Heedless of drizzling1 rain and snow, of driving wind and gathering2 darkness, Manikawan ran forward on the trail. Hatred3 was in her heart. Vengeance4 was crying to her. Every subtle, cunning instinct of her savage5 race was aroused in her bosom6.
She was determined7 that those who had sent her beloved White Brother of the Snow to destruction in the deadly place of evil spirits must die. How she should compass their death she did not yet know; this was a detail for circumstance to decide, but it must be done. White Brother of the Snow was of her tribe; the law of her savage nature told her his death must be avenged8.
At the end of a mile or so she left the trail and turned sharply to the northward9, winding10 her way deftly11 through moisture-laden underbrush which scarcely seemed to lessen12 her pace. Presently she broke out upon the shores of a lake and behind some willow13 bushes uncovered a small birch-bark canoe, which she had carefully concealed15 there on her journey to the river tilt16.
Turning the canoe over her head, with the middle thwart17 resting upon her shoulders, she took a southwesterly direction until the old portage trail was again encountered, and resuming the trail she at length came upon the first lake of the chain through which the portage route passed.
The storm had ceased, and the stars were breaking through the clouds as Manikawan launched her canoe. It was a long, narrow lake, and paddling its length she had no difficulty in locating the place where the stream entered; and not far away a blazed tree, now plainly visible in the light of the rising moon, told her where the trail led out.
Here, as she stepped ashore18, she discovered the first of the series of tilts19 which Bob and Shad had built, and, immediately pushing aside the flimsy bark door, entered the tilt and struck a match. Its flare20 disclosed a half-burned candle on a shelf near the door, and lighting21 it she held it aloft for a survey of the interior of the tilt.
On the bunk22 at the side were two or three bags evidently containing clothing and other supplies, while on the bunk in the rear were some odds23 and ends of clothing, a folded tent, a coil of rope, doubtless used by the young adventurers as a tracking line, to assist them in hauling their canoe up the swift stream which connected the lake with the river below, and a rifle in a sealskin case.
On beholding24 this last object, Manikawan gave a low exclamation25 of pleasure. Taking a chip from the floor she bent26 the candle over it, permitting some of the hot grease to flow upon it, and setting the candle firmly in the grease placed the improvised27 candlestick upon the tent stove.
Then, reaching for the rifle, she drew it from the case and examined it critically. The magazine proved to be fully14 charged. Returning the rifle to its case, she now examined the other contents of the tilt, and presently came upon a quantity of cartridges28 in one of the bags.
Several of these she appropriated, and dropping them into a leathern pouch30 at her belt, restored the remaining contents of the tilt to the position in which she had found them. Then taking the rifle in its case, she blew out the candle, and passed out of the tilt, carefully closing the door behind her.
The moon was now sufficiently31 risen to light the trail, and the blazes which Ungava Bob had made were so clear that Manikawan's progress was rapid.
Spectral32 shadows lay all about her, flitting here and there across her trail as she sped onward33 and onward through the dark forests that intervened between the lakes. In the distance she heard the voices of the evil spirits so dreaded34 by her people, speaking in dull, monotonous35 undertones, like ceaseless, rolling thunder far away, threatening destruction and death to all who fell within their reach. Even to her, whose home was the wilderness36, the situation was weird37 and uncanny.
At length she passed another tilt near the end of a lake, but she did not pause to enter it. A little beyond the tilt the trail crossed a rise of ground, and upon reaching the summit she beheld38 in the distance a long, wide, silvery streak39 glistening40 in the moonlight. It was the river, and with a sense of relief she lowered the canoe from her shoulders and concealed it carefully amongst the underbrush.
She glanced at the stars and calculated the time until dawn. The region into which she had come was wholly unfamiliar41 to her, and she must have daylight to reconnoitre and locate the camp of her enemies.
There was still ample time for rest, for this was the season of lengthening42 nights and shortening days, and Manikawan was in much need of rest and food. For nearly thirty-six hours she had been exerting herself to the utmost of her strength. At the river tilt she had made a fire in the stove and brewed43 herself some tea, but she had eaten nothing. Now, with the moment's relaxation44, a feeling of great fatigue45 came upon her, and for the first time she realised the length of her fast and the extent of her weariness.
Slowly she retraced46 her steps to the tilt which she had passed on the lake shore a little way back. Entering it she struck a match and lighted a candle, as she had done at the other tilt, and with its assistance found the flour, pork, and tea, together with a frying pan and kettle which Ungava Bob had left there the day that he and Shad Trowbridge were attacked by the Indians.
She went to the lake for a kettle of water, and returning gathered a handful of birch bark. Using the bark for tinder and appropriating wood which she found split and neatly47 piled near the stove for ready use, she lighted a fire in the stove, and set the kettle on to heat for tea. This done she cut several thick slices of fat pork, which she fried in the pan, and mixing a quantity of flour and water into dough48, browned the dough in the pork grease.
It was with a keen appetite that she sat down to her long-deferred banquet; and with vast relief she drank the tea and ate the pork and dough cake. Then, wearied to the last degree, she fell back upon one of the bunks49, the rifle by her side; and with the distant rumble50 of the falls in her ears, fell immediately asleep.
It was broad day when Manikawan opened her eyes. She seized the kettle, and hastening to the lake laved her face and head in the cooling water. Then, from a buckskin pouch at her belt, she drew a neat birch-bark case, decorated with porcupine51 quills52, and from the case a rudely fashioned comb, from which dangled53 by a buckskin thong54 a tuft of porcupine tail. The lake was her mirror, as she smoothed and rebraided her hair. This done, she ran the comb several times through the tuft of porcupine tail before returning it to its case.
Her simple toilet completed, Manikawan mounted a high pinnacle55 of rock and for several minutes stood silently contemplating56 the rising sun. The eastern sky was ablaze57 with red and purple and orange, and she beheld the glory of the scene with deep reverence58.
Upon her pinnacle of rock she felt herself in the presence of the Mysterious Power which governed her destiny and the world in which she lived, and after the manner of her fathers she besought59 that Mysterious Presence in unspoken words, to make her pure and noble and generous; to make her worthy60 to stand in its Presence--worthy to live in the beautiful world which surrounded her.
But Manikawan was not a Christian61. She knew nothing of the white man's God or of Christ's lessons of forgiveness, and she descended62 from the rock morally strengthened, perhaps, in her savage way, but no less determined to wreak63 vengeance upon those whom she deemed her enemies.
While she slept she had heard constantly the voice of the evil spirits of the falls, and the spirits themselves had come to her in a dream, and whispering in her ear had urged her on to vengeance, and promised her immunity64 from their wrath65. Manikawan, like all her people, was superstitious66 in the extreme. She believed absolutely in the supernatural, and her faith in dreams was unwavering.
The sun was hour high when she set forth67 again upon her mission. Mounting the semi-barren ridge29 where she had hidden her canoe, she crouched68 low behind the bushes, and catlike and noiselessly descended to the forest on the other side. Here under cover of the trees she proceeded more rapidly to the end of the portage trail.
Peering out from her cover, she first studied every foot of the river and surrounding country that lay within the range of her vision; then moving silently forward she removed the rifle, which she still carried, from its sealskin case and laid the case on the ground behind a boulder69 and the weapon upon it, where it would be completely hidden from view, but still available for instant use.
This arranged to her satisfaction, she crossed the trail, and gliding70 as noiselessly as a shadow through the trees, ascended71 the river bank to reconnoitre for the Mingen camp. The Indians that visited her father's lodge72 had said that they were encamped near the river, and not far above the portage trail.
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1
drizzling
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下蒙蒙细雨,下毛毛雨( drizzle的现在分词 ) | |
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2
gathering
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n.集会,聚会,聚集 | |
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hatred
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n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨 | |
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vengeance
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n.报复,报仇,复仇 | |
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savage
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adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人 | |
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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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determined
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adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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avenged
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v.为…复仇,报…之仇( avenge的过去式和过去分词 );为…报复 | |
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northward
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adv.向北;n.北方的地区 | |
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winding
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n.绕,缠,绕组,线圈 | |
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deftly
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adv.灵巧地,熟练地,敏捷地 | |
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lessen
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vt.减少,减轻;缩小 | |
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willow
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n.柳树 | |
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fully
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adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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concealed
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a.隐藏的,隐蔽的 | |
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tilt
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v.(使)倾侧;(使)倾斜;n.倾侧;倾斜 | |
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thwart
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v.阻挠,妨碍,反对;adj.横(断的) | |
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ashore
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adv.在(向)岸上,上岸 | |
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tilts
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(意欲赢得某物或战胜某人的)企图,尝试( tilt的名词复数 ) | |
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flare
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v.闪耀,闪烁;n.潮红;突发 | |
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lighting
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n.照明,光线的明暗,舞台灯光 | |
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bunk
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n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位;废话 | |
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23
odds
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n.让步,机率,可能性,比率;胜败优劣之别 | |
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24
beholding
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v.看,注视( behold的现在分词 );瞧;看呀;(叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现)哎哟 | |
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25
exclamation
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n.感叹号,惊呼,惊叹词 | |
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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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improvised
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a.即席而作的,即兴的 | |
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28
cartridges
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子弹( cartridge的名词复数 ); (打印机的)墨盒; 录音带盒; (唱机的)唱头 | |
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29
ridge
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n.山脊;鼻梁;分水岭 | |
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pouch
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n.小袋,小包,囊状袋;vt.装...入袋中,用袋运输;vi.用袋送信件 | |
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31
sufficiently
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adv.足够地,充分地 | |
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spectral
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adj.幽灵的,鬼魂的 | |
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onward
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adj.向前的,前进的;adv.向前,前进,在先 | |
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34
dreaded
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adj.令人畏惧的;害怕的v.害怕,恐惧,担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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monotonous
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adj.单调的,一成不变的,使人厌倦的 | |
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wilderness
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n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等,荒漠 | |
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weird
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adj.古怪的,离奇的;怪诞的,神秘而可怕的 | |
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beheld
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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 | |
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streak
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n.条理,斑纹,倾向,少许,痕迹;v.加条纹,变成条纹,奔驰,快速移动 | |
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glistening
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adj.闪耀的,反光的v.湿物闪耀,闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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unfamiliar
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adj.陌生的,不熟悉的 | |
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42
lengthening
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(时间或空间)延长,伸长( lengthen的现在分词 ); 加长 | |
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43
brewed
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调制( brew的过去式和过去分词 ); 酝酿; 沏(茶); 煮(咖啡) | |
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44
relaxation
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n.松弛,放松;休息;消遣;娱乐 | |
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fatigue
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n.疲劳,劳累 | |
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retraced
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v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 );回忆;回顾;追溯 | |
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neatly
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adv.整洁地,干净地,灵巧地,熟练地 | |
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dough
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n.生面团;钱,现款 | |
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49
bunks
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n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位( bunk的名词复数 );空话,废话v.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 );空话,废话 | |
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50
rumble
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n.隆隆声;吵嚷;v.隆隆响;低沉地说 | |
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51
porcupine
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n.豪猪, 箭猪 | |
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52
quills
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n.(刺猬或豪猪的)刺( quill的名词复数 );羽毛管;翮;纡管 | |
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53
dangled
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悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 ); 摆动不定; 用某事物诱惑…; 吊胃口 | |
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54
thong
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n.皮带;皮鞭;v.装皮带 | |
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55
pinnacle
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n.尖塔,尖顶,山峰;(喻)顶峰 | |
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56
contemplating
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深思,细想,仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 ); 注视,凝视; 考虑接受(发生某事的可能性); 深思熟虑,沉思,苦思冥想 | |
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57
ablaze
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adj.着火的,燃烧的;闪耀的,灯火辉煌的 | |
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reverence
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n.敬畏,尊敬,尊严;Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称;v.尊敬,敬畏,崇敬 | |
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59
besought
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v.恳求,乞求(某事物)( beseech的过去式和过去分词 );(beseech的过去式与过去分词) | |
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60
worthy
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adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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61
Christian
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adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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62
descended
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a.为...后裔的,出身于...的 | |
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63
wreak
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v.发泄;报复 | |
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immunity
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n.优惠;免除;豁免,豁免权 | |
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65
wrath
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n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒 | |
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66
superstitious
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adj.迷信的 | |
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67
forth
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adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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crouched
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v.屈膝,蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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boulder
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n.巨砾;卵石,圆石 | |
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gliding
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v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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ascended
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v.上升,攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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lodge
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v.临时住宿,寄宿,寄存,容纳;n.传达室,小旅馆 | |
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