That night, as usual, they said good-bye at the wood'sedge.
Harney was to leave the next morning early. He askedCharity to say nothing of their plans till his return,and, strangely even to herself, she was glad of thepostponement. A leaden weight of shame hung on her,benumbing every other sensation, and she bade him good-bye with hardly a sign of emotion. His reiteratedpromises to return seemed almost wounding. She had nodoubt that he intended to come back; her doubts werefar deeper and less definable.
Since the fanciful vision of the future that hadflitted through her imagination at their first meetingshe had hardly ever thought of his marrying her. Shehad not had to put the thought from her mind; it hadnot been there. If ever she looked ahead she feltinstinctively that the gulf1 between them was too deep,and that the bridge their passion had flung across itwas as insubstantial as a rainbow. But she seldomlooked ahead; each day was so rich that it absorbedher....Now her first feeling was that everything wouldbe different, and that she herself would be a differentbeing to Harney. Instead of remaining separate andabsolute, she would be compared with other people, andunknown things would be expected of her. She was tooproud to be afraid, but the freedom of her spiritdrooped....
Harney had not fixed2 any date for his return; he hadsaid he would have to look about first, and settlethings. He had promised to write as soon as there wasanything definite to say, and had left her his address,and asked her to write also. But the addressfrightened her. It was in New York, at a club with along name in Fifth Avenue: it seemed to raise aninsurmountable barrier between them. Once or twice, inthe first days, she got out a sheet of paper, and satlooking at it, and trying to think what to say; but shehad the feeling that her letter would never reach itsdestination. She had never written to anyone fartheraway than Hepburn.
Harney's first letter came after he had been gone aboutten days. It was tender but grave, and bore noresemblance to the gay little notes he had sent her bythe freckled3 boy from Creston River. He spokepositively of his intention of coming back, but namedno date, and reminded Charity of their agreement thattheir plans should not be divulged4 till he had had timeto "settle things." When that would be he could not yetforesee; but she could count on his returning as soonas the way was clear.
She read the letter with a strange sense of its comingfrom immeasurable distances and having lost most of itsmeaning on the way; and in reply she sent him acoloured postcard of Creston Falls, on which she wrote:
"With love from Charity." She felt the pitifulinadequacy of this, and understood, with a sense ofdespair, that in her inability to express herself shemust give him an impression of coldness and reluctance;but she could not help it. She could not forget thathe had never spoken to her of marriage till Mr. Royallhad forced the word from his lips; though she had nothad the strength to shake off the spell that bound herto him she had lost all spontaneity of feeling, andseemed to herself to be passively awaiting a fate shecould not avert5.
She had not seen Mr. Royall on her return to thered house. The morning after her parting from Harney,when she came down from her room, Verena told her thather guardian6 had gone off to Worcester and Portland.
It was the time of year when he usually reported to theinsurance agencies he represented, and there wasnothing unusual in his departure except its suddenness.
She thought little about him, except to be glad he wasnot there....
She kept to herself for the first days, while NorthDormer was recovering from its brief plunge7 intopublicity, and the subsiding8 agitation9 left herunnoticed. But the faithful Ally could not be longavoided. For the first few days after the close of theOld Home Week festivities Charity escaped her byroaming the hills all day when she was not at her postin the library; but after that a period of rain set in,and one pouring afternoon, Ally, sure that she wouldfind her friend indoors, came around to the red housewith her sewing.
The two girls sat upstairs in Charity's room. Charity,her idle hands in her lap, was sunk in a kind of leadendream, through which she was only half-conscious ofAlly, who sat opposite her in a low rush-bottomedchair, her work pinned to her knee, and her thin lipspursed up as she bent10 above it.
"It was my idea running a ribbon through the gauging,"she said proudly, drawing back to contemplate11 theblouse she was trimming. "It's for Miss Balch: she wasawfully pleased." She paused and then added, with aqueer tremor12 in her piping voice: "I darsn't have toldher I got the idea from one I saw on Julia."Charity raised her eyes listlessly. "Do you still seeJulia sometimes?"Ally reddened, as if the allusion13 had escaped herunintentionally. "Oh, it was a long time ago I seenher with those gaugings...."Silence fell again, and Ally presently continued: "MissBalch left me a whole lot of things to do over thistime.""Why--has she gone?" Charity inquired with an innerstart of apprehension14.
"Didn't you know? She went off the morning after theyhad the celebration at Hamblin. I seen her drive byearly with Mr. Harney."There was another silence, measured by the steady tickof the rain against the window, and, at intervals16, bythe snipping17 sound of Ally's scissors.
Ally gave a meditative18 laugh. "Do you know whatshe told me before she went away? She told me she wasgoing to send for me to come over to Springfield andmake some things for her wedding."Charity again lifted her heavy lids and stared atAlly's pale pointed19 face, which moved to and fro aboveher moving fingers.
"Is she going to get married?"Ally let the blouse sink to her knee, and sat gazing atit. Her lips seemed suddenly dry, and she moistenedthem a little with her tongue.
"Why, I presume so...from what she said....Didn't youknow?""Why should I know?"Ally did not answer. She bent above the blouse, andbegan picking out a basting20 thread with the point ofthe scissors.
"Why should I know?" Charity repeated harshly.
"I didn't know but what...folks here say she's engagedto Mr. Harney."Charity stood up with a laugh, and stretched her armslazily above her head.
"If all the people got married that folks say aregoing to you'd have your time full making wedding-dresses," she said ironically.
"Why--don't you believe it?" Ally ventured.
"It would not make it true if I did--nor prevent it ifI didn't.""That's so....I only know I seen her crying the nightof the party because her dress didn't set right. Thatwas why she wouldn't dance any...."Charity stood absently gazing down at the lacy garmenton Ally's knee. Abruptly22 she stooped and snatched itup.
"Well, I guess she won't dance in this either," shesaid with sudden violence; and grasping the blouse inher strong young hands she tore it in two and flung thetattered bits to the floor.
"Oh, Charity----" Ally cried, springing up. For a longinterval the two girls faced each other across theruined garment. Ally burst into tears.
"Oh, what'll I say to her? What'll I do? It was reallace!" she wailed23 between her piping sobs24.
Charity glared at her unrelentingly. "You'd oughtn'tto have brought it here," she said, breathing quickly.
"I hate other people's clothes--it's just as if theywas there themselves." The two stared at each otheragain over this avowal25, till Charity brought out,in a gasp26 of anguish27: "Oh, go--go--go--or I'll hate youtoo...."When Ally left her, she fell sobbing28 across her bed.
The long storm was followed by a north-west gale29, andwhen it was over, the hills took on their first umbertints, the sky grew more densely30 blue, and the bigwhite clouds lay against the hills like snow-banks. Thefirst crisp maple-leaves began to spin across MissHatchard's lawn, and the Virginia creeper on theMemorial splashed the white porch with scarlet31. It wasa golden triumphant32 September. Day by day the flame ofthe Virginia creeper spread to the hillsides in widerwaves of carmine33 and crimson34, the larches35 glowed likethe thin yellow halo about a fire, the maples36 blazedand smouldered, and the black hemlocks38 turned to indigoagainst the incandescence39 of the forest.
The nights were cold, with a dry glitter of stars sohigh up that they seemed smaller and more vivid.
Sometimes, as Charity lay sleepless40 on her bed throughthe long hours, she felt as though she were bound tothose wheeling fires and swinging with them around thegreat black vault41. At night she planned manythings...it was then she wrote to Harney. But theletters were never put on paper, for she did not knowhow to express what she wanted to tell him. So shewaited. Since her talk with Ally she had felt surethat Harney was engaged to Annabel Balch, and that theprocess of "settling things" would involve the breakingof this tie. Her first rage of jealousy42 over, she feltno fear on this score. She was still sure that Harneywould come back, and she was equally sure that, for themoment at least, it was she whom he loved and not MissBalch. Yet the girl, no less, remained a rival, sinceshe represented all the things that Charity feltherself most incapable43 of understanding or achieving.
Annabel Balch was, if not the girl Harney ought tomarry, at least the kind of girl it would be naturalfor him to marry. Charity had never been able topicture herself as his wife; had never been able toarrest the vision and follow it out in its dailyconsequences; but she could perfectly44 imagine AnnabelBalch in that relation to him.
The more she thought of these things the more the senseof fatality45 weighed on her: she felt the uselessness ofstruggling against the circumstances. She had neverknown how to adapt herself; she could only breakand tear and destroy. The scene with Ally had left herstricken with shame at her own childish savagery46. Whatwould Harney have thought if he had witnessed it? Butwhen she turned the incident over in her puzzled mindshe could not imagine what a civilized47 person wouldhave done in her place. She felt herself too unequallypitted against unknown forces....
At length this feeling moved her to sudden action. Shetook a sheet of letter paper from Mr. Royall's office,and sitting by the kitchen lamp, one night after Verenahad gone to bed, began her first letter to Harney. Itwas very short:
I want you should marry Annabel Balch if you promisedto. I think maybe you were afraid I'd feel too badabout it. I feel I'd rather you acted right.
Your lovingCHARITY.
She posted the letter early the next morning, and for afew days her heart felt strangely light. Then shebegan to wonder why she received no answer.
One day as she sat alone in the library pondering thesethings the walls of books began to spin around her, andthe rosewood desk to rock under her elbows. Thedizziness was followed by a wave of nausea48 like thatshe had felt on the day of the exercises in the TownHall. But the Town Hall had been crowded andstiflingly hot, and the library was empty, and sochilly that she had kept on her jacket. Five minutesbefore she had felt perfectly well; and now it seemedas if she were going to die. The bit of lace at whichshe still languidly worked dropped from her fingers,and the steel crochet49 hook clattered50 to the floor. Shepressed her temples hard between her damp hands,steadying herself against the desk while the wave ofsickness swept over her. Little by little it subsided,and after a few minutes she stood up, shaken andterrified, groped for her hat, and stumbled out intothe air. But the whole sunlit autumn whirled, reeledand roared around her as she dragged herself along theinterminable length of the road home.
As she approached the red house she saw a buggystanding at the door, and her heart gave a leap. Butit was only Mr. Royall who got out, his travelling-bagin hand. He saw her coming, and waited in the porch.
She was conscious that he was looking at her intently,as if there was something strange in her appearance,and she threw back her head with a desperateeffort at ease. Their eyes met, and she said: "Youback?" as if nothing had happened, and he answered:
"Yes, I'm back," and walked in ahead of her, pushingopen the door of his office. She climbed to her room,every step of the stairs holding her fast as if herfeet were lined with glue.
Two days later, she descended51 from the train atNettleton, and walked out of the station into the dustysquare. The brief interval15 of cold weather was over,and the day was as soft, and almost as hot, as when sheand Harney had emerged on the same scene on the Fourthof July. In the square the same broken-down hacks52 andcarry-alls stood drawn53 up in a despondent54 line, and thelank horses with fly-nets over their withers55 swayedtheir heads drearily56 to and fro. She recognized thestaring signs over the eating-houses and billiardsaloons, and the long lines of wires on lofty polestapering down the main street to the park at its otherend. Taking the way the wires pointed, she went onhastily, with bent head, till she reached a widetransverse street with a brick building at the corner.
She crossed this street and glanced furtively57 up at thefront of the brick building; then she returned,and entered a door opening on a flight of steepbrass-rimmed stairs. On the second landing she rang abell, and a mulatto girl with a bushy head and afrilled apron59 let her into a hall where a stuffed foxon his hind60 legs proffered61 a brass58 card-tray tovisitors. At the back of the hall was a glazed62 doormarked: "Office." After waiting a few minutes in ahandsomely furnished room, with plush sofas surmountedby large gold-framed photographs of showy young women,Charity was shown into the office....
When she came out of the glazed door Dr. Merklefollowed, and led her into another room, smaller, andstill more crowded with plush and gold frames. Dr.
Merkle was a plump woman with small bright eyes, animmense mass of black hair coming down low on herforehead, and unnaturally63 white and even teeth. Shewore a rich black dress, with gold chains and charmshanging from her bosom64. Her hands were large andsmooth, and quick in all their movements; and she smeltof musk65 and carbolic acid.
She smiled on Charity with all her faultless teeth.
"Sit down, my dear. Wouldn't you like a littledrop of something to pick you up?...No....Well,just lay back a minute then....There's nothing to bedone just yet; but in about a month, if you'll stepround again...I could take you right into my own housefor two or three days, and there wouldn't be a mite66 oftrouble. Mercy me! The next time you'll know better'nto fret67 like this...."Charity gazed at her with widening eyes. This womanwith the false hair, the false teeth, the falsemurderous smile--what was she offering her but immunityfrom some unthinkable crime? Charity, till then, hadbeen conscious only of a vague self-disgust and afrightening physical distress68; now, of a sudden, therecame to her the grave surprise of motherhood. She hadcome to this dreadful place because she knew of noother way of making sure that she was not mistakenabout her state; and the woman had taken her for amiserable creature like Julia....The thought was sohorrible that she sprang up, white and shaking, one ofher great rushes of anger sweeping69 over her.
Dr. Merkle, still smiling, also rose. "Why do you runoff in such a hurry? You can stretch out right here onmy sofa...." She paused, and her smile grew moremotherly. "Afterwards--if there's been any talk athome, and you want to get away for a while...I have alady friend in Boston who's looking for acompanion...you're the very one to suit her, mydear...."Charity had reached the door. "I don't want to stay. Idon't want to come back here," she stammered70, her handon the knob; but with a swift movement, Dr. Merkleedged her from the threshold.
"Oh, very well. Five dollars, please."Charity looked helplessly at the doctor's tight lipsand rigid71 face. Her last savings72 had gone in repayingAlly for the cost of Miss Balch's ruined blouse, andshe had had to borrow four dollars from her friend topay for her railway ticket and cover the doctor's fee.
It had never occurred to her that medical advice couldcost more than two dollars.
"I didn't know...I haven't got that much..." shefaltered, bursting into tears.
Dr. Merkle gave a short laugh which did not show herteeth, and inquired with concision73 if Charity supposedshe ran the establishment for her own amusement? Sheleaned her firm shoulders against the door as shespoke, like a grim gaoler making terms with hercaptive.
"You say you'll come round and settle later? I've heardthat pretty often too. Give me your address, and ifyou can't pay me I'll send the bill to yourfolks....What? I can't understand what you say....Thatdon't suit you either? My, you're pretty particular fora girl that ain't got enough to settle her ownbills...." She paused, and fixed her eyes on the broochwith a blue stone that Charity had pinned to herblouse.
"Ain't you ashamed to talk that way to a lady that'sgot to earn her living, when you go about withjewellery like that on you?...It ain't in my line, andI do it only as a favour...but if you're a mind toleave that brooch as a pledge, I don't say no....Yes,of course, you can get it back when you bring me mymoney...."On the way home, she felt an immense and unexpectedquietude. It had been horrible to have to leaveHarney's gift in the woman's hands, but even at thatprice the news she brought away had not been too dearlybought. She sat with half-closed eyes as the trainrushed through the familiar landscape; and now thememories of her former journey, instead of flyingbefore her like dead leaves, seemed to be ripening74 inher blood like sleeping grain. She would never againknow what it was to feel herself alone. Everythingseemed to have grown suddenly clear and simple. She nolonger had any difficulty in picturing herself asHarney's wife now that she was the mother of his child;and compared to her sovereign right Annabel Balch'sclaim seemed no more than a girl's sentimental75 fancy.
That evening, at the gate of the red house, she foundAlly waiting in the dusk. "I was down at the post-office just as they were closing up, and Will Targattsaid there was a letter for you, so I brought it."Ally held out the letter, looking at Charity withpiercing sympathy. Since the scene of the torn blousethere had been a new and fearful admiration76 in the eyesshe bent on her friend.
Charity snatched the letter with a laugh. "Oh, thankyou--good-night," she called out over her shoulder asshe ran up the path. If she had lingered a moment sheknew she would have had Ally at her heels.
She hurried upstairs and felt her way into herdark room. Her hands trembled as she groped for thematches and lit her candle, and the flap of theenvelope was so closely stuck that she had to find herscissors and slit77 it open. At length she read:
DEAR CHARITY:
I have your letter, and it touches me more than I cansay. Won't you trust me, in return, to do my best?
There are things it is hard to explain, much less tojustify; but your generosity78 makes everything easier.
All I can do now is to thank you from my soul forunderstanding. Your telling me that you wanted me todo right has helped me beyond expression. If everthere is a hope of realizing what we dreamed of youwill see me back on the instant; and I haven't yet lostthat hope.
She read the letter with a rush; then she went over andover it, each time more slowly and painstakingly79. Itwas so beautifully expressed that she found it almostas difficult to understand as the gentleman'sexplanation of the Bible pictures at Nettleton; butgradually she became aware that the gist80 of its meaninglay in the last few words. "If ever there is a hope ofrealizing what we dreamed of..."But then he wasn't even sure of that? Sheunderstood now that every word and every reticence81 wasan avowal of Annabel Balch's prior claim. It was truethat he was engaged to her, and that he had not yetfound a way of breaking his engagement.
As she read the letter over Charity understood what itmust have cost him to write it. He was not trying toevade an importunate82 claim; he was honestly andcontritely struggling between opposing duties. She didnot even reproach him in her thoughts for havingconcealed from her that he was not free: she could notsee anything more reprehensible83 in his conduct than inher own. From the first she had needed him more thanhe had wanted her, and the power that had swept themtogether had been as far beyond resistance as a greatgale loosening the leaves of the forest....Only, therestood between them, fixed and upright in the generalupheaval, the indestructible figure of AnnabelBalch....
Face to face with his admission of the fact, she satstaring at the letter. A cold tremor ran over her, andthe hard sobs struggled up into her throat and shookher from head to foot. For a while she was caughtand tossed on great waves of anguish that left herhardly conscious of anything but the blind struggleagainst their assaults. Then, little by little, shebegan to relive, with a dreadful poignancy84, eachseparate stage of her poor romance. Foolish things shehad said came back to her, gay answers Harney had made,his first kiss in the darkness between the fireworks,their choosing the blue brooch together, the way he hadteased her about the letters she had dropped in herflight from the evangelist. All these memories, and athousand others, hummed through her brain till hisnearness grew so vivid that she felt his fingers in herhair, and his warm breath on her cheek as he bent herhead back like a flower. These things were hers; theyhad passed into her blood, and become a part of her,they were building the child in her womb; it wasimpossible to tear asunder85 strands86 of life sointerwoven.
The conviction gradually strengthened her, and shebegan to form in her mind the first words of the lettershe meant to write to Harney. She wanted to write itat once, and with feverish87 hands she began to rummagein her drawer for a sheet of letter paper. But therewas none left; she must go downstairs to get it.
She had a superstitious88 feeling that the letter must bewritten on the instant, that setting down her secret inwords would bring her reassurance89 and safety; andtaking up her candle she went down to Mr. Royall'soffice.
At that hour she was not likely to find him there: hehad probably had his supper and walked over to CarrickFry's. She pushed open the door of the unlit room, andthe light of her lifted candle fell on his figure,seated in the darkness in his high-backed chair. Hisarms lay along the arms of the chair, and his head wasbent a little; but he lifted it quickly as Charityentered. She started back as their eyes met,remembering that her own were red with weeping, andthat her face was livid with the fatigue90 and emotion ofher journey. But it was too late to escape, and shestood and looked at him in silence.
He had risen from his chair, and came toward her withoutstretched hands. The gesture was so unexpected thatshe let him take her hands in his and they stood thus,without speaking, till Mr. Royall said gravely:
"Charity--was you looking for me?"She freed herself abruptly and fell back. "Me? No----"She set down the candle on his desk. "I wantedsome letter-paper, that's all." His face contracted,and the bushy brows jutted91 forward over his eyes.
Without answering he opened the drawer of the desk,took out a sheet of paper and an envelope, and pushedthem toward her. "Do you want a stamp too?" he asked.
She nodded, and he gave her the stamp. As he did soshe felt that he was looking at her intently, and sheknew that the candle light flickering92 up on her whiteface must be distorting her swollen93 features andexaggerating the dark rings about her eyes. Shesnatched up the paper, her reassurance dissolving underhis pitiless gaze, in which she seemed to read the grimperception of her state, and the ironic21 recollection ofthe day when, in that very room, he had offered tocompel Harney to marry her. His look seemed to saythat he knew she had taken the paper to write to herlover, who had left her as he had warned her she wouldbe left. She remembered the scorn with which she hadturned from him that day, and knew, if he guessed thetruth, what a list of old scores it must settle. Sheturned and fled upstairs; but when she got back to herroom all the words that had been waiting hadvanished....
If she could have gone to Harney it would havebeen different; she would only have had to show herselfto let his memories speak for her. But she had nomoney left, and there was no one from whom she couldhave borrowed enough for such a journey. There wasnothing to do but to write, and await his reply. For along time she sat bent above the blank page; but shefound nothing to say that really expressed what she wasfeeling....
Harney had written that she had made it easier for him,and she was glad it was so; she did not want to makethings hard. She knew she had it in her power to dothat; she held his fate in her hands. All she had todo was to tell him the truth; but that was the veryfact that held her back....Her five minutes face toface with Mr. Royall had stripped her of her lastillusion, and brought her back to North Dormer's pointof view. Distinctly and pitilessly there rose beforeher the fate of the girl who was married "to makethings right." She had seen too many village love-stories end in that way. Poor Rose Coles's miserablemarriage was of the number; and what good had come ofit for her or for Halston Skeff? They had hated eachother from the day the minister married them; andwhenever old Mrs. Skeff had a fancy to humiliate94 herdaughter-in-law she had only to say: "Who'd ever thinkthe baby's only two? And for a seven months' child--ain't it a wonder what a size he is?" North Dormer hadtreasures of indulgence for brands in the burning, butonly derision for those who succeeded in gettingsnatched from it; and Charity had always understoodJulia Hawes's refusal to be snatched....
Only--was there no alternative but Julia's? Her soulrecoiled from the vision of the white-faced woman amongthe plush sofas and gilt95 frames. In the establishedorder of things as she knew them she saw no place forher individual adventure....
She sat in her chair without undressing till faint greystreaks began to divide the black slats of theshutters. Then she stood up and pushed them open,letting in the light. The coming of a new day broughta sharper consciousness of ineluctable reality, andwith it a sense of the need of action. She looked atherself in the glass, and saw her face, white in theautumn dawn, with pinched cheeks and dark-ringed eyes,and all the marks of her state that she herself wouldnever have noticed, but that Dr. Merkle's diagnosis96 hadmade plain to her. She could not hope that thosesigns would escape the watchful97 village; even beforeher figure lost its shape she knew her face wouldbetray her.
Leaning from her window she looked out on the dark andempty scene; the ashen98 houses with shuttered windows,the grey road climbing the slope to the hemlock37 beltabove the cemetery99, and the heavy mass of the Mountainblack against a rainy sky. To the east a space oflight was broadening above the forest; but over thatalso the clouds hung. Slowly her gaze travelled acrossthe fields to the rugged100 curve of the hills. She hadlooked out so often on that lifeless circle, andwondered if anything could ever happen to anyone whowas enclosed in it....
Almost without conscious thought her decision had beenreached; as her eyes had followed the circle of thehills her mind had also travelled the old round. Shesupposed it was something in her blood that made theMountain the only answer to her questioning, theinevitable escape from all that hemmed101 her in and besether. At any rate it began to loom102 against the rainydawn; and the longer she looked at it the more clearlyshe understood that now at last she was really goingthere.
收听单词发音 |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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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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freckled
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| adj.雀斑；斑点；晒斑；（使）生雀斑v.雀斑，斑点( freckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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divulged
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| v.吐露，泄露( divulge的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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avert
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| v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等) | |
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guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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subsiding
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的现在分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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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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contemplate
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| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
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tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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allusion
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| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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intervals
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| 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 | |
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snipping
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| n.碎片v.剪( snip的现在分词 ) | |
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meditative
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| adj.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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basting
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| n.疏缝；疏缝的针脚；疏缝用线；涂油v.打( baste的现在分词 )；粗缝；痛斥；（烤肉等时）往上抹[浇]油 | |
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21
ironic
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| adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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wailed
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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avowal
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| n.公开宣称，坦白承认 | |
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gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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densely
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| ad.密集地；浓厚地 | |
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31
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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carmine
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| n.深红色，洋红色 | |
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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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larches
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| n.落叶松（木材）( larch的名词复数 ) | |
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maples
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| 槭树，枫树( maple的名词复数 )； 槭木 | |
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hemlock
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| n.毒胡萝卜，铁杉 | |
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hemlocks
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| 由毒芹提取的毒药( hemlock的名词复数 ) | |
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incandescence
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| n.白热，炽热；白炽 | |
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sleepless
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| adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的 | |
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41
vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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42
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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43
incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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fatality
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| n.不幸，灾祸，天命 | |
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savagery
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| n.野性 | |
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civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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nausea
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| n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶) | |
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49
crochet
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| n.钩针织物；v.用钩针编制 | |
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clattered
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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52
hacks
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| 黑客 | |
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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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despondent
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| adj.失望的，沮丧的，泄气的 | |
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55
withers
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| 马肩隆 | |
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drearily
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| 沉寂地，厌倦地，可怕地 | |
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furtively
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| adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地 | |
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brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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proffered
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| v.提供，贡献，提出( proffer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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glazed
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| adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神 | |
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unnaturally
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| adv.违反习俗地；不自然地；勉强地；不近人情地 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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musk
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| n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫 | |
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mite
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| n.极小的东西；小铜币 | |
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fret
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| v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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savings
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| n.存款，储蓄 | |
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concision
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| n.简明，简洁 | |
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ripening
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的现在分词 )；熟化；熟成 | |
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sentimental
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| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
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76
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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77
slit
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| n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂 | |
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generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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79
painstakingly
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| adv. 费力地 苦心地 | |
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80
gist
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| n.要旨；梗概 | |
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81
reticence
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| n.沉默，含蓄 | |
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82
importunate
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| adj.强求的；纠缠不休的 | |
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83
reprehensible
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| adj.该受责备的 | |
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84
poignancy
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| n.辛酸事，尖锐 | |
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85
asunder
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| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
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86
strands
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| n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 ) | |
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87
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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88
superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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89
reassurance
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| n.使放心，使消除疑虑 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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91
jutted
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| v.（使）突出( jut的过去式和过去分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
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92
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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93
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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94
humiliate
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| v.使羞辱，使丢脸[同]disgrace | |
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95
gilt
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| adj.镀金的；n.金边证券 | |
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96
diagnosis
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| n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断 | |
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watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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98
ashen
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| adj.灰的 | |
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99
cemetery
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| n.坟墓，墓地，坟场 | |
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rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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101
hemmed
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| 缝…的褶边( hem的过去式和过去分词 )； 包围 | |
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102
loom
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| n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近 | |
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