THAT night Mr. Arnold Bertram did not return to the Hotel Belleclaire. Moreover, Trenmore discovered with some annoyance1 that the Cerberus was again missing. He had thrust the thing in his pocket and forgotten it. Now the vial was gone, either lost in the streets, or, more probably, again confiscated2 by their rotund and assimilative friend the burglar.
Morning came, but no Bertram. Drayton was first dressed, and he was waiting in the parlor3 when the others appeared. A moment of silence was followed by a sudden deep chuckle4 from Trenmore and a little shriek5 from Viola.
“Why, you two absurd men!” she cried. “You’re wearing exactly the same things as yesterday! You haven’t even had them pressed! Terry, your trousers look as if you’d slept in them—not a sign of a crease6. What will your true love be thinking?”
Trenmore flung back his head with a comical look of defiance7. “Let her think what she likes. I’ve no liking8 for goods no better than stole, Penn Service or no Penn Service! I pay for my clothes, or I’ll wear none. But you’ve no cause to be talking, Viola. Where’s the pretty new gown you were to be wearing? And Bobby, what about those fine ash-grays you were choosing so carefully yesterday?”
“I meant to wear them. If we intended to keep faith with the lady who provided them, I should certainly have worn them. As it is-” Drayton shrugged11.
“And I,” confessed Viola, “couldn’t bring myself to touch anything that woman gave me. She must take us as we are or not at all. It’s ten o’clock—and there’s the telephone. I expect that is my Lady Green-eyes.”
It was. She looked disappointed and more than a trifle hurt when she saw their costumes and learned their intention not to change. She herself was resplendent in a gown of pale-yellow satin, under a magnificent fitted coat of Irish lace. Trenmore placated12 her for their shabby appearance as best he could, and dropping that subject, though with obvious annoyance, the Loveliest inquired for the missing Bertram.
“We’ve no idea at all where he is, madam. He went out last night, though I argued it with him, and we’ve seen neither hide nor hair of the lad since that time.”
She seemed little concerned. “He will probably show up at the Temple. If he has lost his green button and got himself arrested, he is sure to be there. Shall we go now?”
Descending13 to the lady’s car, they found Broad Street crowded with an immense and mostly stationary14 throng15. Narrow lanes had been cleared by the police for such pedestrians16 and motor cars as might prefer moving along. A few cars belonging, they were informed, to various officials, were parked in the middle of the street.
“What are they all waiting for?” queried17 Viola.
“For the competitions. They don’t often take so much interest. This time the Numbers have a candidate for musical director, and they are waiting for blocks around until the result is announced.”
Drayton wondered why such a large percentage of the population were concerned over an apparently18 unimportant office; but he made no comment.
The run from the hotel to the former City Hall was a short one. As the car swung into the open traffic lane, Drayton looked ahead. There, closing the brief vista19, loomed20 that huge gray bulk of masonry21 which is the heart—the center—the very soul, as one might say, of the ancient Quaker City.
From the street no sign of the golden dome22 was visible, nor any exterior23 hint of the vast innovations within. There rose the tower upon whose pinnacle24, visible for many a mile around, stood the giant figure of that good old Quaker, his vast hand forever outstretched in gentle blessing25. There he stood, as he had stood for troublous centuries. Below him was the familiar clock and a wraith26 of white mist obscured its face. Drayton remembered how, on previous visits to Philadelphia, that wraith of mist had prevented him from seeing the time. The wind was perpetually blowing it across. And Broad Street—he had once been here through a city election. All Broad Street had been crowded, just as it was crowded now, with people in fixed27 masses before the bulletin boards. The bulletins were missing now, but what other difference was there in appearance?
A yellow multiplicity of numbered buttons and yes, the emblem28 displayed above the Public Building’s southern entrance. Then it had a huge replica29 of the Knight30 Templar insignia, with “Welcome K. T.” in varicolored bulbs. Now the emblem was a sword-crossed bell. Above it gleamed four ominous31 figures—2118. That was the difference.
Drayton emerged from his homesick comparisons to find that the car was drawing up at the curb32. Where had once been an open archway were doors of studded iron. A traffic policeman hurried forward and hustled33 the crowd aside. He used his stick freely, but the crowd did not even growl34. It sickened Drayton—not so much the blows, as the spirit in which they were taken. Had the backbone35 of this people been entirely36 softened37 in the vinegar of even two centuries of oppression? And these were his own people, or their descendants—his fellow Americans! That hurt.
Doubtless, however, as he became adjusted to new usages, the injustice38 and oppressions of the year A.D. 2118 would seem no more intolerable than the tyrannies and injustices39 of the twentieth century.
The iron doors swung wide and closed silently behind the little party. They found themselves in a long corridor, walled and floored with polished red marble, artificially lighted and lined with doors, paneled with frosted glass. “Part of the administrative40 section,” explained the Loveliest, as she hurried them along the passage. “These are all offices of the different departments. Would you care to see the crowd under the Dome from the balcony?”
Without waiting for assent41, she led the way up a short flight of red marble stairs. Suddenly they emerged from beneath a low arch and looked out into the space beneath the Dome of Justice. They stood upon a little balcony. Out from it extended a narrow bridge of planking to the rough scaffold that hung about the Red Bell.
Beneath the Dome the milk-white floor was no longer visible. They looked down upon a sea of heads. The people were packed so closely that had there come one of those swaying motions common to crowds many must inevitably42 have been trampled43. Only at the northern side was a space cleared and roped off. In the center of this space was the eagle and dove symbol that hid the pit. At the far side a throne of carved and jeweled gold had been set on a high dais, draped with pale blue and yellow banners. Throne and dais were empty, but close about the roped-off space was drawn44 a cordon45 of uniformed police. Save for these who wore their regulation caps, not a head in the great hall was covered. Silent, patient, bareheaded, they stood—the despised “Numbers,” packed too tightly for even the slight relief of motion, waiting.
Drayton wondered what it was about them that seemed so strange—so unearthly. Then it came to him. They were silent. Except for a faint rustling46 sound, like dry leaves in a breeze, the space beneath the golden dome was entirely silent. One could have closed one’s eyes and fancied oneself alone.
Said Trenmore, “Are they dumb, these people of yours?”
Low though he had spoken, his voice reverberated47 from the shallow Dome as from a sounding board. The dark sea of heads became flecked with white, as faces were turned toward the balcony. Leaning her gloved elbows on the golden rail, the Loveliest looked indifferently down.
“They are not permitted to speak within the sacred precincts. Most of them have stood these three hours past, and they have another two hours to wait. They are all so lazy that I don’t imagine they mind. Anything, rather than to be at work!”
“Some of those women have babies in their arms,” observed Viola pityingly.
The Loveliest shrugged. “Don’t ask me why they are here. It’s a foolish old custom, and I am glad to say this is the last of it. Mr. Justice Supreme48 has ordered that hereafter the competitions shall be held in private. We had best go around to the north side now. I’ll find out if Mr. J. S. is ready to receive you. I persuaded Virty to arrange for a presentation. Mr. J. S. is just a trifle difficult in his old age, but he won’t interfere49.”
Interfere with what? Drayton wondered. Then the question slipped from his mind as his eye lighted on a curious thing at the back of the balcony.
It was a sword; a huge, unwieldy weapon, fully10 seven feet in length. The broad blade was of polished blue steel, inlaid to the hilt with gold. The grip, such of it as could be seen, was of gold studded with rough turquoise50. Too large and heavy, surely, for human wielding51, the sword was held upright in the grip of a great bronze hand, the wrist of which terminated in the wall at about the height of a man’s chest from the floor.
“And what weapon is that?” inquired Trenmore.
“That? Oh, that is part of the Threat. You see the hand that holds it? That is the so-called ‘Hand of Penn.’ From the tower above, his hand is extended in blessing. Down here it grasps the sword. It is attached to a sort of mechanical arm, long enough to pass halfway52 across the Hall of Justice. The arm runs back through the wall there, between the ceiling of the corridor and the floor above. It is controlled by a mechanism53 to which only the Servants hold a key.”
“And what happens when the queer machine is used?” asked Trenmore. It seemed a useless invention, on the face of it.
“It isn’t used,” she replied with an amused smile. “If it ever were, the hand would drop so that the sword was level; then shoot out and the sword’s point would strike the edge of that Red Bell and recoil54. Of course, it couldn’t strike now, because of the scaffolding. Mr. J. S. has an idea that the bell will look well with a ring of red electric lamps around it. They are wiring it for that.”
“The sword is a kind of elaborate gong-striking device then,” commented Drayton. He recalled Cleverest’s description of the singular dread55 in which the Red Bell was held by the Numbers. “What would happen if it were used?” he queried in turn.
“Oh, the city would go up in smoke, I suppose.” The woman laughed as she said it. Clearly she herself had no great faith in the probability of such a catastrophe56.
“But how do your people imagine that a miracle of that sort could be brought about?” persisted Drayton.
“You do ask such questions! By a special dispensation of our Lord Penn, I suppose. Will you come with me, please? Under no circumstances must His Supremacy57 be kept waiting.”
They followed her, back into the red corridor, and thence through a long series of luxurious58 living apartments, smoking, lounging, and drawing-rooms, each furnished in a style compatible only with great wealth or the system of “credit” peculiar59 to Penn Service. Crossing the old patrol entrance, they at last reached that part of the Temple which was held consecrate60 to the use of the highest Servant, Mr. Justice Supreme. While possessing several residences in various pleasant locations, he preferred, the lady informed them, to live almost entirely in the Temple. To the visitors, this “Temple,” with its more or less resident “Servants” bore a close resemblance to a clubhouse for luxury-loving millionaires.
They waited in an anteroom with their guide, who had given her card and a penciled message to one of the half-dozen uniformed page boys who lounged there. The lad returned with a verbal message to the effect that Mr. Justice Supreme begged to be excused.
At almost the same moment Cleverest emerged from the door leading to the inner sanctum. He came straight to them with a smile of welcome which made him look almost good humored. Close behind appeared the plethoric61 Mr. Virtue62.
“I declare, Virty, it’s too bad!” began Loveliest indignantly. “You promised that you would arrange a presentation.”
Mr. Virtue, looking worried and more than a little annoyed, shook his head. “I can’t help it. I couldn’t see him myself, Lovely. Clever’s been with him all morning. Ask him what the trouble is!”
She turned a glance of sharp suspicion upon her fellow Superlative. “Did you have anything to do with this, Clever? If you did—”
“To do with what?” inquired Cleverest blandly63. “His Supremity is somewhat indisposed, and is conserving64 his strength for the ceremonies. You have no cause for anxiety. I explained things to him myself. There will be no trouble. You really owe me a debt of gratitude65, Lovely. The dear old gentleman has always been rather fond of the present Strongest. I had quite a little job persuading him that your candidate was in every way more deserving.”
She watched him with a puzzled frown. Then her brow cleared, her eyes opened wide with that dark distension66 of the pupils which was a trick of theirs.
“Why, Clever,” she beamed, “I’m tremendously obliged to you. I never thought you really cared enough to do anything like that for me. Particularly now!”
He smiled, with a barefaced67 assumption of hurt tenderness which would have deceived none but the most vain and assured of women.
“You’ve never done me justice Lovely. Don’t thank me until the competitions are over. When the job’s done I shall feel more worthy68! Come along to the Green Room. Nearly every one else is there.”
The “Green Room” proved to be a long, wide chamber69 with windows on one side only, opening out upon the Hall of Justice. In the center of that side, level with the pavement, opened the northern door, which varied70 from the other two in being of the same scarlet71 hue72 as the Red Bell. The room itself was done entirely in green, a thick velvet73 carpet of that color covering the floor like moss74, and the walls being decorated in a simulation of foliage75. The place was well filled. By the law, it seemed, every Superlative physically76 able to be present must appear at the Civic77 Service Examinations, held once in four years. Most of them had brought members of their families.
All wore the green or red buttons of Superlativism, and all were dressed with a gayety which verged—in many cases more than verged—on distinct vulgarity. For some reason of etiquette78 none of the Servants’ womenfolk were present. The three visitors were therefore unable to pass judgment79 on those greatest of great ladies. The gathering80 present, however, represented if not the cream, at least the top milk of twenty-second century society. Though it was morning, the only women present whose gowns were not almost painfully decollate were Viola Trenmore, Loveliest, and two or three very young girls. Colors shrieked81 at one another, or were gagged to silence by an overpowering display of jewelry82. Some of the older and plainer ladies were quite masked in the enamel83 of their complexions84.
The Loveliest took her proteges about the room, presenting them to the various officials and their wives. She seemed on the most familiar terms with the men, but the women, while they addressed her with formal respect, cast glances at her back tinged85 with anything but affection.
The only Superlative not present was the Swiftest, Chief of the Messenger Service. “Laid up with another bad attack of rheumatism,” Mr. Virtue explained sympathetically.
“He’ll be laid up with worse than that after the contests,” grinned Cleverest, with a meaning wink86 at Drayton.
The latter smiled back, but the effort was mechanical. They boasted of the fair and open nature of these contests, and at the same time talked of the results as a foregone conclusion. One ex-lawyer wondered what ghost of a chance he had to supplant87 this man, nephew of Justice Supreme, and so sure of his ability to undermine Loveliest, herself a person of influence and evident power. He had the ghastly feeling of a man walking on a thin crust above unknown fires. There was too little that they understood; too much that hinted of subterranean88 movements and powers which at any moment might writhe89 and cast them all into that theatrical90, deadly pit, beneath the Dove of Peace.
Then he heard the green-eyed lady’s voice again, speaking in the silkiest of tones. “And this, my friends, is our Chief of Contractors91, the Strongest. Stringy, let me make you acquainted with Mr. Trenmore. And Miss Trenmore. This little lady is to try her hand at domesticity, Stringy. I don’t imagine there will be any competition—not for that office.”
The official whom she disrespectfully misaddressed as “Stringy” fitted his nickname better than his real title of Strongest. He was a tall, long-limbed, lean man, with a very red face and sunburned neck. He glanced pityingly at Viola. From her his gaze turned anxiously to the huge giant of a man with whom he was shortly to contend not only for continuance in office, but life itself. He started to say something, choked, and, turning abruptly92, hurried off to lose himself in the crowd of his more fortunate fellows.
“Somebody has tipped Stringy off,” laughed Mr. Virtue. “Hi, there, Merry! Whither away?”
But the ineffable93 Mr. Mercy jerked roughly from his friend’s detaining hand and without a glance for the rest of the party passed on through the door leading to the inner sanctuary94.
“He’s sore, too,” growled95 Virtue. “Lovely, you’re getting me in bad all around.”
“Merry will get over it,” she replied indifferently. “He never thinks of any one but himself. Outside of that he’s a good sort. I’ll square things for you, Virty, once this examination is over. What was it you said, Mr. Drayton?”
“Is there any objection,” repeated Drayton, “to my wandering about a bit? The decorative96 schemes of these rooms are wonderful. I used to be interested in such things, as a boy. You don’t mind?”
“Not at all. Go over toward the eastern side, though, away from Mr. J. S.’s sanctum. And be back here within the half hour.”
“I will. Terry, you don’t mind if I leave you?”
“Go ahead,” assented97 the Irishman, and Viola nodded abstractedly. She was staring out at that pathetically silent multitude in the Hall of Justice.
As a matter of fact, the lawyer craved98 solitude99 for thought. The more time he spent in this Temple of Justice, the more he became convinced of the puerility100 of their own light-hearted schemes.
Viola’s reflections, had he known it, were no shade less gloomy than his own. Quick-brained, intuitive to a degree, the psychic101 atmosphere of the place, combined with hints picked up here and there, had shaken her assurance to its foundations. She could think of nothing but Drayton’s well-nigh certain failure and its inevitable102 toll103 of disaster. She herself would then be the promised bride of a man she instinctively104 loathed105, while Drayton—but there she halted, unable to contemplate106 the hideous107 fate which once more threatened.
Her reverie was interrupted by her brother. The Loveliest had deserted108 him temporarily and was engaged with some of her friends across the room. The two Trenmores conversed109 for some time undisturbed; then Terry drew out his watch.
“Viola, it’s 11:45 and Bobby is not yet back. Where can the lad be lingering, do you think?”
Before the girl could reply, Loveliest hurried over to them.
“You must go out into the hall now, big man. You, too, my dear.”
“Not without Mr. Drayton,” stipulated110 Viola firmly. “He has not returned!”
Loveliest frowned. “We certainly cannot wait for him! I warned him to be back here by half past eleven.”
“I’ll go look for him,” volunteered Trenmore; but Lady Green-eyes checked him.
“I can send an officer if you really can’t get along without him. He is probably lost somewhere in the corridors. Here comes Mr. Justice Supreme. I told you it was late!”
A green baize door at the end of the room had swung open. Through it filed several men, all attired111 in the same frock coats, light trousers, patent-leather pumps and spats112 which distinguished113 Mercy and Virtue from the common herd114. They also possessed115 similar silk hats, and wore them, though they and the police were the only male persons within the Temple with covered heads. The hats, evidently, were further marks of distinction, like a bishop’s miter or the splendid crown of royalty116.
Having passed through the door, they divided into two ranks, the last man at the end on each side holding wide the two halves of the door. There followed a pause, during which a solemn hush117 settled throughout the Green Room.
Through the open doorway118 emerged the figure of a very old man. He was bent119, shaking, decrepit120 with a loathsome121 senility. His face was shaven and his clothes the apotheosis122 of dandyism. His coat curved in at the waist, his shoes were two mirrors, his hat another. He wore a yellow chrysanthemum123 as a boutonniere, and from his eyeglasses depended a broad black ribbon. His vest was of white flowered satin. His hands were ungloved yellow claws, and in one of them he carried an ivory-headed ebony cane124. With the latter he felt his way like a blind man, and supported himself in his slow and tremulous progress.
His face! It was lined and scarred by every vice9 of which Clever’s younger countenance125 had hinted. His pale-blue eyes, rheumy and red-rimmed, blinked evilly above purple pouches126. Over ragged127 yellow teeth his mouth worked and snarled128, as though mumbling129 a continuous, silent curse against life and all mankind.
Looking neither to right nor left, he hobbled between the ranks of the lesser130 Servants. Promptly131, as he passed, they closed in behind and followed him on and across the Green Room toward the door which led to his great golden throne, set in the Hall of Justice.
And the people in the room bowed very reverently132 as he passed by—bowed and looked relieved that he had gone without a word to them.
Staring fascinated, Viola and her brother were startled by a whisper at their shoulders.
“Old J. S. has had a bad night. He looks grouchier than usual!”
It was the irrepressible Loveliest. “Come over to the window,” she continued as the door closed behind the last of the Servants. “I’ll tell you exactly who’s who. You see that man helping133 His Supremity up the steps of the dais? That is Mr. Courage, his right-hand man. And just behind is Mr. Kindness. That short, thin one is Mr. Power; the old fellow that drags one leg is Mr. Purity. Then come Mr. Pity, Mr. Contentment, and Mr. Love. And there goes good old Virty, looking as if his last friend had died; just because Mercy cut him, I suppose, and he blames me for it. But they’re all alike—they never think of any one but themselves. I suppose Merry is sulking somewhere, too.
“Those are all the Servants who are here to-day. There are twelve altogether. And now you really must go to your places. I’ve sent a man to look for your friend and I’ll have him brought out to you as soon as he is found. I have to stay here with the other Superlatives until my place is called; but of course that is merely a formality. The only candidates up are yourselves, and that boy the Numbers are trying to wedge in as Musical Director. Here, Fifty-three,” she addressed their old acquaintance, the police sergeant134, “look after my friends, will you? Well the nerve of him! Will you look at Clever? He’s gone right up on the dais with the Servants! I don’t care if Mr. J. S. is his uncle, Clever has no right to push himself forward like that—not while he’s holding a Superlative office!”
She was still talking as they left her, but so obviously to herself that they felt guilty of no discourtesy. Following Sergeant Fifty-three, they were led to a place at one side of the roped-off enclosure. No one else was there, save a slim, graceful135 boy of about nineteen or twenty. This was the Numbers’ candidate for Musical Director. He was plainly, though not shabbily dressed, and his face was of such unusual beauty that Viola was really startled. As she said afterward136, that face was the first thing she had seen in the city which reminded her that somewhere still there really was a Heaven.
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annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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confiscated
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| 没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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parlor
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| n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅 | |
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chuckle
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| vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑 | |
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shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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crease
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| n.折缝，褶痕，皱褶；v.(使)起皱 | |
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defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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placated
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| v.安抚，抚慰，使平静( placate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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stationary
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| adj.固定的，静止不动的 | |
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throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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pedestrians
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| n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 ) | |
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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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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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vista
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| n.远景，深景，展望，回想 | |
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loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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masonry
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| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
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dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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pinnacle
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| n.尖塔，尖顶，山峰；(喻)顶峰 | |
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blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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wraith
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fixed
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emblem
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replica
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knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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curb
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| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
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hustled
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| 催促（hustle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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backbone
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| n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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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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39
injustices
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| 不公平( injustice的名词复数 )； 非正义； 待…不公正； 冤枉 | |
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40
administrative
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| adj.行政的，管理的 | |
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41
assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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42
inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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43
trampled
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| 踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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44
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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45
cordon
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| n.警戒线，哨兵线 | |
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46
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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47
reverberated
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| 回响，回荡( reverberate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射 | |
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48
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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49
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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50
turquoise
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| n.绿宝石；adj.蓝绿色的 | |
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51
wielding
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| 手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的现在分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响） | |
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52
halfway
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| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
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53
mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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54
recoil
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| vi.退却，退缩，畏缩 | |
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55
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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56
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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57
supremacy
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| n.至上；至高权力 | |
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58
luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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59
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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60
consecrate
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| v.使圣化，奉…为神圣；尊崇；奉献 | |
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61
plethoric
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| adj.过多的，多血症的 | |
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62
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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63
blandly
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| adv.温和地，殷勤地 | |
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64
conserving
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| v.保护，保藏，保存( conserve的现在分词 ) | |
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65
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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66
distension
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| n.扩张，膨胀(distention) | |
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67
barefaced
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| adj.厚颜无耻的，公然的 | |
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68
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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69
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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70
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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71
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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72
hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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73
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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74
moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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75
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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76
physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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77
civic
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| adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的 | |
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78
etiquette
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| n.礼仪，礼节；规矩 | |
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79
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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80
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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81
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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82
jewelry
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| n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝 | |
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83
enamel
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| n.珐琅，搪瓷，瓷釉；(牙齿的)珐琅质 | |
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84
complexions
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| 肤色( complexion的名词复数 )； 面色； 局面； 性质 | |
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85
tinged
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| v.（使）发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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86
wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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87
supplant
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| vt.排挤；取代 | |
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88
subterranean
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| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
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89
writhe
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| vt.挣扎，痛苦地扭曲；vi.扭曲，翻腾，受苦；n.翻腾，苦恼 | |
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90
theatrical
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| adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的 | |
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91
contractors
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| n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 ) | |
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92
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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93
ineffable
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| adj.无法表达的，不可言喻的 | |
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94
sanctuary
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| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
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95
growled
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| 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 | |
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96
decorative
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| adj.装饰的，可作装饰的 | |
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97
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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98
craved
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| 渴望，热望( crave的过去式 )； 恳求，请求 | |
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99
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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100
puerility
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| n.幼稚，愚蠢；幼稚、愚蠢的行为、想法等 | |
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101
psychic
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| n.对超自然力敏感的人；adj.有超自然力的 | |
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102
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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103
toll
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| n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟) | |
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104
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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105
loathed
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| v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的过去式和过去分词 )；极不喜欢 | |
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106
contemplate
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| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
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107
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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108
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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109
conversed
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 ) | |
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110
stipulated
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| vt.& vi.规定；约定adj.[法]合同规定的 | |
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111
attired
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| 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 ) | |
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112
spats
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| n.口角( spat的名词复数 )；小争吵；鞋罩；鞋套v.spit的过去式和过去分词( spat的第三人称单数 )；口角；小争吵；鞋罩 | |
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113
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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114
herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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115
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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116
royalty
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| n.皇家，皇族 | |
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117
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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118
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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119
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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120
decrepit
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| adj.衰老的，破旧的 | |
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121
loathsome
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| adj.讨厌的，令人厌恶的 | |
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122
apotheosis
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| n.神圣之理想；美化；颂扬 | |
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123
chrysanthemum
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| n.菊，菊花 | |
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124
cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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125
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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126
pouches
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| n.（放在衣袋里或连在腰带上的）小袋( pouch的名词复数 )；（袋鼠等的）育儿袋；邮袋；（某些动物贮存食物的）颊袋 | |
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127
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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128
snarled
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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129
mumbling
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的现在分词 ) | |
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130
lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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131
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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132
reverently
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| adv.虔诚地 | |
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133
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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134
sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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135
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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136
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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