Most of the thirty or so little tables covered by red cloths with a white design stood ranged at right angles to the deep brown wainscoting of the underground hall. Bronze chandeliers with many globes depended from the low, slightly vaulted1 ceiling, and the fresco2 paintings ran flat and dull all round the walls without windows, representing scenes of the chase and of outdoor revelry in medieval costumes. Varlets in green jerkins brandished3 hunting knives and raised on high tankards of foaming4 beer.
`Unless I am very much mistaken, you are the man who would know the inside of this confounded affair,' said the robust5 Ossipon, leaning over, his elbows far out on the table and his feet tucked back completely under his chair. His eyes stared with wild eagerness.
An upright semi-grand piano near the door, flanked by two palms in pots, executed suddenly all by itself a valse tune6 with aggressive virtuosity7. The din8 it raised was deafening9. When it ceased, as abruptly10 as it had started, the bespectacled, dingy11 little man who faced Ossipon behind a heavy glass mug full of beer emitted calmly what had the sound of a general proposition.
`In principle what one of us may or may not know as to any given fact can't be a matter for inquiry13 to the others.'
`Certainly not,' Comrade Ossipon agreed in a quiet undertone. `In principle.'
With his big florid face held between his hands he continued to stare hard, while the dingy little man in spectacles coolly took a drink of beer and stood the glass mug back on the table. His flat, large ears departed widely from the sides of his skull14, which looked frail15 enough for Ossipon to crush between thumb and forefinger16; the dome17 of the forehead seemed to rest on the rim18 of the spectacles; the flat cheeks, of a greasy19, unhealthy complexion20, were merely smudged by the miserable22 poverty of a thin dark whisker. The lamentable23 inferiority of the whole physique was made ludicrous by the supremely24 self-confident bearing of the individual. His speech was curt25, and he had a particularly impressive manner of keeping silent.
Ossipon spoke26 again from between his hands in a mutter. `Have you been out much today?'
`No. I stayed in bed all the morning,' answered the other. `Why?'
`Oh! Nothing,' said Ossipon, gazing earnestly and quivering inwardly with the desire to find out something, but obviously intimidated27 by the little man's overwhelming air of unconcern. When talking with this comrade - which happened but rarely - the big Ossipon suffered from a sense of moral and even physical insignificance28. However, he ventured another question. `Did you walk down here?'
`No; omnibus,' the little man answered, readily enough. He lived far away in Islington, in a small house down a shabby street, littered with straw and dirty paper, where out of school hours a troop of assorted29 children ran and squabbled with a shrill30, joyless, rowdy clamour. His single back room, remarkable31 for having an extremely large cupboard, he rented furnished from two elderly spinsters, dressmakers in a humble32 way with a clientele of servant girls mostly. He had a heavy padlock put on the cupboard, but otherwise he was a model lodger33, giving no trouble, and requiring practically no attendance. His oddities were that he insisted on being present when his room was being swept, and that when he went out he locked his door, and took the key away with him.
Ossipon had a vision of these round black-rimmed spectacles progressing along the streets on the top of an omnibus, their self-confident glitter falling here and there on the walls of houses or lowered upon the heads of the unconscious stream of people on the pavements. The ghost of a sickly smile altered the set of Ossipon's thick lips at the thought of the walls nodding, of people running for life at the sight of those spectacles. If they had only known! What a panic! He murmured interrogatively: `Been sitting long here?'
`An hour or more,' answered the other, negligently35, and took a pull at the dark beer. All his movements - the way he grasped the mug, the act of drinking, the way he set the heavy glass down and folded his arms - had a firmness, an assured precision which made the big and muscular Ossipon, leaning forward with staring eyes and protruding36 lips, look the picture of eager indecision.
`An hour,' he said. `Then it may be you haven't heard yet the news I've heard just now - in the street. Have you?'
The little man shook his head negatively the least bit. But as he gave no indication of curiosity Ossipon ventured to add that he had heard it just outside the place. A newspaper boy had yelled the thing under his very nose, and not being prepared for anything of that sort, he was very much startled and upset. He had to come in there with a dry mouth. `I never thought of finding you here,' he added, murmuring steadily37, with his elbows planted on the table.
`I come here sometimes,' said the other, preserving his provoking coolness of demeanour.
`It's wonderful that you of all people should have heard nothing of it,' the big Ossipon continued. His eyelids38 snapped nervously39 upon the shining eyes. `You of all people,' he repeated, tentatively. This obvious restraint argued an incredible and inexplicable41 timidity of the big fellow before the calm little man, who again lifted the glass mug, drank, and put it down with brusque and assured movements. And that was all. Ossipon, after waiting for something, word or sign, that did not come, made an effort to assume a sort of indifference42.
`Do you,' he said, deadening his voice still more, `give your stuff to anybody who's up to asking you for it?'
`My absolute rule is never to refuse anybody - as long as I have a pinch by me,' answered the little man with decision.
`That's a principle?' commented Ossipon. `It's a principle.'
`And you think it's sound?'
The large round spectacles, which gave a look of staring sell confidence to the sallow face, confronted Ossipon like sleepless43, unwinking orbs44 flashing a cold fire.
`Perfectly45. Always. Under every circumstance. What could stop me? Why should I not? Why should I think twice about it?'
Ossipon gasped46, as it were, discreetly47.
`Do you mean to say you would hand it over to a tec if one came to ask you for your wares48?'
The other smiled faintly.
`Let them come and try it on, and you will see,' he said. `They know me, but I know also every one of them. They won't come near me - not they.'
His thin, livid lips snapped together firmly. Ossipon began to argue.
`But they could send someone - rig a plant on you. Don't you see? Get the stuff from you in that way, and then arrest you with the proof in their hands.'
`Proof of what? Dealing49 in explosives without a licence perhaps.' This was meant for a contemptuous jeer50, though the expression of the thin, sickly man remained unchanged, and the utterance51 was negligent34. `I don't think there's one of them anxious to make that arrest. I don't think they could get one of them to apply for a warrant. I mean one of the best. Not one.'
`Why?' Ossipon asked.
`Because they know very well I take care never to part with the last handful of my wares. I've it always by me.' He touched the breast of his coat lightly. `In a thick glass flask52,' he added.
`So I have been told,' said Ossipon, with a shade of wonder in his voice. `But I didn't know if--'
`They know,' interrupted the little man, crisply, leaning against the straight chair back, which rose higher than his fragile head. `I shall never be arrested. The game isn't good enough for any policeman of them all. To deal with a man like me you require sheer, naked, inglorious heroism53.'
Again his lips closed with a self-confident snap. Ossipon repressed a movement of impatience54.
`Or recklessness - or simply ignorance,' he retorted. `They've only to get somebody for the job who does not know you carry enough stuff in your pocket to blow yourself and everything within sixty yards of you to pieces.'
`I never affirmed I could not be eliminated,' rejoined the other. `But that wouldn't be an arrest. Moreover, it's not so easy as it looks.'
`Bah!' Ossipon contradicted. `Don't be too sure of that. What's to prevent half a dozen of them jumping upon you from behind in the street? With your arms pinned to your sides you could do nothing - could you?'
`Yes; I could. I am seldom out in the streets after dark,' said the little man, impassively, `and never very late. I walk always with my right hand closed round the india-rubber ball which I have in my trouser pocket. The pressing of this ball actuates a detonator inside the flask I carry in my pocket. It's the principle of the pneumatic instantaneous shutter55 for a camera lens. The tube leads up--'
With a swift, disclosing gesture he gave Ossipon a glimpse of an indiarubber tube, resembling a slender brown worm, issuing from the armhole of his waistcoat and plunging56 into the inner breast pocket of his jacket. His clothes, of a nondescript brown mixture, were threadbare and marked with stains, dusty in the folds, with ragged57 button-holes. `The detonator is partly mechanical, partly chemical,' he explained, with casual condescension58.
`It is instantaneous, of course?' murmured Ossipon, with a slight shudder59.
`Far from it,' confessed the other, with a reluctance60 which seemed to twist his mouth dolorously61. `A full twenty seconds must elapse from the moment I press the ball till the explosion takes place.'
`Phew!' whistled Ossipon, completely appalled62. `Twenty seconds! Horrors! You mean to say that you could face that? I should go crazy--'
`Wouldn't matter if you did. Of course, it's the weak point of this special system, which is only for my own use. The worst is that the manner of exploding is always the weak point with us. I am trying to invent a detonator that would adjust itself to all conditions of action, and even to unexpected changes of conditions. A variable and yet perfectly precise mechanism63. A really intelligent detonator.'
`Twenty seconds,' muttered Ossipon again. `Ough! And then--'
With a slight turn of the head the glitter of the spectacles seemed to gauge64 the size of the beer saloon in the basement of the renowned65 Silenus Restaurant.
`Nobody in this room could hope to escape,' was the verdict of that survey. `Nor yet this couple going up the stairs now.'
The piano at the foot of the staircase clanged through a mazurka with brazen66 impetuosity, as though a vulgar and impudent67 ghost were showing off. The keys sank and rose mysteriously. Then all became still. For a moment Ossipon imagined the over-lighted place changed into a dreadful black hole belching68 horrible fumes69, choked with ghastly rubbish of smashed brickwork and mutilated corpses70. He had such a distinct perception of ruin and death that he shuddered71 again. The other observed, with an air of calm sufficiency:
`In the last instance it is character alone that makes for one's safety. There are very few people in the world whose character is as well established as mine.'
`I wonder how you managed it,' growled72 Ossipon.
`Force of personality,' said the other, without raising his voice; and coming from the mouth of that obviously miserable organism the assertion caused the robust Ossipon to bite his lower lip. `Force of personality,' he repeated, with ostentatious calm.
`I have the means to make myself deadly, but that by itself, you understand, is absolutely nothing in the way of protection. What is effective is the belief those people have in my will to use the means. That's their impression. It is absolute. Therefore I am deadly.'
`There are individuals of character amongst that lot, too,' muttered Ossipon ominously73.
`Possibly. But it is a matter of degree obviously, since, for instance, I am not impressed by them. Therefore they are inferior. They cannot be otherwise. Their character is built upon conventional morality. It leans on the social order. Mine stands free from everything artificial. They are bound in all sorts of conventions. They depend on life, which, in this connection, is a historical fact surrounded by all sorts of restraints and considerations, a complex, organized fact open to attack at every point; whereas I depend on death, which knows no restraint and cannot be attacked. My superiority is evident.'
`This is a transcendental way of putting it,' said Ossipon, watching the cold glitter of the round spectacles. `I've heard Karl Yundt say much the same thing not very long ago.'
`Karl Yundt,' mumbled74 the other, contemptuously, `the delegate of the International Red Committee, has been a posturing75 shadow all his life. There are three of you delegates, aren't there? I won't define the other two, as you are one of them. But what you say means nothing. You are the worthy76 delegates for revolutionary propaganda, but the trouble is not only that you are as unable to think independently as any respectable grocer or journalist of them all, but that you have no character whatever.'
Ossipon could not restrain a start of indignation.
`But what do you want from us?' he exclaimed in a deadened voice. `What is it you are after yourself?'
`A perfect detonator,' was the peremptory77 answer. `What are you making that face for? You see, you can't even bear the mention of something conclusive78.'
`I am not making a face,' growled the annoyed Ossipon bearishly79. `You revolutionists,' the other continued, with leisurely80 self-confidence, `are the slaves of the social convention, which is afraid of you; slaves of it as much as the very police that stand up in the defence of that convention. Clearly you are, since you want to revolutionize it. It governs your thought, of course, and your action, too, and thus neither your thought nor your action can ever be conclusive.' He paused, tranquil81, with that air of close, endless silence, then almost immediately went on: `You are not a bit better than the forces arrayed against you - than the police, for instance. The other day I came suddenly upon Chief Inspector82 Heat at the corner of Tottenham Court Road. He looked at me very steadily. But I did not look at him. Why should I give him more than a glance? He was thinking of many things - of his superiors, of his reputation, of the law courts, of his salary, of newspapers - of a hundred things. But I was thinking of my perfect detonator only. He meant nothing to me. He was as insignificant83 as - I can't call to mind anything insignificant enough to compare him with - except Karl Yundt perhaps. Like to like. The terrorist and the policeman both come from the same basket. Revolution, legality - counter moves in the same game; forms of idleness at bottom identical. He plays his little game - so do you propagandists. But I don't play; I work fourteen hours a day, and go hungry sometimes. My experiments cost money now and again, and then I must do without food for a day or two. You're looking at my beer. Yes. I have had two glasses already, and shall have another presently. This is a little holiday, and I celebrate it alone. Why not? I've the grit84 to work alone, quite alone, absolutely alone. I've worked alone for years.
Ossipon's face had turned dusky red.
`At the perfect detonator - eh?' he sneered85, very low.
`Yes,' retorted the other. `It is a good definition. You couldn't find anything half so precise to define the nature of your activity with all your committees and delegations86. It is I who am the true propagandist.'
`We won't discuss that point,' said Ossipon, with an air of rising above personal considerations. `I am afraid I'll have to spoil your holiday for you, though. There's a man blown up in Greenwich Park this morning.'
`How do you know?'
`They have been yelling the news in the streets since two o'clock. I bought the paper, and just ran in here. Then I saw you sitting at this table. I've got it in my pocket now.'
He pulled the newspaper out. It was a good-sized, rosy87 sheet, as if flushed by the warmth of its own convictions which were optimistic. He scanned the pages rapidly.
`Ah! Here it is. Bomb in Greenwich Park. There isn't much so far. Half past eleven. Foggy morning. Effects of explosion felt as far as Romney Road and Park Place. Enormous hole in the ground under a tree filled with smashed roots and broken branches. All round fragments of a man's body blown to pieces. That's all. The rest's mere21 newspaper gup. No doubt a wicked attempt to blow up the Observatory88, they say. H'm. That's hardly credible40.'
He looked at the paper for a while longer in silence then passed it to the other, who, after gazing abstractedly at the print, laid it down without comment.
It was Ossipon who spoke first - still resentful.
`The fragments of only one man, you note. Ergo: blew himself up. That spoils your day off for you - don't it? Were you expecting that sort of move? I hadn't the slightest idea - not the ghost of a notion of anything of the sort being planned to come off here - in this country. Under the present circumstances it's nothing short of criminal.'
The little man lifted his thin black eyebrows89 with dispassionate scorn.
`Criminal! What is that? What is crime? What can be the meaning of such an assertion?'
`How am I to express myself? One must use the current words,' said Ossipon, impatiently. `The meaning of this assertion is that this business may affect our position very adversely90 in this country. Isn't that crime enough for you? I am convinced you have been giving away some of your stuff lately.'
Ossipon stared hard. The other, without flinching91, lowered and raised his head slowly.
`You have!' burst out the editor of the F.P. leaflets in an intense whisper. `No! And are you really handing it over at large like this, for the asking, to the first fool that comes along?'
`Just so! The condemned92 social order has not been built up on paper and ink, and I don't fancy that a combination of paper and ink will ever put an end to it, whatever you may think. Yes, I would give the stuff with both hands to every man, woman, or fool that likes to come along. I know what you are thinking about. But I am not taking my cue from the Red Committee. I would see you all hounded out of here, or arrested - or beheaded for that matter - without turning a hair. What happens to us as individuals is not of the least consequence.'
He spoke carelessly, without heat, almost without feeling, and Ossipon, secretly much affected93, tried to copy this detachment.
`If the police here knew their business they would shoot you full of holes with revolvers, or else try to sand-bag you from behind in broad daylight.'
The little man seemed already to have considered that point of view in his dispassionate, self-confident manner.
`Yes,' he assented94 with the utmost readiness. `But for that they would have to face their own institutions. Do you see? That requires uncommon95 grit. Grit of a special kind.'
Ossipon blinked.
`I fancy that's exactly what would happen to you if you were to set up your laboratory in the States. They don't stand on ceremony with their institutions there.'
`I am not likely to go and see. Otherwise your remark is just, admitted the other. `They have more character over there, and their character is essentially96 anarchistic97. Fertile ground for us, the States - very good ground. The great Republic has the root of the destructive matter in her. The collective temperament98 is lawless. Excellent. They may shoot us down, but--'
`You are too transcendental for me,' growled Ossipon, with moody99 concern.
`Logical,' protested the other. `There are several kinds of logic100. This is the enlightened kind. America is all right. It is this country that is dangerous, with her idealistic conception of legality. The social spirit of this people is wrapped up in scrupulous101 prejudices, and that is fatal to our work. You talk of England being our only refuge! So much the worse. Capua! What do we want with refuges? Here you talk, print, plot, and do nothing. I daresay it's very convenient for such Karl Yundts.'
He shrugged102 his shoulders slightly, then added with the same leisurely assurance: `To break up the superstition103 and worship of legality should be our aim. Nothing would please me more than to see Inspector Heat and his likes take to shooting us down in broad daylight with the approval of the public. Half our battle would be won then: the disintegration104 of the old morality would have set in in its very temple. That is what you ought to aim at. But you revolutionists will never understand that. You plan the future, you lose yourselves in reveries of economical systems derived105 from what is; whereas what's wanted is a clean sweep and a clear start for a new conception of life. That sort of future will take care of itself if you will only make room for it. Therefore I would shovel106 my stuff in heaps at the corners of the streets if I had enough for that; and as I haven't, I do my best by perfecting a really dependable detonator.'
Ossipon, who had been mentally swimming in deep waters, seized upon the last word as it it were a saving plank107.
`Yes. Your detonators. I shouldn't wonder if it weren't one of your detonators that made a clean sweep of the man in the park.'
A shade of vexation darkened the determined108, sallow face confronting Ossipon.
`My difficulty consists precisely109 in experimenting practically with the various kinds. They must be tried, after all. Besides--'
Ossipon interrupted.
`Who could that fellow be? I assure you that we in London had no knowledge - Couldn't you describe the person you gave the stuff to?'
The other turned his spectacles upon Ossipon like a pair of searchlights.
`Describe him,' he repeated, slowly. `I don't think there can be the slightest objection now. I will describe him to you in one word - Verloc.'
Ossipon, whom curiosity had lifted a few inches off his seat, dropped back, as if hit in the face.
`Verloc! Impossible.' The self-possessed little man nodded slightly once.
`Yes. He's the person. You can't say that in this case I was giving my stuff to the first fool that came along. He was a prominent member of the group as far as I understand.'
`Yes,' said Ossipon. `Prominent. No, not exactly. He was the centre for general intelligence, and usually received comrades coming over here. More useful than important. Man of no ideas. Years ago he used to speak at meetings - in France, I believe. Not very well, though. He was trusted by such men as Latorre, Moser, and all that old lot. The only talent he showed really was his ability to elude110 the attentions of the police somehow. Here, for instance, he did not seem to be looked after very closely. He was regularly married, you know. I suppose it's with her money that he started that shop. Seemed to make it pay, too.
Ossipon paused abruptly, muttered to himself `I wonder what that woman will do now?' and fell into thought.
The other waited with ostentatious indifference. His parentage was obscure, and he was generally known only by his nickname of Professor. His title to that designation consisted in his having been once assistant demonstrator in chemistry at some technical institute. He quarrelled with the authorities upon a question of unfair treatment. Afterwards he obtained a post in the laboratory of a manufactory of' dyes. There, too, he had been treated with revolting injustice111. His struggles, his privations, his hard work to raise himself in the social scale, had filled him with such an exalted112 conviction of his merits that it was extremely difficult for the world to treat him with justice - the standard of that notion depending so much upon the patience of the individual. The Professor had genius, but lacked the great social virtue113 of resignation.
`Intellectually a nonentity,' Ossipon pronounced aloud, abandoning suddenly the inward contemplation of Mrs Verloc's bereaved114 person and business. `Quite an ordinary personality. You are wrong in not keeping more in touch with the comrades, Professor,' he added in a reproving tone. `Did he say anything to you - give you some idea of his intentions? I hadn't seen him for a month. It deems impossible that he should be gone.'
`He told me it was going to be a demonstration115 against a building,' said the Professor. `I had to know that much to prepare the missile. I pointed116 out to him that I had hardly a sufficient quantity for a completely destructive result, but he pressed me very earnestly to do my best. As he wanted something that could be carried openly in the hand, I proposed to make use of an old one-gallon copal varnish117 can I happened to have by me. He was pleased at the idea. It gave me some trouble, because I had to cut out the bottom first and solder118 it on again afterwards. When prepared for use, the can enclosed a wide-mouthed, well-corked jar of thick glass packed around with some wet clay and containing sixteen ounces of X2 green powder. The detonator was connected with the screw top of the can. It was ingenious - a combination of time and shock. I explained the system to him. It was a thin tube of tin enclosing--'
Ossipon's attention had wandered. `What do you think has happened?' he interrupted.
`Can't tell. Screwed the top on tight, which would make the connection, and then forgot the time. It was set for twenty minutes. On the other hand, the time contact being made, a sharp shock would bring about the explosion at once. He either ran the time too close, or simply let the thing fall. The contact was made all right - that's clear to me at any rate. The system's worked perfectly. And yet you would think that a common fool in a hurry would be much more likely to forget to make the contact altogether. I was worrying myself about that sort of failure mostly. But there are more kinds of fools than one can guard against. You can't expect a detonator to be absolutely foolproof.'
He beckoned119 to a waiter. Ossipon sat rigid120, with the abstracted gaze of mental travail121. After the man had gone away with the money he roused himself, with an air of profound dissatisfaction.
`It's extremely unpleasant for me,' he mused122. `Karl has been in bed with bronchitis for a week. There's an even chance that he will never get up again. Michaelis is luxuriating in the country somewhere. A fashionable publisher has offered him five hundred pounds for a book. It will be a ghastly failure. He has lost the habit of consecutive123 thinking in prison, you know.'
The Professor on his feet, now buttoning his coat, looked about him with perfect indifference.
`What are you going to do?' asked Ossipon, wearily. He dreaded124 the blame of the Central Red Committee, a body which had no permanent place of abode125, and of whose membership he was not exactly informed. If this affair eventuated in the stoppage of the modest subsidy126 allotted127 to the publication of the F.P. pamphlets, then indeed he would have to regret Verloc's inexplicable folly128.
`Solidarity with the extremest form of action is one thing, and silly recklessness is another,' he said, with a sort of moody brutality129. `I don't know what came to Verloc. There's some mystery there. However, he's gone. You may take it as you like, but under the circumstances the only policy for the militant130 revolutionary group is to disclaim131 all connection with this damned freak of yours. How to make the disclaimer convincing enough is what bothers me.'
The little man on his feet, buttoned up and ready to go, was no taller than the seated Ossipon. He levelled his spectacles at the latter's face point-blank.
`You might ask the police for a testimonial of good conduct. They know where every one of you slept last night. Perhaps if you asked them they would consent to publish some sort of official statement.'
`No doubt they are aware well enough that we had nothing to do with this,' mumbled Ossipon, bitterly. `What they will say is another thing.' He remained thoughtful, disregarding the short, owlish, shabby figure standing132 by his side. `I must lay hands on Michaelis at once, and get him to speak from his heart at one of our gatherings133. The public has a sort of sentimental regard for that fellow. His name is known. And I am in touch with a few reporters on the big dailies. What he would say would be utter bosh, but he has a turn of talk that makes it go down all the same.'
`Like treacle,' interjected the Professor, rather low, keeping an impassive expression.
The perplexed134 Ossipon went on communing with himself half audibly, after the manner of a man reflecting in perfect solitude135.
`Confounded ass12! To leave such an imbecile business on my hands. And I don't even know if--'
He sat with compressed lips. The idea of going for news straight to the shop lacked charm. His notion was that Verloc's shop might have been turned already into a police trap. They will be bound to make some arrests, he thought, with something resembling virtuous136 indignation, for the even tenor137 of his revolutionary life was menaced by no fault of his. And yet unless he went there he ran the risk of remaining in ignorance of what perhaps it would be very material for him to know. Then he reflected that, if the man in the park had been so very much blown to pieces as the evening papers said, he could not have been identified. And if so, the police could have no special reason for watching Verloc's shop more closely than any other place known to be frequented by marked anarchists138 - no more reason, in fact, than for watching the doors of the Silenus. There would be a lot of watching all round, no matter where he went. Still--`I wonder what I had better do now?' he muttered, taking counsel with himself.
A rasping voice at his elbow said, with sedate139 scorn: `Fasten yourself upon the woman for all she's worth.'
After uttering these words the Professor walked away from the table. Ossipon, whom that piece of insight had taken unawares, gave one ineffectual start, and remained still, with a helpless gaze, as though nailed fast to the seat of his chair. The lonely piano, without as much as a music stool to help it, struck a few chords courageously140, and beginning a selection of national airs, played him out at last to the tune of `The Blue Bells of Scotland'. The painfully detached notes grew faint behind his back while he went slowly upstairs, across the hall, and into the street.
In front of the great doorway141 a dismal142 row of newspaper sellers standing clear of the pavement dealt with their wares from the gutter143. It was a raw, gloomy day of the early spring; and the grimy sky, the mud of the street, the rags of the dirty men harmonized excellently with the eruption144 of the damp, rubbishy sheets of paper soiled with printers' ink. The posters, maculated with filth145, garnished146 like tapestry147 the sweep of the kerbstone. The trade in afternoon papers was brisk, yet, in comparison with the swift, constant march of foot traffic, the effect was of indifference, of a disregarded distribution. Ossipon looked hurriedly both ways before stepping out into the cross-currents, but the Professor was already out of sight.
收听单词发音 |
1
vaulted
|
|
| adj.拱状的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
fresco
|
|
| n.壁画；vt.作壁画于 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
brandished
|
|
| v.挥舞( brandish的过去式和过去分词 )；炫耀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
foaming
|
|
| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
robust
|
|
| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
tune
|
|
| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
virtuosity
|
|
| n.精湛技巧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
din
|
|
| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
deafening
|
|
| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
abruptly
|
|
| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
dingy
|
|
| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
ass
|
|
| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
inquiry
|
|
| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
skull
|
|
| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
frail
|
|
| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
forefinger
|
|
| n.食指 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
dome
|
|
| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
rim
|
|
| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
greasy
|
|
| adj. 多脂的，油脂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
complexion
|
|
| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
miserable
|
|
| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
lamentable
|
|
| adj.令人惋惜的，悔恨的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
supremely
|
|
| adv.无上地，崇高地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
curt
|
|
| adj.简短的，草率的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
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： |
|
|
|
|
27
intimidated
|
|
| v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
insignificance
|
|
| n.不重要；无价值；无意义 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
assorted
|
|
| adj.各种各样的，各色俱备的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
shrill
|
|
| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
humble
|
|
| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
lodger
|
|
| n.寄宿人，房客 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
negligent
|
|
| adj.疏忽的；玩忽的；粗心大意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
negligently
|
|
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
protruding
|
|
| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
steadily
|
|
| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
eyelids
|
|
| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
nervously
|
|
| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
credible
|
|
| adj.可信任的，可靠的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
inexplicable
|
|
| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
indifference
|
|
| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
sleepless
|
|
| adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
orbs
|
|
| abbr.off-reservation boarding school 在校寄宿学校n.球，天体，圆形物( orb的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
gasped
|
|
| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
discreetly
|
|
| ad.(言行)审慎地，慎重地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
wares
|
|
| n. 货物, 商品 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
dealing
|
|
| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
jeer
|
|
| vi.嘲弄，揶揄；vt.奚落；n.嘲笑，讥评 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
utterance
|
|
| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
flask
|
|
| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
heroism
|
|
| n.大无畏精神，英勇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
impatience
|
|
| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
shutter
|
|
| n.百叶窗；(照相机)快门；关闭装置 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
plunging
|
|
| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
ragged
|
|
| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
condescension
|
|
| n.自以为高人一等，贬低(别人) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
shudder
|
|
| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
reluctance
|
|
| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
dolorously
|
|
| adj. 悲伤的；痛苦的；悲哀的；阴沉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
appalled
|
|
| v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
mechanism
|
|
| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
gauge
|
|
| v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
renowned
|
|
| adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
brazen
|
|
| adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
impudent
|
|
| adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
belching
|
|
| n. 喷出，打嗝 动词belch的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
fumes
|
|
| n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
corpses
|
|
| n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
shuddered
|
|
| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
growled
|
|
| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
ominously
|
|
| adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
mumbled
|
|
| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
posturing
|
|
| 做出某种姿势( posture的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
worthy
|
|
| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
peremptory
|
|
| adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
conclusive
|
|
| adj.最后的，结论的；确凿的，消除怀疑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
bearishly
|
|
| 粗鲁地，笨拙地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
80
leisurely
|
|
| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
tranquil
|
|
| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
inspector
|
|
| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
insignificant
|
|
| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
grit
|
|
| n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
sneered
|
|
| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
delegations
|
|
| n.代表团( delegation的名词复数 )；委托，委派 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
rosy
|
|
| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
observatory
|
|
| n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
eyebrows
|
|
| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
adversely
|
|
| ad.有害地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
flinching
|
|
| v.（因危险和痛苦）退缩，畏惧( flinch的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
condemned
|
|
| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
affected
|
|
| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
assented
|
|
| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
uncommon
|
|
| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
essentially
|
|
| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
anarchistic
|
|
| 无政府主义的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
temperament
|
|
| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
moody
|
|
| adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
logic
|
|
| n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
scrupulous
|
|
| adj.审慎的，小心翼翼的，完全的，纯粹的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
shrugged
|
|
| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
superstition
|
|
| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
disintegration
|
|
| n.分散，解体 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
derived
|
|
| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
shovel
|
|
| n.铁锨，铲子，一铲之量；v.铲，铲出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
plank
|
|
| n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
precisely
|
|
| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
elude
|
|
| v.躲避，困惑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
injustice
|
|
| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
exalted
|
|
| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
virtue
|
|
| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
bereaved
|
|
| adj.刚刚丧失亲人的v.使失去（希望、生命等）( bereave的过去式和过去分词)；（尤指死亡）使丧失（亲人、朋友等）；使孤寂；抢走（财物） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
demonstration
|
|
| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
varnish
|
|
| n.清漆；v.上清漆；粉饰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
solder
|
|
| v.焊接，焊在一起；n.焊料，焊锡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
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： |
|
|
|
|
120
rigid
|
|
| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
travail
|
|
| n.阵痛；努力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
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： |
|
|
|
|
123
consecutive
|
|
| adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
dreaded
|
|
| 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) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
abode
|
|
| n.住处，住所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
subsidy
|
|
| n.补助金，津贴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
allotted
|
|
| 分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
folly
|
|
| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
brutality
|
|
| n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
militant
|
|
| adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
disclaim
|
|
| v.放弃权利，拒绝承认 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
gatherings
|
|
| 聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
perplexed
|
|
| adj.不知所措的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
135
solitude
|
|
| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
136
virtuous
|
|
| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
137
tenor
|
|
| n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
138
anarchists
|
|
| 无政府主义者( anarchist的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
139
sedate
|
|
| adj.沉着的，镇静的，安静的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
140
courageously
|
|
| ad.勇敢地，无畏地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
141
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
142
dismal
|
|
| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
143
gutter
|
|
| n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
144
eruption
|
|
| n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
145
filth
|
|
| n.肮脏，污物，污秽；淫猥 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
146
garnished
|
|
| v.给（上餐桌的食物）加装饰( garnish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
147
tapestry
|
|
| n.挂毯，丰富多采的画面 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |