BENEATH the golden Dome1 of Justice, directly under the blood-red bell, where looking downward they saw the latter’s crimson2 reflection as in a pool of milk, stood the three prisoners. That Viola was there had been the result of pleadings so passionate3 that even Mercy the pitiless and Virtue4 the gross were moved to grant them.
As to why any of them were there, however, or what the queer sentence of that still queerer judge might actually imply, they were yet ignorant.
This was their own world to which the white moon gate of Ulithia had returned them; and yet in some dreadful manner they had been betrayed. Some mighty5 change had taken place during their brief absence. How brief had that absence been?
Beneath the bell, Drayton and his companions had at least a few moments alone together. Their isolation6 offered no chance of escape. The three doors of the great chamber7 were shut and locked, while across the old patrol entrance at the west a grate of heavy golden bars had been lowered.
“Viola, my dear,” said Trenmore, “my heart aches for you! Whatever this ‘Pit’ of theirs may be, they’ve not condemned8 you to it along with us. I fear ’tis for an ill reason that they have spared you. My own folly9 and violence have brought me where I can no longer protect you, little sister; but for all you’re so young and—and little—you’re a Trenmore, Viola. You know what to do when I’m gone? Oh, must I tear out my very heart to be telling you?”
Viola shook her head, smiling bravely.
“I’ll never shame you, Terry. When you go, dear, life will be a small thing that I’ll not mind to be losing. And, Terry, I’ve a thought that this world we’ve come back to is our world no longer. We’ve no more place here than we had in Ulithia.”
Drayton started slightly.
“Then you believe—”
“You must end this now,” broke in a languid voice. Mr. Mercy had come up behind them unawares. Back of him appeared the figures of four other men, apparently10 convicts. They were dressed in loose, ill-fitting costumes, yellow in color and barred with broad black stripes. Their ugly heads were close cropped; their faces stupid and bestially11 cruel.
“Awfully sorry to interrupt,” continued Mercy, fanning himself lazily with a folded newspaper he carried. “But we can’t keep the Pit Guard waiting forever, you know. Don’t cry, little one! I’ll look after you.”
Viola turned upon him with flashing, tearless eyes. When roused her temper was as tempestuous12 as her brother’s .
“You insignificant13 rat of a man!” she stormed fiercely. “Do you believe I would have endured the sight of you even this long, were it not for my brother here, and Mr. Drayton? Do you believe I’ll remain alive one hour after they are gone?”
Mercy looked a trifle surprised.
“Do you know, my dear,” he drawled, “I think you’re devilish ungrateful! If Virtue and I were not so soft-hearted you wouldn’t be here now. Oh, well, I like a girl with a spark of temper about her. You’ll get over it. If you really wish to see the last of your heavyweight brother and his pal14, come along.”
Turning, he strolled off toward that mosaic15 emblem16, set in the northward17 pavement. The four convicts closed about the prisoners. A moment later, having escorted them a short distance in Mercy’s wake, the guard drew aside. The handcuffed prisoners now found themselves standing18 at the very edge of the mosaic.
The colored marbles, beautifully inlaid, represented a huge chained eagle, pierced with arrows, and reaching vainly with open beak19 after a flying dove in whose bill appeared the conventional olive branch. On a scroll20 beneath three words were inscribed21 in scarlet22 letters:
“Sic semper tyrannis.”
They were the words of Booth, when he bestowed23 the martyr’s crown upon Lincoln. “Thus ever to tyrants25!” Incidentally, they were also the motto of a State; but the State was Virginia, not Pennsylvania. What could be their meaning here? And where was this “Pit of the Past” into which the prisoners were to be thrown?
The last question was immediately answered. On the far side of the emblem, Virtue, Mercy and their attendant bluecoats had grouped themselves. Now Virtue stooped, clumsily because of his fat, and pressed a spatulate thumb upon the round eye of the mosaic dove.
Instantly the whole emblem began to sink. It seemed hinged on the base of the scroll. A moment later and there was just a hole in the pavement, shaped like the emblem, and up from which struck a strange, reddish glare.
Edging cautiously closer, Drayton peered downward. Viola and her brother joined him. They stood motionless, the ruddy light striking upward upon their shocked, fascinated faces.
What they saw was a straight-sided pit, some thirty-five feet in depth. From top to bottom the walls were lined with tiny, ruby-colored electric bulbs. At the very bottom sat a squat26 gigantic thing.
With shoulders and head thrown back, the face of it glared up at them. The mouth distended27 to an opening of some six feet across, was lined with sharp steel spikes28, slanting29 upward. The tongue was a keen, curved edge of steel. In its taloned30 hands the monster held two spears upright. A tail, also spiked31, reared itself at one side, and the narrow forehead bore two needle-pointed32 horns of steel.
So the space at the bottom of the Pit was filled. Anything falling there must of necessity be impaled—if not fatally, so much the worse for the thing.
Trenmore growled33 in his throat.
“For sure,” said he at last, “you murderers have gone to needless trouble! Why do you not cut our throats with your own hands? The deed would fit your natures!”
Virtue and Mercy only smiled complacently34.
“Sorry you aren’t amused,” drawled the latter gentleman. “This little joke was not invented for your special benefit. Do you know who that is down there?”
“The statue of the devil you worship!” hazarded Trenmore viciously.
“Oh, no indeed! Quite the contrary. The statue of the devil you worship, my bellicose35 friend. That is the God of War, and as he can no longer stride loose about the world, we have made it convenient for his devotees to drop in on him. In other words, break the Peace of Penn, and you’ll get more of war than you like. ‘Sic semper tyrannis!’ Any man who assaults another is a tyrant24 by intent, at least, so down you go.”
“It was your police who attacked me!” accused Trenmore hotly.
Mercy’s brows lifted.
“Was it? I had rather forgotten. That does spoil my parable36, eh? But we shan’t let it interfere37 with your invaluable38 opportunity to worship the God of War.”
“Do you actually throw people—living people—into that vile39 trap?” Drayton’s voice was incredulous. So theatrical40, so tawdry seemed this Pit of theirs: like a stage dragon at which one may shudder41, but not sincerely.
“We most assuredly do,” smiled Virtue. He continued speaking, but his words were drowned and rendered indistinguishable by a great rattling42 roar, which seemed to rise from the open Pit itself. The prisoners instinctively43 sprang back from the edge.
There was nothing vocal44 in the noise, but if a bronze demon45 like that below should start into hungry life, just such a mechanical, reverberating46 roar might issue from its resounding47 throat.
The sound died away. “What was that?” demanded Trenmore sharply.
Mercy laughed.
“The subway, of course. The trains pass under the Temple foundations. You are the most curiously48 ignorant crooks49 that were ever brought in here. Where have you been living?”
Virtue glanced at his watch. “Mercy, if you are interested in their histories, would you mind obtaining them from the young lady later on? I’m due at a banquet in half an hour and I’m not dressed.”
“Go ahead,” shrugged50 Mercy. “We can finish without you.”
Frowning, the judge shook his head. “His Supremity demands regularity51 in these affairs, and you know very well that the presence of the condemning52 judge is required here.” Then he added in a lower tone, which nevertheless carried across the Pit, “I tell you frankly53, Mercy, that he didn’t like that business last week. You are growing too careless of his opinion, my dear fellow.”
“Oh, he’s an old—Hello; there comes Lovely. Now we shall have to hold the execution till she has looked the prisoners over. If we don’t, she’ll be deeply offended.”
“A lot I care,” muttered Virtue. Nevertheless, he lowered his hand, raised as if in direction to the guard.
A woman was approaching from the doorway54 beyond the open Pit. Tall, slender, a striking blonde in hair and complexion55, she was dressed in an evening gown of soft, droopy lines, sea-green and deeply slitted to show slender limbs clad in pale gold.
At first glance and at a distance, Drayton fancied that “Lovely” well deserved her name. But as she drew near two facts became painfully apparent. The color in her cheeks was not the kind limited by nature, and her golden hair, waved back under a jade-green net, was of that suspicious straw gold, easily bought but very seldom grown. Her features, however, were regular and clean-cut, and her eyes really beautiful. They were large, well-shaped, and almost the very green of her gown.
Smiling sweetly upon Mr. Virtue, the lady extended her hand to Mr. Mercy, and afterward56 swept the prisoners across the Pit with a cold, indifferent gaze. When it rested upon Trenmore, however, her expression changed. A sudden light leaped into the sea-green eyes. The pupils expanded darkly.
“What a perfectly57 gorgeous giant, Virty!” she exclaimed, turning to the judge. “Where on earth did you get him? Surely, you were not about to waste that on the Pit?”
“Why not?” His Honor bestowed another covert58, annoyed glance upon his watch.
“He has already beaten up four of our blue boys,” laughed Mercy.
“Indeed? How so?”
Mercy related the incident briefly59, giving Trenmore full credit and even exaggerating his feats60 for narrative61 effect. The lady laughed, a silvery peal62 of light-hearted merriment.
“And you meant to throw all that away in the Pit! How extravagant63 you boys are. It’s fortunate I came out here. Now, what I should like to know is this. Why hasn’t at least that one,” she pointed at Trenmore, “taken condemned right and entered for the contests day after to-morrow? Why didn’t you, Number-Number, whatever your number may be?”
Trenmore eyed her, frowning.
“Madam, I can’t so much as guess at your meaning. If there’s some way out of this murderous business for my sister, my friend and myself, we’d take it more than kindly64 if you’ll explain.”
“Lovely,” Virtue protested, snapping shut his watch, “I really must leave here immediately.”
“Just a minute,” she flung him, and called across to Trenmore. “You must know the laws!”
Believing that their fate hung in a delicate balance, Drayton intervened.
“We are strangers here. They haven’t allowed us to speak or defend ourselves, but we certainly do not understand the laws, and we have not offended intentionally65.”
“Strangers! Strangers in Philadelphia?”
“Certainly. This gentleman only recently arrived from Ireland; his sister has spent the last few years in the West, and I myself am from Cincinnati.”
The woman shook her head, looking more puzzled than before.
“Those names mean nothing. If you are really from outside the boundaries, how did you get in?”
Drayton hesitated. A diplomatic answer to that was, under the circumstances, difficult. Before he could frame a sentence sufficiently66 noncommittal, a new figure had thrust its way through the police guard and walked to the woman’s side.
He was a man of about thirty-five, sharp-featured, cunning-eyed, and with a thin-lipped mouth which closed tight as a trap. Unlike Virtue and Mercy, the newcomer was attired67 in full evening dress. A light cloak, black and lined with flame-colored silk, was flung across one arm.
Without troubling to salute68 her companions, and without the slightest evidence of interest in the meaning of the scene in general, he addressed the green-clad woman.
“Lovely,” he demanded in barely repressed impatience69, “are you intending to go out this evening or not? If you don’t wish to dance, for heaven’s sake, say so! I can take some one else.”
She turned upon him a glance of indolent scorn.
“Do that, if you think best. All my life I’ve been looking for a full-grown man to share my responsibility under Penn Service. Now that I have found one, do you think I will let him be lost in the Pit?”
At this speech Mr. Virtue gave a sharp exclamation70, and Mercy laughed outright71.
“So that’s what you’re up to, Lovely! Cleverest, I’m sorry for you! Goodnight!”
The thin lips of “Cleverest” parted in an unpleasant smile.
“I always knew you’d throw me over if you found a chance, Lovely. You mean to enter your protege for Strongest, I suppose?”
“Certainly.”
“And you believe he will be able to supplant72 the present incumbent73?”
“I know he will!”
“Ah, well, I shan’t despair. You may close the Pit now, but it can also be opened again after the contests. And what of these other prisoners?”
The woman laughed defiantly74.
“They shall have their chance, too! Virty, I don’t often question your decisions, do I? But this time I wish you to close your ugly old Pit and,” with a glance of disdain75, “not oblige Clever by reopening it.”
Mr. Virtue glanced very dubiously76 toward the thin-lipped man. He appeared not at all enthusiastic. Mercy scowled77.
“Don’t forget me, please, Virty! I’ve a very personal interest in this execution, and even Lovely shan’t do me out of it!”
“Oh, shut up, Mercy,” broke in the woman impatiently. “I can imagine what your interest is. You’re afraid this girl’s brother won’t let you have her. But the law is the law and they have their contest right. You never think of any one but yourself Virty, turn these people loose and I’ll be responsible for their appearance Wednesday.”
“Cleverest, are you going to stand for this?” demanded Mercy angrily.
But Cleverest, who had himself been eying Viola, now smiled a strange, fox-like, tight-lipped smile.
“Why not?” he asked simply. “If Lovely prefers the fellow’s strength to my brains, what can I do but gracefully78 withdraw?”
The woman looked at him with a trace of suspicion.
“Such amiability79 is really touching80, Clever. But I’ll take you up on it. That thin chap can go in for Swiftest, I think, and as for the girl-” She frowned at Viola with a look of mingled81 dislike and reluctant admiration82. “Oh, well,” she finished, “the girl can enter the contest for Domestic Excellence83.”
Slapping his fat thigh84, Virtue burst into a sudden roar of laughter.
“Splendid, Lovely! You have it all arranged, eh? Mercy, you and Cleverest are down and out! Take ’em—take your charming proteges, Lovely, my child; and shut up the Pit. Old War must go hungry to-night. And now you’ll excuse me, Lovely. You’ve already made me miss at least one full course!”
“It would do you no harm to miss more than that,” she retorted with a disparaging85 glance at his waist-line; but Virtue only chuckled86 without taking offense87 and hurried away.
收听单词发音 |
1
dome
|
|
| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
crimson
|
|
| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
passionate
|
|
| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
virtue
|
|
| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
isolation
|
|
| n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
chamber
|
|
| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
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： |
|
|
|
|
9
folly
|
|
| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
apparently
|
|
| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
bestially
|
|
| adv.野兽地，残忍地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
tempestuous
|
|
| adj.狂暴的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
insignificant
|
|
| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
pal
|
|
| n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
mosaic
|
|
| n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
emblem
|
|
| n.象征，标志；徽章 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
northward
|
|
| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
beak
|
|
| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
scroll
|
|
| n.卷轴，纸卷；(石刻上的)漩涡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
inscribed
|
|
| v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
scarlet
|
|
| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
bestowed
|
|
| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
tyrant
|
|
| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
tyrants
|
|
| 专制统治者( tyrant的名词复数 )； 暴君似的人； （古希腊的）僭主； 严酷的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
squat
|
|
| v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
distended
|
|
| v.（使）膨胀，肿胀( distend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
spikes
|
|
| n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
slanting
|
|
| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
taloned
|
|
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
spiked
|
|
| adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
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： |
|
|
|
|
34
complacently
|
|
| adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
bellicose
|
|
| adj.好战的；好争吵的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
parable
|
|
| n.寓言，比喻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
interfere
|
|
| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
invaluable
|
|
| adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
vile
|
|
| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
theatrical
|
|
| adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
shudder
|
|
| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
rattling
|
|
| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
instinctively
|
|
| adv.本能地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
vocal
|
|
| adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
demon
|
|
| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
reverberating
|
|
| 回响，回荡( reverberate的现在分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
resounding
|
|
| adj. 响亮的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
curiously
|
|
| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
crooks
|
|
| n.骗子( crook的名词复数 )；罪犯；弯曲部分；（牧羊人或主教用的）弯拐杖v.弯成钩形( crook的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
shrugged
|
|
| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
regularity
|
|
| n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
condemning
|
|
| v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
frankly
|
|
| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
complexion
|
|
| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
afterward
|
|
| adv.后来；以后 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
covert
|
|
| adj.隐藏的；暗地里的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
briefly
|
|
| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
feats
|
|
| 功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
narrative
|
|
| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
peal
|
|
| n.钟声；v.鸣响 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
extravagant
|
|
| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
kindly
|
|
| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
intentionally
|
|
| ad.故意地，有意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
sufficiently
|
|
| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
attired
|
|
| adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服，使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
salute
|
|
| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
impatience
|
|
| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
exclamation
|
|
| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
outright
|
|
| adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
supplant
|
|
| vt.排挤；取代 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
incumbent
|
|
| adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
defiantly
|
|
| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
disdain
|
|
| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
dubiously
|
|
| adv.可疑地，怀疑地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
scowled
|
|
| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
gracefully
|
|
| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
amiability
|
|
| n.和蔼可亲的，亲切的，友善的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
touching
|
|
| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
mingled
|
|
| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
admiration
|
|
| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
excellence
|
|
| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
thigh
|
|
| n.大腿；股骨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
disparaging
|
|
| adj.轻蔑的，毁谤的v.轻视( disparage的现在分词 )；贬低；批评；非难 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
chuckled
|
|
| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
offense
|
|
| n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |