," said Ruth, after regarding the scene for several minutes in silence.
"We must defer101 that to another day," said Lynde. "The descent of the moraine from this point is very arduous102, and is seldom attempted by ladies. Besides, if we do anything we ought to cross the glacier and go home by the way of the Mauvais Pas. We will do that yet. Let us sit upon this boulder103 and talk."
"What shall we talk about? I don't feel like talking."
"I'll talk to you. I don't know of what... I will tell you a story."
"A story, Mr. Lynde? I like stories as if I were only six years old. But I don't like those stories which begin with 'Once there was a little girl,' who always turns out to be the little girl that is listening."
"Mine is not of that kind," replied Lynde, with a smile, steadying Miss Ruth by the hand as she seated herself on the boulder; "and yet it touches on you indirectly104. It all happened long ago."
"It concerns me, and happened long ago? I am interested already. Begin!"
"It was in the summer of 1872. I was a clerk in a bank then, at Rivermouth, and the directors had given me a vacation. I hired a crazy old horse and started on a journey through New Hampshire. I didn't have any destination; I merely purposed to ride on and on until I got tired, and then ride home again. The weather was beautiful, and for the first three or four days I never enjoyed myself better in my life. The flowers were growing, the birds were singing--the robins105 in the sunshine and the whippoorwills at dusk--and the hours were not long enough for me. At night I slept in a tumble-down barn, or anywhere, like a born tramp. I had a mountain brook106 for a wash-basin and the west wind for a towel. Sometimes I invited myself to a meal at a farm-house when there wasn't a tavern107 handy; and when there wasn't any farm-house, and I was very hungry, I lay down under a tree and read in a book of poems."
"Oh, that was just delightful108!" said Ruth, knitting the fingers of both hands over one knee and listening to him with a child-like abandon which Lynde found bewitching.
"On the fourth day--there are some persons crossing on the ice," said Lynde, interrupting himself.
"Never mind the persons on the ice!"
"On the fourth day I came to a wild locality among the Ragged10 Mountains, where there was not a human being nor a house to be seen. I had got up before breakfast was ready that morning, and I was quite anxious to see the smoke curling up from some kitchen chimney. Here, as I mounted a hill-side, the saddle-girth broke, and I jumped off to fix it. Somehow, I don't know precisely109 how, the horse gave a plunge110, jerked the reins out of my hands, and started on a dead run for Rivermouth."
"That wasn't very pleasant," suggested Ruth.
"Not a bit. I couldn't catch the animal, and I had the sense not to try. I climbed to the brow of the hill and was not sorry to see a snug111 village lying in the valley."
"What village was that?"
"I don't know to this day--with any certainty. I didn't find out then, and afterwards I didn't care to learn. Well, I shouldered my traps and started for the place to procure112 another horse, not being used to going under the saddle myself. I had a hard time before I got through; but that I shall not tell you about. On my way to the village I met a young girl. This young girl is the interesting part of the business."
"She always is, you know."
"She was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen--up to that time. She was dressed all in white, and looked like an angel. I expected she would spread wing and vanish before I could admire her half enough; but she did not. The moment she saw me she walked straight to the spot where I stood, and looked me squarely in the face."
"Wasn't that rather rude--for an angel?"
"You wouldn't have thought so. She did it like a young goddess with the supreme113 prerogative114 to flash herself that way on mortals by the roadside."
"Oh, she was a young goddess as well as an angel."
"After she had looked me in the eye a second," continued Lynde, not heeding115 the criticism, "she said--what do you suppose she said?"
"How can I imagine?"
"You could not, in a thousand years. Instead of saying, 'Good-morning, sir,' and dropping me a courtesy, she made herself very tall and said, with quite a grand air, 'I am the Queen of Sheba!' Just fancy it. Then she turned on her heel and ran up the road."
"Oh, that was very rude. Is this a true story, Mr. Lynde?"
"That is the sad part of it, Miss Ruth. This poor child had lost her reason, as I learned subsequently. She had wandered out of an asylum116 in the neighborhood. After a while some men came and took her back again-- on my horse, which they had captured in the road."
"The poor, poor girl! I am sorry for her to the heart. Your story began like a real romance; is that all of it! It is sad enough."
"That is all. Of course I never saw her afterwards."
"But you remembered her, and pitied her?"
"For a long time, Miss Ruth."
"I like you for that. But what has this to do with me? You said"--
"The story touched on you indirectly?"
"Yes."
"Well, so it does; I will tell you how. This poor girl was beautiful enough in your own fashion to be your sister, and when I first saw you"- -
"Monsieur," said the guide, respectfully lifting a forefinger117 to his hat as he approached, "I think it looks like rain."
The man had spoken in English. Ruth went crimson118 to the temples, and Lynde's face assumed a comical expression of dismay.
"Looks like rain," he repeated mechanically. "I thought you told me you did not understand English."
"Monsieur is mistaken. It is Jean Macquart that does not spik English."
"Very well," said Lynde; "if it is going to rain we had better be moving. It would not be pleasant to get blockaded up here by a storm--or rather it would! Are the animals ready?"
"They are waiting at the foot of the path, monsieur."
Lynde lost no time getting Ruth into the saddle, and the party began their descent, the guide again in charge of the girl's mule. On the downward journey they unavoidably faced the precipices, and the road appeared to them much steeper than when they ascended119.
"Is it wind or rain, do you think?" asked Lynde, looking at a wicked black cloud that with angrily curled white edges was lowering itself over the valley.
"I think it is both, monsieur."
"How soon?"
"I cannot know. Within an hour, surely."
"Perhaps we were wrong to attempt going down," said Lynde.
"Monsieur might be kept at Couttet's one, two--three days. But, if monsieur wishes, I will go on and tell the friends of mademoiselle that you are detained."
"Oh, no!" cried Ruth, filled with horror at the suggestion. "We MUST return. I shall not mind the rain, if it comes."
As she spoke, a loose handful of large drops rustled120 through the pine- boughs121 overhead, and softly dashed themselves against the rocks.
"It has come," said Lynde.
"I have my waterproof," returned the girl. "I shall do very well. But you"--
The sentence was cut short by a flash of lightning, followed by a heavy peal72 of thunder that rolled through the valley and reverberated122 for one or two minutes among the hills. The guide grasped the reins close up to the bits, and urged the mule forward at a brisk trot2. The sky cleared, and for a moment it looked as if the storm had drifted elsewhere; but the party had not advanced twenty paces before there was a strange rustling123 sound in the air, and the rain came down. The guide whipped off a coarse woollen coat he wore, and threw it over the girl's shoulders, tying it by the sleeves under her chin.
"Oh, you must not do that!" she cried, "you will catch your death!"
"Mademoiselle," he replied, laughing, as he gave another knot to the sleeves, "for thirty-eight years, man and boy, I have been rained upon and snowed upon--and voila!"
"You're a fine fellow, my friend, if you do speak English," cried Lynde, "and I hope some honest girl has found it out before now."
"Monsieur," returned the man, signing himself with the cross, "she and the little one are in heaven."
The rain came down in torrents124; it pattered like shot against the rocks; it beat the air of the valley into mist. Except the path immediately before them, and the rocky perpendicular125 wall now on their right and now on their left, the travellers could distinguish nothing through the blinding rain. Shortly the wind began to blow, whistling in the stiff pines as it whistles among the taut126 cordage of a ship in a gale127. At intervals it tore along the salient zigzags and threatened to sweep the mules off their legs. The flashes of lightning now followed one another in rapid succession, and the thunder crashed incessantly128 through the gorges129. It appeared as if the great cones130 and cromlechs were tumbling pell-mell from every direction into the valley.
Though the situation of the three persons on the mountain side was disagreeable to the last extent, they were exposed to only one especial danger--that from a land-slide or a detached boulder. At every ten steps the guide glanced up the dripping steep, and listened. Even the mules were not without a prescience of this peril131. The sharpest lightning did not make them wince132, but at the faintest sound of a splinter of rock or a pebble133 rustling down the slope, their ears instantly went forward at an acute angle. The footing soon became difficult on account of the gullies formed by the rain. In spite of his anxiety concerning Ruth, Lynde could not help admiring the skill with which the sagacious animals felt their way. Each fore8 hoof as it touched the earth seemed endowed with the sense of fingers.
Lynde had dismounted after the rain set in and was walking beside the girl's mule. Once, as an unusually heavy clap of thunder burst over their heads, she had impulsively134 stretched out her hand to him; he had taken it, and still held it, covered by a fold of the waterproof, steadying her so. He was wet to the skin, but Ruth's double wraps had preserved her thus far from anything beyond the dampness.
"Are you cold?" he asked. Her hand was like ice.
"Not very," she replied in a voice rendered nearly inaudible by a peal of thunder that shook the mountain. A ball of crimson fire hung for a second in the murky135 sky and then shot into the valley. The guide glanced at Lynde, as much as to say, "That struck."
They were rapidly leaving the wind above them; its decrease was noticeable as they neared the Caillet. The rain also had lost its first fury, and was falling steadily136. Here and there bright green patches of the level plain showed themselves through the broken vapors137. Ruth declined to halt at the Caillet; her aunt would be distracted about her, and it was better to take advantage of the slight lull138 in the storm, and push on. So they stopped at the hut only long enough for Lynde to procure a glass of cognac, a part of which he induced the girl to drink. Then they resumed their uncomfortable march.
When Lynde again looked at his companion he saw that her lips were purple, and her teeth set. She confessed this time to being very cold. The rain had at length penetrated139 the thick wrappings and thoroughly140 chilled her. Lynde was in despair, and began bitterly to reproach himself for having undertaken the excursion without Mrs. Denham. Her presence could not have warded141 off the storm, but it would have rendered it possible for the party to postpone142 their descent until pleasant weather. Undoubtedly143 it had been his duty to leave Miss Ruth at the inn and return alone to Chamouni. He had not thought of that when the guide made his suggestion. There was now nothing to do but to hurry.
The last part of the descent was accomplished at a gait which offered the cautious mules no chance to pick their steps. Lynde's animal, left to its own devices, was following on behind, nibbling144 the freshened grass. But the road was not so rough, and the stretches protected by the trees were in good condition. In less than three quarters of an hour from the half-way hut, the party were at the foot of the mountain, where they found a close carriage which Mrs. Denham had thoughtfully sent to meet them. Benumbed with the cold and cramped145 by riding so long in one position, the girl was unable to stand when she was lifted from the saddle. Lynde carried her to the carriage and wrapped her in a heavy afghan that lay on the seat. They rode to the hotel without exchanging a word. Lynde was in too great trouble, and Ruth was too exhausted146 to speak. She leaned back with her eyes partially147 closed, and did not open them until the carriage stopped. Mrs. Denham stood at the hall door.
"Mr. Lynde! Mr. Lynde!" she said, taking the girl in her arms.
The tone of reproach in her voice cut him to the quick.
"He was in no way to blame, aunt," said Ruth, trying to bring a smile to her blanched148 face; "it was I who WOULD go." She reached back her hand unperceived by Mrs. Denham and gave it to Lynde. He raised it gratefully to his lips, but as he relinquished149 it and turned away he experienced a sudden, inexplicable150 pang--as if he had said farewell to her.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
kindled
|
|
| （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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
trot
|
|
| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
bridles
|
|
| 约束( bridle的名词复数 )； 限动器； 马笼头； 系带 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
bridle
|
|
| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
mules
|
|
| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
mule
|
|
| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
retired
|
|
| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
fore
|
|
| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
lark
|
|
| n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
ragged
|
|
| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
faltered
|
|
| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
despondently
|
|
| adv.沮丧地，意志消沉地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
beckoned
|
|
| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
irresolution
|
|
| n.不决断，优柔寡断，犹豫不定 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
eyebrows
|
|
| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
touching
|
|
| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
countenance
|
|
| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
descending
|
|
| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
waterproof
|
|
| n.防水材料；adj.防水的；v.使...能防水 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
ascent
|
|
| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
amiable
|
|
| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
consultation
|
|
| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
bustling
|
|
| adj.喧闹的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
glaciers
|
|
| 冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
glacier
|
|
| n.冰川，冰河 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
cascades
|
|
| 倾泻( cascade的名词复数 )； 小瀑布（尤指一连串瀑布中的一支）； 瀑布状物； 倾泻（或涌出）的东西 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
hardy
|
|
| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
scotch
|
|
| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
bass
|
|
| n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
triumphantly
|
|
| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
intervals
|
|
| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
tumult
|
|
| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
hind
|
|
| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
zigzags
|
|
| n.锯齿形的线条、小径等( zigzag的名词复数 )v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
quarried
|
|
| v.从采石场采得( quarry的过去式和过去分词 )；从（书本等中）努力发掘（资料等）；在采石场采石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
begrudging
|
|
| 嫉妒( begrudge的现在分词 )； 勉强做； 不乐意地付出； 吝惜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
41
abruptly
|
|
| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
precipice
|
|
| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
precipices
|
|
| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
accomplished
|
|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
checkered
|
|
| adj.有方格图案的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
rivulets
|
|
| n.小河，小溪( rivulet的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
hoof
|
|
| n.(马，牛等的)蹄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
varied
|
|
| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
accomplishments
|
|
| n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
bland
|
|
| adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
linguist
|
|
| n.语言学家；精通数种外国语言者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
spoke
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
lingual
|
|
| adj.语言的；舌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
frankly
|
|
| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
candor
|
|
| n.坦白，率真 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
explicit
|
|
| adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
pliantly
|
|
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
58
mare
|
|
| n.母马，母驴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
schooling
|
|
| n.教育；正规学校教育 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
inevitable
|
|
| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
mused
|
|
| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
likeness
|
|
| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
grove
|
|
| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
pensive
|
|
| a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
noted
|
|
| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
slipper
|
|
| n.拖鞋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
sweeping
|
|
| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
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： |
|
|
|
|
71
brink
|
|
| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
peal
|
|
| n.钟声；v.鸣响 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
erect
|
|
| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
tenacious
|
|
| adj.顽强的，固执的，记忆力强的，粘的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
intimacies
|
|
| 亲密( intimacy的名词复数 )； 密切； 亲昵的言行； 性行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
solely
|
|
| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
confided
|
|
| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
conceitedly
|
|
| 自满地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
stolidly
|
|
| adv.迟钝地，神经麻木地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
reins
|
|
| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
crook
|
|
| v.使弯曲；n.小偷，骗子，贼；弯曲(处) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
fugitive
|
|
| adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
conjugal
|
|
| adj.婚姻的，婚姻性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
halfway
|
|
| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
avalanches
|
|
| n.雪崩( avalanche的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
savage
|
|
| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
ruffled
|
|
| adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
petals
|
|
| n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
descried
|
|
| adj.被注意到的，被发现的，被看到的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
jutting
|
|
| v.（使）突出( jut的现在分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
clump
|
|
| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
salon
|
|
| n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
windings
|
|
| （道路、河流等）蜿蜒的，弯曲的( winding的名词复数 )； 缠绕( wind的现在分词 )； 卷绕； 转动（把手） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
dingy
|
|
| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
peculiar
|
|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
crevasses
|
|
| n.破口，崩溃处，裂缝( crevasse的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
fathomless
|
|
| a.深不可测的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
sapphire
|
|
| n.青玉，蓝宝石；adj.天蓝色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
marvel
|
|
| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
assails
|
|
| v.攻击( assail的第三人称单数 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
defer
|
|
| vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
arduous
|
|
| adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
boulder
|
|
| n.巨砾；卵石，圆石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
indirectly
|
|
| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
robins
|
|
| n.知更鸟，鸫( robin的名词复数 )；（签名者不分先后，以避免受责的）圆形签名抗议书（或请愿书） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
brook
|
|
| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
tavern
|
|
| n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
delightful
|
|
| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
precisely
|
|
| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
plunge
|
|
| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
snug
|
|
| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
procure
|
|
| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
supreme
|
|
| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
prerogative
|
|
| n.特权 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
heeding
|
|
| v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
asylum
|
|
| n.避难所，庇护所，避难 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
forefinger
|
|
| n.食指 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
crimson
|
|
| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
ascended
|
|
| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
rustled
|
|
| v.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
boughs
|
|
| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
reverberated
|
|
| 回响，回荡( reverberate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
rustling
|
|
| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
torrents
|
|
| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
perpendicular
|
|
| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
taut
|
|
| adj.拉紧的，绷紧的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
gale
|
|
| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
incessantly
|
|
| ad.不停地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
gorges
|
|
| n.山峡，峡谷( gorge的名词复数 )；咽喉v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的第三人称单数 )；作呕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
cones
|
|
| n.（人眼）圆锥细胞；圆锥体( cone的名词复数 )；球果；圆锥形东西；（盛冰淇淋的）锥形蛋卷筒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
peril
|
|
| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
wince
|
|
| n.畏缩，退避，（因痛苦，苦恼等)面部肌肉抽动；v.畏缩，退缩，退避 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
pebble
|
|
| n.卵石，小圆石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
impulsively
|
|
| adv.冲动地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
135
murky
|
|
| adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
136
steadily
|
|
| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
137
vapors
|
|
| n.水汽，水蒸气，无实质之物( vapor的名词复数 )；自夸者；幻想 [药]吸入剂 [古]忧郁（症）v.自夸，（使）蒸发( vapor的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
138
lull
|
|
| v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
139
penetrated
|
|
| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
140
thoroughly
|
|
| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
141
warded
|
|
| 有锁孔的，有钥匙榫槽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
142
postpone
|
|
| v.延期，推迟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
143
undoubtedly
|
|
| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
144
nibbling
|
|
| v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的现在分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
145
cramped
|
|
| a.狭窄的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
146
exhausted
|
|
| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
147
partially
|
|
| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
148
blanched
|
|
| v.使变白( blanch的过去式 )；使（植物）不见阳光而变白；酸洗（金属）使有光泽；用沸水烫（杏仁等）以便去皮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
149
relinquished
|
|
| 交出，让给( relinquish的过去式和过去分词 )； 放弃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
150
inexplicable
|
|
| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |