The Professor had turned into a street to the left, and walked along, with his head carried rigidly1 erect3, in a crowd whose every individual almost overtopped his stunted4 stature5. It was vain to pretend to himself that he was not disappointed. But that was mere6 feeling; the stoicism of Ms thought could not be disturbed by this or any other failure. Next time, or the time after next, a telling stroke would be delivered - something really startling - a blow fit to open the first crack in the imposing7 front of the great edifice8 of legal conceptions sheltering the atrocious injustice9 of society. Of humble10 origin, and with an appearance really so mean as to stand in the way of his considerable natural abilities, his imagination had been fired early by the tales of men rising from the depths of poverty to positions of authority and affluence11. The extreme, almost ascetic12 purity of his thought, combined with an astounding13 ignorance of worldly conditions, had set before him a goal of power and prestige to be attained14 without the medium of arts, graces, tact15, wealth - by sheer weight of merit alone. On that view he considered himself entitled to undisputed success. His father, a delicate dark enthusiast16 with a sloping forehead, had been an itinerant17 and rousing preacher of some obscure but rigid2 Christian18 sect19 - a man supremely20 confident in the privileges of his righteousness. In the son, individualist by temperament22, once the science of colleges had replaced thoroughly23 the faith of conventicles, this moral attitude translated itself into a frenzied24 puritanism of ambition. He nursed it as something secularly25 holy. To see it thwarted26 opened his eyes to the true nature of the world, whose morality was artificial, corrupt27 and blasphemous28. The way of even the most justifiable29 revolutions is prepared by personal impulses disguised into creeds30. The Professor's indignation found in itself a final cause that absolved31 him from the sin of turning to destruction as the agent of his ambition. To destroy public faith in legality was the imperfect formula of his pedantic32 fanaticism33; but the subconscious34 conviction that the framework of an established social order cannot be effectually shattered except by some form of collective or individual violence was precise and correct. He was a moral agent - that was settled in his mind. By exercising his agency with ruthless defiance35 he procured36 for himself the appearances of power and personal prestige. That was undeniable to his vengeful bitterness. It pacified37 its unrest; and in their own way the most ardent38 of revolutionaries are perhaps doing no more but seeking for peace in common with the rest of mankind - the peace of soothed39 vanity, of satisfied appetites, or perhaps of appeased40 conscience.
Lost in the crowd, miserable41 and undersized, he meditated42 confidently on his power, keeping his hand in the left pocket of his trousers, grasping lightly the indiarubber ball, the supreme21 guarantee of his sinister43 freedom: but after a while he became disagreeably affected44 by the sight of the roadway thronged45 with vehicles and of the pavement crowded with men and women. He was in a long, straight street, peopled by a mere fraction of an immense multitude; but all round him, on and on, even to the limits of the horizon hidden by the enormous piles of bricks, he felt the mass of mankind mighty46 in its numbers. They swarmed47 numerous like locusts48, industrious49 like ants, thoughtless like a natural force, pushing on blind and orderly and absorbed, impervious50 to sentiment, to logic51, to terror, too, perhaps.
That was the form of doubt he feared most. Impervious to fear! Often while walking abroad, when he happened also to come out of himself, he had such moments of dreadful and sane52 mistrust of mankind. What if nothing could move them? Such moments come to all men whose ambition aims at a direct grasp upon humanity - to artists, politicians, thinkers, reformers, or saints. A despicable emotional state this, against which solitude53 fortifies54 a superior character; and with severe exultation55 the Professor thought of the refuge of his room, with its padlocked cupboard, lost in a wilderness56 of poor houses, the hermitage of the perfect anarchist57. In order to reach sooner the point where he could take his omnibus, he turned brusquely out of the populous58 street into a narrow and dusky alley59 paved with flagstones. On one side the low brick houses had in their dusty windows the sightless, moribund60 look of incurable61 decay - empty shells awaiting demolition62. From the other side life had not departed wholly as yet. Facing the only gas-lamp yawned the cavern63 of a second-hand-furniture dealer64, where, deep in the gloom of a sort of narrow avenue winding65 through a bizarre forest of wardrobes, with an undergrowth tangle66 of table legs, a tall pier-glass glimmered67 like a pool of water in a wood. An unhappy, homeless couch, accompanied by two unrelated chairs, stood in the open. The only human being making use of the alley besides the Professor, coming stalwart and erect from the opposite direction, checked his swinging pace suddenly.
`Hallo!' he said, and stood a little on one side watchfully68.
The Professor had already stopped, with a ready half turn which brought his shoulders very near the other wall. His right hand fell lightly on the back of the outcast couch, the left remained purposefully plunged69 deep in the trouser pocket, and the roundness of the heavy rimmed70 spectacles imparted an owlish character to his moody71, unperturbed face.
It was like a meeting in a side corridor of a mansion72 full of life. The stalwart man was buttoned up in a dark overcoat, and carried an umbrella. His hat, tilted73 back, uncovered a good deal of forehead, which appeared very white in the dusk. In the dark patches of the orbits the eyeballs glimmered piercingly. Long, drooping74 moustaches, the colour of ripe corn, framed with their points the square block of his shaved chin.
`I am not looking for you,' he said, curtly75.
The Professor did not stir an inch. The blended noises of the enormous town sank down to an inarticulate low murmur76. Chief Inspector77 Heat of the Special Crime Department changed his tone.
`Not in a hurry to get home?' he asked, with mocking simplicity78.
The unwholesome-looking little moral agent of destruction exulted79 silently in the possession of personal prestige, keeping in check this man armed with the defensive80 mandate81 of a menaced society. More fortunate than Caligula, who wished that the Roman Senate had only one head for the better satisfaction of his cruel lust82, he beheld83 in that one man all the forces he had set at defiance: the force of law, property, oppression, and injustice. He beheld all his enemies and fearlessly confronted them all in a supreme satisfaction of his vanity. They stood perplexed84 before him as if before a dreadful portent85. He gloated inwardly over the chance of this meeting affirming his superiority over all the multitude of mankind.
It was in reality a chance meeting. Chief Inspector Heat had had a disagreeably busy day since his department received the first telegram from Greenwich a little before eleven in the morning. First of all, the fact of the outrage86 being attempted less than a week after he had assured a high official that no outbreak of anarchist activity was to be apprehended87 was sufficiently88 annoying. If he ever thought himself safe in making a statement, it was then. He had made that statement with infinite satisfaction to himself, because it was clear that the high official desired greatly to hear that very thing. He had affirmed that nothing of the sort could even be thought of without the department being aware of it within twenty-four hours; and he had spoken thus in his consciousness of being the great expert of his department. He had gone even so far as to utter words which true wisdom would have kept back. But Chief Inspector Heat was not very wise - at least not truly so. True wisdom, which is not certain of anything in this world of contradictions, would have prevented him from attaining90 his present position. It would have alarmed his superiors, and done away with his chances of promotion91. His promotion had been very rapid.
`There isn't one of them, sir, that we couldn't lay our hands on at any time of night or day. We know what each of them is doing hour by hour,' he had declared. And the high official had deigned92 to smile. This was so obviously the right thing to say for an officer of Chief Inspector Heat's reputation that it was perfectly93 delightful94. The high official believed the declaration, which chimed in with his idea of the fitness of things. His wisdom was of an official kind, or else he might have reflected upon a matter not of theory but of experience that in the close- woven stuff of relations between the conspirator95 and police there occur unexpected solutions of continuity, sudden holes `in space and time. A given anarchist may be watched inch by inch and minute by minute, but a moment always comes when somehow all sight and touch of him are lost for a few hours, during which something (generally an explosion) more or less deplorable does happen. But the high official, carried away by his sense of fitness of things, had smiled, and now the recollection of that smile was very annoying to Chief Inspector Heat, principal expert in anarchist procedure.
This was not the only circumstance whose recollection depressed96 the usual' serenity97 of the eminent98 specialist. There was another dating back only to that very morning. The thought that when called urgently to his Assistant Commissioner99's private room he had been unable to conceal100 his astonishment101 was distinctly vexing102. His instinct of a successful man had taught him long ago that, as a general rule, a reputation is built on manner as much as on achievement. And he felt that his manner when confronted with the telegram had not been impressive. He had opened his eyes widely, and had exclaimed `Impossible!' exposing himself thereby103 to the unanswerable retort of a finger-tip laid forcibly on the telegram which the Assistant Commissioner, after reading it aloud, had flung on the desk. To be crushed, as it were, under the tip of a forefinger104 was an unpleasant experience. Very damaging, too! Furthermore, Chief Inspector Heat was conscious of not having mended matters by allowing himself to express a conviction.
`One thing I can tell you at once: none of our lot had anything to do with this.'
He was strong in his integrity of a good detective, but he saw now that an impenetrably attentive105 reserve towards this incident would have served his reputation better. On the other hand, he admitted to himself that it was difficult to preserve one's reputation if rank outsiders were going to take a hand in the business. Outsiders are the bane of the police as of other professions. The tone of the Assistant Commissioner's remarks had been sour enough to set one's teeth on edge.
And since breakfast Chief Inspector Heat had not managed to get anything to eat.
Starting immediately to begin his investigation107 on the spot, he had swallowed a good deal of raw, unwholesome fog in the park. Then he had walked over to the hospital; and when the investigation in Greenwich was concluded at last he had lost his inclination108 for food. Not accustomed, as the doctors are, to examine closely the mangled109 remains110 of human beings, he had been shocked by the sight disclosed to his view when a waterproof111 sheet had been lifted off a table in a certain apartment of the hospital.
Another waterproof sheet was spread over that table in the manner of a tablecloth112 with the corners turned up over a sort of mound113 - a heap of rags, scorched114 and bloodstained, half concealing115 what might have been an accumulation of raw material for a cannibal feast. It required considerable firmness of mind not to recoil116 before that sight. Chief Inspector Heat, an efficient officer of his department, stood his ground, but for a whole minute he did not advance. A local constable117 in uniform cast a sidelong glance, and said with stolid118 simplicity:
`He's all there. Every bit of him. It was a job.'
He had been the first man on the spot after the explosion. He mentioned the fact again. He had seen something like a heavy flash of lightning in the fog. At that time he was standing119 at the door of the King William Street Lodge120 talking to the keeper. The concussion121 made him tingle122 all over. He ran between the trees towards the Observatory123. `As fast as my legs would carry me,' he repeated twice.
Chief Inspector Heat, bending forward over the table in a gingerly and horrified124 manner, let him run on. The hospital porter and another man turned down the corners of the cloth, and stepped aside. The Chief Inspector's eyes searched the gruesome detail of that heap of mixed things, which seemed to have been collected in shambles125 and rag shops.
`You used a shovel,' he remarked, observing a sprinkling of small gravel126, tiny brown bits of bark, and particles of splintered wood as fine as needles.
`Had to in one place,' said the stolid constable. `I sent a keeper to fetch a spade. When he heard me scraping the ground with it he leaned his forehead against a tree, and was as sick as a dog.'
The Chief Inspector, stooping guardedly over the table, fought down the unpleasant sensation in his throat. The shattering violence of destruction which had made of that body a heap of nameless fragments affected his feelings with a sense of ruthless cruelty, though his reason told him the effect must have been as swift as a flash of lightning. The man, whoever he was, had died instantaneously; and yet it seemed impossible to believe that a human body could have reached that state of disintegration127 without passing through the pangs128 of inconceivable agony. No physiologist129, and still less of a metaphysician, Chief Inspector Heat rose by the force of sympathy, which is a form of fear, above the vulgar conception of time. Instantaneous! He remembered all he had ever read in popular publications of long and terrifying dreams dreamed in the instant of waking; of the whole past life lived with frightful130 intensity131 by a drowning man as his doomed132 head bobs up, screaming, for the last time. The inexplicable133 mysteries of conscious existence beset134 Chief Inspector Heat till he evolved a horrible notion that ages of atrocious pain and mental torture could be contained between two successive winks135 of an eye. And meantime the Chief Inspector went on peering at the table with a calm face and the slightly anxious attention of an indigent136 customer bending over what may be called the by-products of a butcher's shop with a view to an inexpensive Sunday dinner. All the time his trained faculties137 of an excellent investigator138, who scorns no chance of information, followed the self-satisfied, disjointed loquacity139 of the constable.
`A fair-haired fellow,' the last observed in a placid140 tone, and paused. `The old woman who spoke89 to the sergeant141 noticed a fair-haired fellow coming out of Maze142 Hill Station.' He paused. `And he was a fair-haired fellow. She noticed two men coming out of the station after the uptrain had gone on,' he continued, slowly. `She couldn't tell if they were together. She took no particular notice of the big one, but the other was a fair, slight chap, carrying a tin varnish143 can in one hand.' The constable ceased.
`Know the woman?' muttered the Chief Inspector, with his eyes fixed144 on the table, and a vague notion in his mind of an inquest to be held presently upon a person likely to remain for ever unknown.
`Yes. She's housekeeper145 to a retired146 publican, and attends the chapel147 in Park Place sometimes,' the constable uttered weightily, and paused, with another oblique148 glance at the table. Then suddenly: `Well, here he is - all of him I could see. Fair. Slight - slight enough. Look at that foot there. I picked up the legs first, one after another. He was that scattered149 you didn't know where to'
The constable paused; the least flicker150 of an innocent, self-laudatory smile invested his round face with an infantile expression.
`Stumbled,' he announced, positively151. `I stumbled once myself, and pitched on my head, too, while running up. Them roots do stick out all about the place. Stumbled against the root of a tree and fell, and that thing he was carrying must have gone off right under his chest, I expect.'
The echo of the words `Persons unknown' repeating itself in his inner consciousness bothered the Chief Inspector considerably152. He would have liked to trace this affair back to its mysterious origin for his own information. He was professionally curious. Before the public he would have liked to vindicate153 the efficiency of his department by establishing the identity of that man. He was a loyal servant. That, however, appeared impossible. The first term of the problem was unreadable - lacked all suggestion but that of atrocious cruelty.
Overcoming his physical repugnance154, Chief Inspector Heat stretched out his hand without conviction for the salving of his conscience, and took up the least soiled of the rags. It was a narrow strip of velvet155 with a larger triangular156 piece of dark blue cloth hanging from it. He held it up to his eyes; and the police constable spoke.
`Velvet collar. Funny the old woman should have noticed the velvet collar. Dark blue overcoat with a velvet collar, she has told us. He was the chap she saw, and no mistake. And here he is all complete, velvet collar and all. I don't think I missed a single piece as big as a postage stamp.'
At this point the trained faculties of the Chief Inspector ceased to hear the voice of the constable. He moved to one of the windows for better light. His face, averted157 from the room, expressed a startled, intense interest while he examined closely the triangular piece of broadcloth. By a sudden jerk he detached it, and only after stuffing it into his pocket turned round to the room, and flung the velvet collar back on the table.
`Cover up,' he directed the attendants, curtly, without another look, and, saluted158 by the constable, carried off his spoil hastily.
A convenient train whirled him up to town, alone and pondering deeply, in a third-class compartment159. That singed160 piece of cloth was incredibly valuable, and he could not defend himself from astonishment at the casual manner it had come into his possession. It was as if Fate had thrust that clue into his hands. And after the manner of the average man, whose ambition is to command events, he began to mistrust such a gratuitous161 and accidental success - just because it seemed forced upon him. The practical value of success depends not a little on the way you look at it. But Fate looks at nothing. It has no discretion162. He no longer considered it eminently163 desirable all round to establish publicly the identity of the man who had blown himself up that morning with such horrible completeness. But he was not certain of the view his department would take. A department is to those it employs a complex personality with ideas and even fads164 of its own. It depends on the loyal devotion of its servants, and the devoted165 loyalty166 of trusted servants is associated with a certain amount of affectionate contempt, which keeps it sweet, as it were. By a benevolent167 provision of Nature no man is a hero to his valet, or else the heroes would have to brush their own clothes. Likewise no department appears perfectly wise to the intimacy168 of its workers. A department does not know so much as some of its servants. Being a dispassionate organism, it can never be perfectly informed. It would not be good for its efficiency to know too much. Chief Inspector Heat got out of the train in a state of thoughtfulness entirely169 untainted with disloyalty, but not quite free of that jealous mistrust which so often springs on the ground of perfect devotion, whether to women or to institutions.
It was in this mental disposition171, physically172 very empty, but still nauseated173 by what he had seen, that he had come upon the Professor. Under these conditions which make for irascibility in a sound, normal man, this meeting was specially175 unwelcome to Chief Inspector Heat. He had not been thinking of the Professor; he had not been thinking of any individual anarchist at all. The complexion176 of that case had somehow forced upon him the general idea of the absurdity177 of things human, which in the abstract is sufficiently annoying to an unphilosophical temperament, and in concrete instances becomes exasperating178 beyond endurance. At the beginning of his career Chief Inspector Heat had been concerned with the more energetic forms of thieving. He had gained his spurs in that sphere, and naturally enough had kept for it, after his promotion to another department, a feeling not very far removed from affection. Thieving was not a sheer absurdity. It was a form of human industry, perverse179 indeed, but still an industry exercised in an industrious world; it was work undertaken for the same reason as the work in potteries180, in coal mines, in fields, in tool-grinding shops. It was labour, whose practical difference from the other forms of labour consisted in the nature of its risk, which did not lie in ankylosis, or lead poisoning, or fire-damp, or gritty dust, but in what may be briefly181 defined in its own special phraseology as `Seven years' hard'. Chief Inspector Heat was, of course, not insensible to the gravity of moral differences. But neither were the thieves he had been looking after. They submitted to the severe sanction of a morality familiar to Chief Inspector Heat with a certain resignation. They were his fellow citizens gone wrong because of imperfect education, Chief Inspector Heat believed; but allowing for that difference, he could understand the mind of a burglar, because, as a matter of fact, the mind and the instincts of a burglar are of the same kind as the mind and the instincts of a police officer. Both recognize the same conventions, and have a working knowledge of each other's methods and of the routine of their respective trades. They understand each other, which is advantageous182 to both, and establishes a sort of amenity183 in their relations. Products of the same machine, one classed as useful and the other as noxious184, they take the machine for granted in different ways, but with a seriousness essentially185 the same. The mind of Chief Inspector Heat was inaccessible186 to ideas of revolt. But his thieves were not rebels. His bodily vigour187, his cool, inflexible188 manner, his courage, and his fairness, had secured for him much respect and some adulation in the sphere of his early successes. He had felt himself revered189 and admired. And Chief Inspector Heat, arrested within six paces of the anarchist nicknamed the Professor, gave a thought of regret to the world of thieves - sane, without morbid190 ideals, working by routine, respectful of constituted authorities, free from all taint170 of hate and despair.
After paying this tribute to what is normal in the constitution of society (for the idea of thieving appeared to his instinct as normal as the idea of property), Chief Inspector Heat felt very angry with himself for having stopped, for having spoken, for having taken that way at all on the ground of it being a short cut from the station to the headquarters..And he spoke again in his big, authoritative191 voice, which, being moderated, had a threatening character.
`You are not wanted, I tell you,' he repeated.
The anarchist did not stir. An inward laugh of derision uncovered not only his teeth but his gums as well, shook him all over, without the slightest sound. Chief Inspector Heat was led to add, against his better judgement:
`Not yet. When I want you I will know where to find you.'
Those were perfectly proper words, within the tradition and suitable to his character of a police officer addressing one of his special flock. But the reception they got departed from tradition and propriety192. It was outrageous193. The stunted, weakly figure before him spoke at last.
`I've no doubt the papers would give you an obituary194 notice then. You know best what that would be worth to you. I should think you can imagine easily the sort of stuff that would be printed. But you may be exposed to the unpleasantness of being buried together with me, though I suppose your friends would make an effort to sort us out as much as possible.'
With all his healthy contempt for the spirit dictating195 such speeches, the atrocious allusiveness196 of the words had its effect on Chief Inspector Heat. He had too much insight, and too much exact information as well, to dismiss them as rot. The dusk of this narrow lane took on a sinister tint197 from the dark, frail198 little figure, its back to the wall, and speaking with a weak, self- confident voice. To the vigorous, tenacious199 vitality200 of the Chief Inspector, the physical wretchedness of that being, so obviously not fit to live, was ominous201; for it seemed to him that if he had the misfortune to be such a miserable object he would not have cared how soon he died. Life had such a strong hold upon him that a fresh wave of nausea174 broke out in slight perspiration202 upon his brow. The murmur of town life, the subdued203 rumble204 of wheels in the two invisible streets to the right and left, came through the curve of the sordid205 lane to his ears with a precious familiarity and an appealing sweetness. He was human. But Chief Inspector Heat was also a man, and he could not let such words pass.
`All this is good to frighten children with,' he said. `I'll have you yet.'
It was very well said, without scorn, with an almost austere206 quietness.
`Doubtless,' was the answer; `but there's no time like the present, believe me. For a man of real convictions this is a fine opportunity of self-sacrifice. You may not find another so favourable207, so humane208. There isn't even a cat hear us, and these condemned209 old houses would make a good heap of bricks where you stand. You'll never get me at so little cost to life and property, which you are paid to protect.'
`You don't know who you're speaking to,' said Chief Inspector Heat, firmly. `If I were to lay my hands on you now I would be no better than yourself.'
`Ah! The game!'
`You may be sure our side will win in the end. It may yet be necessary to make people believe that some of you ought to be shot at sight like mad dogs. Then that will be the game. But I'll be damned if I know what yours is. I don't believe you know yourselves. You'll never get anything by it.'
`Meantime, it's you who get something from it - so far. And you get it easily, too. I won't speak of your salary, but haven't you made your name simply by not understanding what we are after?'
`What are you after, then?' asked Chief Inspector Heat, with scornful haste, like a man in a hurry who perceives he is wasting his time.
The perfect anarchist answered by a smile which did not part his thin, colourless lips; and the celebrated210 Chief Inspector felt a sense of superiority which induced him to raise a warning finger.
`Give it up - whatever it is,' he said in an admonishing211 tone, but not so kindly212 as if he were condescending213 to give good advice to a cracksman of repute. `Give it up. You'll find we are too many for you.
The fixed smile on the Professor's lips wavered, as if the mocking spirit within had lost its assurance. Chief Inspector Heat went on:
`Don't you believe me - eh? Well, you've only got to look about you. We are. And anyway, you're not doing it well. You're always making a mess of it. Why, if the thieves didn't know their work better they would starve.'
The hint of an invincible214 multitude behind that man's back roused a sombre indignation in the breast of the Professor. He smiled no longer his enigmatic and mocking smile. The resisting power of numbers, the unattackable stolidity215 of a great multitude, was the haunting fear of his sinister loneliness. His lips trembled for some time before he managed to say in a strangled voice:
`I am doing my work better than you're doing yours.'
`That'll do now,' interrupted Chief Inspector Heat, hurriedly; and the Professor laughed right out this time. While still laughing he moved on; but he did not laugh long. It was a sad-faced, miserable little man who emerged from the narrow passage into the bustle216 of the broad thoroughfare. He walked with the nerveless gait of a tramp going on, still going on, indifferent to rain or sun in a sinister detachment from the aspects of sky and earth. Chief Inspector Heat, on the other hand, after watching him for a while, stepped out with the purposeful briskness217 of a man disregarding indeed the inclemencies of the weather, but conscious of having an authorized218 mission on this earth and the moral support of his kind. All the inhabitants of the immense town, the population of the whole country, and even the teeming219 millions struggling upon the planet, were with him - down to the very thieves and mendicants. Yes, the thieves themselves were sure to be with him in his present work. The consciousness of universal support in his general activity heartened him to grapple with the particular problem.
The problem immediately before the Chief Inspector was that of managing the Assistant Commissioner of his department, his immediate106 superior. This is the perennial220 problem of trusty and loyal servants; anarchism gave it its particular complexion, but nothing more. Truth to say, Chief Inspector Heat thought but little of anarchism. He did not attach undue221 importance to it, and could never bring himself to consider it seriously. It had more the character of disorderly conduct; disorderly without the human excuse of drunkenness, which at any rate implies good feeling and an amiable222 leaning towards festivity. As criminals, anarchists223 were distinctly no class - no class at all. And recalling the Professor, Chief Inspector Heat, without checking his swinging pace, muttered through his teeth:
`Lunatic.'
Catching thieves was another matter altogether. It had that quality of seriousness belonging to every form of open sport where the best man wins under perfectly comprehensible rules. There were no rules for dealing224 with anarchists. And that was distasteful to the Chief Inspector. It was all foolishness, but that foolishness excited the public mind, affected persons in high places, and touched upon international relations. A hard, merciless contempt settled rigidly on the Chief Inspector's face as he walked on. His mind ran over all the anarchists of his flock. Not one of them had, half the spunk225 of this or that burglar he had known. Not half - not one tenth.
At headquarters the Chief Inspector was admitted at once to the Assistant Commissioner's private room. He found him pen in hand, bent226 over a great table bestrewn with papers, as if worshipping an enormous double inkstand of bronze and crystal. Speaking-tubes resembling snakes were tied by he heads to the back of the Assistant Commissioner's wooden armchair, and their gaping227 mouths seemed ready to bite his elbows. And in this attitude he raised only his eyes, whose lids were darker than his face and very much creased228. The reports had come in: every anarchist had been exactly accounted for.
After saying this he lowered his eyes, signed rapidly two single sheets of paper, and only then laid down his pen, and sat well back, directing an inquiring gaze at his renowned229 subordinate. The Chief Inspector stood it well, deferential230 but inscrutable.
`I daresay you were right,' said the Assistant Commissioner, `in telling me at first that the London anarchists had nothing to do with this. I quite appreciate the excellent watch kept on them by your men. On the other hand, this, for the public, does not amount to more than a confession231 of ignorance.'
The Assistant Commissioner's delivery was leisurely232, as it were cautious. His thought seemed to rest poised233 on a word before passing to another, as though words had been the stepping- stones for his intellect picking its way across the waters of error. `Unless you have brought something useful from Greenwich,' he added.
The Chief Inspector began at once the account of his investigation in a clear, matter-of-fact manner. His superior, turning his chair a little, and crossing his thin legs, leaned sideways on his elbow, with one hand shading his eyes. His listening attitude had a sort of angular and sorrowful grace. Gleams as of highly burnished234 silver played on the sides of his ebony-black head when he inclined it slowly at the end.
Chief Inspector Heat waited with the appearance of turning over in his mind all he had just said, but, as a matter of fact, considering the advisability of saying something more. The Assistant Commissioner cut his hesitation235 short.
`You believe there were two men?' he asked, without uncovering his eyes.
The Chief Inspector thought it more than probable. In his opinion, the two men had parted from each other within a hundred yards from the Observatory walls. He explained also how the other man could have got out of the park speedily without being observed. The fog, though not very dense236, was in his favour. He seemed to have escorted the other to the spot, and then to have left him there to do the job single-handed. Taking the time those two were seen coming out of Maze Hill Station by the old woman, and the time when the explosion was heard, the Chief Inspector thought that the other man might have been actually at the Greenwich Park Station, ready to catch the next train up, at the moment his comrade was destroying himself so thoroughly.
`Very thoroughly - eh?' murmured the Assistant Commissioner from under the shadow of his hand.
The Chief Inspector in a few vigorous words described the aspects of the remains. `The coroner's jury will have a treat,' he added, grimly.
The Assistant Commissioner uncovered his eyes.
`We shall have nothing to tell them,' he remarked, languidly.
He looked up, and for a time watched the markedly noncommittal attitude of his Chief Inspector. His nature was one that is not easily accessible to illusions. He knew that a department is at the mercy of its subordinate officers, who have their own conceptions of loyalty. His career had begun in a tropical colony. He had liked his work there. It was police work. He had been very successful in tracking and breaking up certain nefarious237 secret societies amongst the natives. Then he took his long leave, and got married rather impulsively238. It was a good match from a worldly point of view, but his wife formed an unfavourable opinion of the colonial climate on hearsay239 evidence. On the other hand, she had influential240 connections. It was an excellent match. But he did not like the work he had to do now. He felt himself dependent on too many subordinates and too many masters. The near presence of that strange emotional phenomenon called public opinion weighed upon his spirits, and alarmed him by its irrational241 nature. No doubt that from ignorance he exaggerated to himself its power for good and evil - especially for evil; and the rough east winds of the English spring (which agreed with his wife) augmented242 his general mistrust of men's motives243 and of the efficiency of their organization. The futility244 of office work especially appalled245 him on those days so trying to his sensitive liver.
He got up, unfolding himself to his full height, and with a heaviness of step remarkable246 in so slender a man, moved across the room to the window. The panes247 streamed with rain, and the short street he looked down into lay wet and empty, as if swept clear suddenly by a great flood. It was a very trying day, choked in raw fog to begin with, and now drowned in cold rain. The flickering248, blurred249 flames of gas-lamps seemed to be dissolving in a watery250 atmosphere. And the lofty pretensions251 of a mankind oppressed by the miserable indignities252 of the weather appeared as a colossal253 and hopeless vanity deserving of scorn, wonder, and compassion254.
`Horrible, horrible!' thought the Assistant Commissioner to himself, with his face near the window-pane. `We have been having this sort of thing now for ten days; no, a fortnight - a fortnight.' He ceased to think completely for a time. That utter stillness of his brain lasted about three seconds. Then he said, perfunctorily: `You have set inquiries255 on foot for tracing that other man up and down the line?'
He had no doubt that everything needful had been done. Chief Inspector Heat knew, of course, thoroughly the business of manhunting. And these were the routine steps, too, that would be taken as a matter of course by the merest beginner. A few inquiries amongst the ticket collectors and the porters of the two small railway stations would give additional details as to the appearance of the two men; the inspection256 of the collected tickets would show at once where they came from that morning. It was elementary, and could not have been neglected. Accordingly, the Chief Inspector answered that all this had been done directly the old woman had come forward with her deposition257. And he mentioned the name of a station. `That's where they came from, sir,' he went on. `The porter who took the tickets at Maze Hill remembers two chaps answering to the description passing the barrier. They seemed to him two respectable working-men of a superior sort - sign painters or house decorators. The big man got out of a third-class compartment backward, with a bright tin can in his hand. On the platform he gave it to carry to the fair young fellow who followed him. All this agrees exactly with what the old woman told the police sergeant in Greenwich.'
The Assistant Commissioner, still with his face turned to the window, expressed his doubt as to these two men having had anything to do with the outrage. All this theory rested upon the utterances258 of an old charwoman who had been nearly knocked down by a man in a hurry. Not a very substantial authority indeed, unless on the ground of sudden inspiration, which was hardly tenable.
`Frankly now, could she have been really inspired?' he queried259, with grave irony260, keeping his back to the room, as if entranced by the contemplation of the town's colossal forms half lost in the night. He did not even look round when he heard the mutter of the word `Providential' from the principal subordinate of his department, whose name, printed sometimes in the papers, was familiar to the great public as that of one of its zealous261 and hard-working protectors. Chief Inspector Heat raised his voice a little.
`Strips and bits of bright tin were quite visible to me,' he said. `That's a pretty good corroboration262.'
`And these men came from that little country station,' the Assistant Commissioner mused263 aloud, wondering. He was told that such was the name on two tickets out of three given up out of that train at Maze Hill. The third person who got out was a hawker from Gravesend well known to the porters. The Chief Inspector imparted that information in a tone of finality with some ill humour, as loyal servants will do in the consciousness of their fidelity264 and with the sense of the value of their loyal exertions265. And still the Assistant Commissioner did not turn away from the darkness outside, as vast as a sea.
`Two foreign anarchists coming from that place,' he said, apparently266 to the window-pane. `It's rather unaccountable.'
`Yes, sir. But it would be still more unaccountable if that Michaelis weren't staying in a cottage in the neighbourhood.'
At the sound of that name, falling unexpectedly into this annoying affair, the Assistant Commissioner dismissed brusquely the vague remembrance of his daily whist party at his club. It was the most comforting habit of his life, in a mainly successful display of his skill without the assistance of any subordinate. He entered his club to play from five to seven, before going home to dinner, forgetting for those two hours whatever was distasteful in his life, as though the game were a beneficent drug for allaying267 the pangs of moral discontent. His partners were the gloomily humorous editor of a celebrated magazine; a silent, elderly barrister with malicious268 little eyes; and a highly martial269, simple-minded old Colonel with nervous brown hands. They were his club acquaintances merely. He never met them elsewhere except at the card-table. But they all seemed to approach the game in the spirit of co-sufferers, as if it were indeed a drug against the secret ills of existence; and every day as the sun declined over the countless270 roofs of the town, a mellow271, pleasurable impatience272, resembling the impulse of a sure and profound friendship, lightened his professional labours. And now this pleasurable sensation went out of him with something resembling a physical shock and was replaced by a special kind of interest in his work of social protection - an improper273 sort of interest, which may be defined best as a sudden and alert mistrust of the weapon in his hand.
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rigidly
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| adv.刻板地，僵化地 | |
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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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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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stunted
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| adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的 | |
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stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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edifice
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| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
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injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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affluence
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| n.充裕，富足 | |
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ascetic
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| adj.禁欲的；严肃的 | |
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astounding
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| adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
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attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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tact
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| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
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enthusiast
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| n.热心人，热衷者 | |
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itinerant
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| adj.巡回的；流动的 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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sect
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| n.派别，宗教，学派，派系 | |
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supremely
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| adv.无上地，崇高地 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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frenzied
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| a.激怒的；疯狂的 | |
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secularly
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| 现世的，俗界的； 长期的，长久的； 不朽的； 一世纪一次的 | |
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thwarted
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| 阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过 | |
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corrupt
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| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
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blasphemous
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| adj.亵渎神明的，不敬神的 | |
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justifiable
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| adj.有理由的，无可非议的 | |
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creeds
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| （尤指宗教）信条，教条( creed的名词复数 ) | |
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absolved
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| 宣告…无罪，赦免…的罪行，宽恕…的罪行( absolve的过去式和过去分词 )； 不受责难，免除责任 [义务] ,开脱（罪责） | |
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pedantic
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| adj.卖弄学问的；迂腐的 | |
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fanaticism
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| n.狂热，盲信 | |
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subconscious
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| n./adj.潜意识(的)，下意识(的) | |
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defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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pacified
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| 使（某人）安静( pacify的过去式和过去分词 )； 息怒； 抚慰； 在（有战争的地区、国家等）实现和平 | |
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ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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soothed
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| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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appeased
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| 安抚，抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争） | |
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41
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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43
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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thronged
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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swarmed
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| 密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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48
locusts
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| n.蝗虫( locust的名词复数 )；贪吃的人；破坏者；槐树 | |
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industrious
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| adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的 | |
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50
impervious
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| adj.不能渗透的，不能穿过的，不易伤害的 | |
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51
logic
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| n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性 | |
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52
sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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53
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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54
fortifies
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| 筑防御工事于( fortify的第三人称单数 )； 筑堡于； 增强； 强化（食品） | |
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55
exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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56
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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anarchist
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| n.无政府主义者 | |
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58
populous
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| adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的 | |
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59
alley
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| n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路 | |
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60
moribund
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| adj.即将结束的，垂死的 | |
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incurable
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| adj.不能医治的，不能矫正的，无救的；n.不治的病人，无救的人 | |
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demolition
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| n.破坏,毁坏,毁坏之遗迹 | |
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cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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dealer
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| n.商人，贩子 | |
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winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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66
tangle
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| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
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glimmered
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| v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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watchfully
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| 警惕地，留心地 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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rimmed
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| adj.有边缘的，有框的v.沿…边缘滚动；给…镶边 | |
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moody
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| adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的 | |
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mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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curtly
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| adv.简短地 | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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exulted
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| 狂喜，欢跃( exult的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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defensive
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| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
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81
mandate
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| n.托管地；命令，指示 | |
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lust
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| n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望 | |
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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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perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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portent
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| n.预兆；恶兆；怪事 | |
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outrage
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| n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒 | |
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apprehended
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| 逮捕，拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 )； 理解 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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spoke
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| 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 | |
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attaining
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的现在分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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promotion
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| n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传 | |
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deigned
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| v.屈尊，俯就( deign的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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conspirator
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| n.阴谋者，谋叛者 | |
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depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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serenity
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| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
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eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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commissioner
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| n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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vexing
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| adj.使人烦恼的，使人恼火的v.使烦恼( vex的现在分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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forefinger
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| n.食指 | |
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attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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109
mangled
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| vt.乱砍（mangle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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110
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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111
waterproof
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| n.防水材料；adj.防水的；v.使...能防水 | |
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112
tablecloth
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| n.桌布，台布 | |
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113
mound
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| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
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114
scorched
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| 烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦 | |
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115
concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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116
recoil
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| vi.退却，退缩，畏缩 | |
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117
constable
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| n.(英国)警察，警官 | |
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118
stolid
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| adj.无动于衷的，感情麻木的 | |
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119
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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120
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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121
concussion
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| n.脑震荡；震动 | |
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122
tingle
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| vi.感到刺痛，感到激动；n.刺痛，激动 | |
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123
observatory
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| n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台 | |
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124
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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125
shambles
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| n.混乱之处；废墟 | |
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126
gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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127
disintegration
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| n.分散，解体 | |
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128
pangs
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| 突然的剧痛( pang的名词复数 )； 悲痛 | |
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129
physiologist
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| n.生理学家 | |
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130
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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131
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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132
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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133
inexplicable
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| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
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134
beset
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| v.镶嵌；困扰，包围 | |
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135
winks
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| v.使眼色( wink的第三人称单数 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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136
indigent
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| adj.贫穷的，贫困的 | |
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137
faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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138
investigator
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| n.研究者，调查者，审查者 | |
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139
loquacity
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| n.多话，饶舌 | |
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140
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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141
sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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142
maze
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| n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑 | |
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143
varnish
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| n.清漆；v.上清漆；粉饰 | |
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144
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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145
housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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146
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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147
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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148
oblique
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| adj.斜的，倾斜的，无诚意的，不坦率的 | |
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149
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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150
flicker
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| vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现 | |
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151
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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152
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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153
vindicate
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| v.为…辩护或辩解，辩明；证明…正确 | |
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154
repugnance
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| n.嫌恶 | |
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155
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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156
triangular
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| adj.三角（形）的，三者间的 | |
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157
averted
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| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
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158
saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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159
compartment
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| n.卧车包房，隔间；分隔的空间 | |
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160
singed
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| v.浅表烧焦( singe的过去式和过去分词 )；（毛发）燎，烧焦尖端[边儿] | |
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161
gratuitous
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| adj.无偿的，免费的；无缘无故的，不必要的 | |
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162
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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163
eminently
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| adv.突出地；显著地；不寻常地 | |
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164
fads
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| n.一时的流行，一时的风尚( fad的名词复数 ) | |
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165
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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166
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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167
benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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168
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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169
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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170
taint
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| n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染 | |
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171
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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172
physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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173
nauseated
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| adj.作呕的，厌恶的v.使恶心，作呕( nauseate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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174
nausea
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| n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶) | |
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175
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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176
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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177
absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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178
exasperating
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| adj. 激怒的 动词exasperate的现在分词形式 | |
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179
perverse
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| adj.刚愎的；坚持错误的，行为反常的 | |
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180
potteries
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| n.陶器( pottery的名词复数 )；陶器厂；陶土；陶器制造（术） | |
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181
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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182
advantageous
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| adj.有利的；有帮助的 | |
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183
amenity
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| n.pl.生活福利设施，文娱康乐场所；（不可数）愉快，适意 | |
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184
noxious
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| adj.有害的，有毒的；使道德败坏的，讨厌的 | |
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185
essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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186
inaccessible
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| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
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187
vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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188
inflexible
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| adj.不可改变的，不受影响的，不屈服的 | |
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189
revered
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| v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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190
morbid
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| adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的 | |
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191
authoritative
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| adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的 | |
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192
propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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193
outrageous
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| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
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194
obituary
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| n.讣告，死亡公告；adj.死亡的 | |
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195
dictating
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| v.大声讲或读( dictate的现在分词 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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196
allusiveness
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197
tint
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| n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色 | |
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198
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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199
tenacious
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| adj.顽强的，固执的，记忆力强的，粘的 | |
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200
vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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201
ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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202
perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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203
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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204
rumble
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| n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说 | |
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205
sordid
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| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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206
austere
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| adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的 | |
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207
favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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208
humane
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| adj.人道的，富有同情心的 | |
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209
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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210
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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211
admonishing
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| v.劝告( admonish的现在分词 )；训诫；（温和地）责备；轻责 | |
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212
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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213
condescending
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| adj.谦逊的,故意屈尊的 | |
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214
invincible
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| adj.不可征服的，难以制服的 | |
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215
stolidity
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| n.迟钝，感觉麻木 | |
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216
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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217
briskness
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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218
authorized
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| a.委任的，许可的 | |
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219
teeming
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| adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注 | |
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220
perennial
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| adj.终年的；长久的 | |
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221
undue
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| adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的 | |
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222
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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223
anarchists
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| 无政府主义者( anarchist的名词复数 ) | |
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224
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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225
spunk
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| n.勇气，胆量 | |
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226
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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227
gaping
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| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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228
creased
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| （使…）起折痕，弄皱( crease的过去式和过去分词 )； （皮肤）皱起，使起皱纹； 皱皱巴巴 | |
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229
renowned
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| adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的 | |
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230
deferential
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| adj. 敬意的，恭敬的 | |
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231
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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232
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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233
poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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234
burnished
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|
| adj.抛光的，光亮的v.擦亮（金属等），磨光( burnish的过去式和过去分词 )；被擦亮，磨光 | |
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235
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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236
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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237
nefarious
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| adj.恶毒的，极坏的 | |
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238
impulsively
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| adv.冲动地 | |
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239
hearsay
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| n.谣传，风闻 | |
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240
influential
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| adj.有影响的，有权势的 | |
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irrational
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| adj.无理性的，失去理性的 | |
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Augmented
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| adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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futility
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| n.无用 | |
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appalled
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| 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 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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panes
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| 窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 ) | |
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flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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blurred
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| v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离 | |
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watery
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| adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的 | |
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pretensions
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| 自称( pretension的名词复数 )； 自命不凡； 要求； 权力 | |
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indignities
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| n.侮辱，轻蔑( indignity的名词复数 ) | |
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colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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deposition
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| n.免职，罢官；作证；沉淀；沉淀物 | |
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utterances
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| n.发声( utterance的名词复数 )；说话方式；语调；言论 | |
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queried
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| v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问 | |
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irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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zealous
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| adj.狂热的，热心的 | |
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corroboration
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| n.进一步的证实，进一步的证据 | |
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mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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fidelity
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| n.忠诚，忠实；精确 | |
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exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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allaying
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| v.减轻，缓和( allay的现在分词 ) | |
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malicious
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| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
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martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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mellow
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| adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟 | |
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impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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improper
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| adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的 | |
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