They baited the trap gun once more, hoping that a fifth cougar13 might prove rash enough to dare it. No cougar came, but on the third night a scornful grizzly swallowed the deer meat as a tidbit, and got a bullet in the neck for his carelessness. In his rage, he tore the trap to pieces and tossed the rifle to one side, but, fortunately, he did not injure the valuable weapon, his attention turning instantly to something else. Later on the boys dispatched him as he lay wounded upon the ground.
Their old clothing was now about worn out and it also became necessary to provide garments of another kind in order to guard against the great cold. Here their furs became invaluable14; they made moccasins, leggings, caps, and coats alike of them, often crude in construction, but always warm.
They found the beaver15 father in the mountains, as Dick had surmised16, and trapped them in great abundance. This was by far their most valuable discovery, and they soon had a pack of sixty skins, which Dick said would be worth more than a thousand dollars in any good market. They also made destructive inroads upon the timber wolves, the hides of which were more valuable than those of any other wolf. In fact, they made such havoc18 that the shrewd timber wolf deserted19 the valley almost entirely20.
As the boys now made their fur hunting a business, they attended to every detail with the greatest care. They always removed the skin immediately after the death of the animal, or, if taken in a trap, as soon after as possible. Every particle of fat or flesh was removed from the inside of the skin, and they were careful at the same time never to cut into the skin itself, as they knew that the piercing of a fur with a knife would injure its value greatly. Then the skin was put to dry in a cold, airy place, free alike from the rays of the sun or the heat of a fire. They built near the cabin a high scaffold for such purposes, too high and strong for any wild beast to tear down or to reach the furs upon it. Then they built above this on additional poles a strongly thatched bark roof that would protect the skins from rain, and there they cured them in security.
"I've heard," said Dick, "that some trappers put preparations or compounds on the skins in order to cure them, but since we don't have any preparations or compounds we won't use them. Besides, our furs seem to cure up well enough without them."
Dick was right. The cold, dry air of the mountains cured them admirably. Two or three times they thought to help along the process by rubbing salt upon the inner sides. They could always get plenty of salt by boiling out water from the salt springs, but as they seemed to do as well without it, they ceased to take the trouble.
The boys were so absorbed now in their interesting and profitable tasks that they lost all count of the days. They knew they were far advanced into a splendid open winter, but it is probably that they could not have guessed within a week of the exact day. However, that was a question of which they thought little. Albert's health and strength continued to improve, and with the mental stimulus22 added to the physical, the tide of life was flowing very high for both.
They now undertook a new work in order to facilitate their trapping operations. The beaver stream, and another that they found a little later, ran far back into the mountains, and the best trapping place was about ten miles away. After a day's work around the beaver pond, they had to choose between a long journey in the night to the cabin or sleeping in the open, the latter not a pleasant thing since the nights had become so cold. Hence, they began the erection of a bark shanty23 in a well-sheltered cove17 near the most important of the beaver localities. This was a work of much labor24, but, as in all other cases, they persisted until the result was achieved triumphantly25.
They drove two stout26, forked poles deep into the ground, leaving a projection27 of about eight feet above the earth. The poles themselves were about eight feet apart. From fork to fork they placed a strong ridgepole. Then they rested against the ridgepole from either side other and smaller poles at an angle of forty or fifty degrees. The sloping poles were about a foot and a half apart. These poles were like the scantling or inside framework of a wooden house and they covered it all with spruce and birch bark, beginning at the bottom and allowing each piece to overlap28 the one beneath it, after the fashion of a shingled29 roof. They secured pieces partly with wooden pegs30 and partly with other and heavier wooden poles leaned against them. One end of the shelter was closed up with bark wholly, secured with wooden pegs, and the other end was left open in order that its tenants31 might face the fire which would be built three or four feet in front of it. They packed the floor with dead leaves, and put on the top of the leaves a layer of thick bark with the smooth side upward.
The bark shanty was within a clump32 of trees, and its open side was not fifteen feet from the face of an abrupt33 cliff. Hence there was never any wind to drive the smoke from the fire back into their faces, and, wrapped in their furs, they slept as snugly35 in the shanty as if they had been in the cabin itself. But they were too wise to leave anything there in their absence, knowing that it was not sufficient protection against the larger wild animals. In fact, a big grizzly, one night when they were at the cabin, thrust his nose into the shanty and, lumbering36 about in an awkward and perhaps frightened manner, knocked off half of one of the bark sides. It took nearly a day's work to repair the damage, and it put Dick in an ill humor.
"I'd like to get a shot at that bear!" he exclaimed. "He had no business trying to come into a house when he was not invited."
"But he is an older settler than we are," said Albert, in a whimsical tone.
Dick did get a shot at a bear a few days later, and it was a grizzly, at that. The wound was not fatal, and the animal came on with great courage and ferocity. A second shot from Dick did not stop him and the boy was in great danger. But Albert, who was near, sent two heavy bullets, one after the other, into the beast, and he toppled over, dying. It was characteristic of the hardy37 life they were leading and its tendency toward the repression38 of words and emotion that Dick merely uttered a brief, "Thanks, Al, you were just in time," and Albert nodded in reply.
The skin of old Ephraim went to join that of his brother who had been taken sometime before, and Dick himself shot a little later a third, which contributed a fine skin.
The boys did not know how hard they were really working, but their appetites would have bee a fine gauge39. Toiling40 incessantly41 in a crisp, cold air, as pure as any that the world affords, they were nearly always hungry. Fortunately, the happy valley, their own skill and courage, and the supplies that Dick had brought from the last wagon42 train furnished them an unlimited43 larder44. Game of great variety was their staple45, but they had both flour and meal, from which, though they were sparing of their use, they made cakes now and then. They had several ways of preparing the Indian meal that Dick had taken from the wagon. They would boil it for about an hour, then, after it cooled, would mix it with the fat of game and fry it, after which the compound was eaten in slices. They also made mealcakes, johnnycakes and hoecakes.
Albert was fond of fish, especially of the fine trout46 that they caught in the little river, and soon he invented or discovered a way of cooking them that provided an uncommon47 delicacy48 for their table. He would slit49 the trout open, clean it, and the season it with salt and also with pepper, which they had among their stores. Then he would lay the fish in the hot ashes of a fire that had burned down to embers, cover it up thoroughly50 with the hot ashes and embers, and let it cook thirty or forty minutes—thirty minutes for the little fellows and forty minutes for the big ones. When he thought the fish was done to the proper turn, he would take it from the ashes, clean it, and then remove the skin, which would almost peel off of its own accord.
The fish was then ready for the eating, and neither Dick nor Albert could ever bear to wait. The flesh looked so tempting51 and the odor was so savory52 that hunger instantly became acute.
"They are so good," said Albert, "because my method of cooking preserves all the juices and flavors of the fish. Nothing escapes."
"Thanks, professor," said Dick. "You must be right, so kindly53 pass me another of those trout, and be quick about it."
It is a truth that both boys became epicures54. Their valley furnished so much, and they had a seasoning55 of hard work and open mountain air that was beyond compare. They even imitated Indian and trapper ways of cooking geese, ducks, quail56, sage57 hens, and other wild fowl58 that the region afforded. They could cook these in the ashes as they did the trout, and they also had other methods. Albert would take a duck, cut it open and clean it, but leave the feathers on. Then he would put it in water, until the feathers were soaked thoroughly, after which he would cover it up with ashes, and put hot coals on top of the ashes. When the bird was properly cooked and drawn59 from the ashes, the skin could be pulled off easily, taking the feathers, of course, with it. Then a duck, sweet, tender, and delicate, such as no restaurant could furnish, was ready for the hardy youngsters. At rare intervals60 they improve on this by stuffing the duck with seasoning and Indian meal. Now and then they served a fat goose the same way and found it equally good.
They cooked the smaller birds in a simpler manner, especially when they were at the bark shanty, which they nicknamed the "Suburban61 Villa62." The bird was plucked of its feathers, drawn and washed, and then they cut it down the back in order to spread it out. Nothing was left but to put the bird on the end of a sharp stick, hold it over the coals, and turn it around until it was thoroughly broiled63 or roasted. They also roasted slices of big game in the same way.
As Albert was cooking a partridge in this manner one evening at the Suburban Villa, Dick, who was sitting on his buffalo6-robe blanket in the doorway64, watched him and began to make comparisons. He recalled the boy who had left Omaha with the wagon train six or eight months before, a thin, spiritless fellow with a slender, weak neck, hollow, white cheeks, pale lips, and listless eyes. That boy drew coughs incessantly from a hollow chest, and the backs of his hands were ridged when the flesh had gone away, leaving the bones standing65 up. This boy whom Dick contemplated66 was quite a different being. His face was no longer white, it was instead a mixture of red and brown, and both tints67 were vivid. Across one cheek were some brier scratches which he had acquired the day before, but which he had never noticed. The red-brown cheeks were filled out with the effects of large quantities of good food digested well. As he bent68 over the fire, a chest of good width seemed to puff69 out with muscle and wind expansion. Despite the extreme cold, his sleeves were rolled up to the elbow, and the red wrists and hands were well covered with tough, seasoned flesh. The eyes that watched the roasting bird were intent, alert, keenly interested in that particular task, and in due course, in any other that might present itself.
Dick drew a long breath of satisfaction. Providence70 had treated them well. Then he called loudly for his share of the bird, saying that he was starving, and in a few moments both fell to work.
Their fur operations continued to extend. They had really found a pocket, and isolated71 corner in the high Rockies where the fur-bearing animals, not only abundant, were also increasing. It was, too, the dead of winter, the very best time for trapping, and so, as far as their own goings and comings were concerned, they were favored further by the lucky and unusual absence of snow. They increased the number of their traps—dead falls, box traps, snares, and other kinds, and most of them were successful.
They knew instinctively72 the quality of the furs that they obtained. They could tell at a glance whether they were prime, that is, thick and full, and as they cured them and baled them, they classified them.
Constant application bred new ideas. In their pursuit of furs, they found that they were not quite so sparing of the game as they had been at first. Some of their scruples73 melted away. Albert now recalled a device of trappers of which he had read. This was the use of a substance generally called barkstone, which they found to be of great help to them in the capture of that animal.
The barkstone or castoreum, as it is commercially known, was obtained principally from the beaver himself. The basis of it was an acrid74 secretion75 with a musky odor of great power, found in two glands77 just under the root of the beaver's tail. Each gland76 was from one and one half to two inches in length. The boys cut out these glands and squeezed the contents into an empty tin can. This at first was of a yellowish-red color, but after a while, when it dried, it became a light brown.
This substance formed the main ingredient of barkstone, and in their medicine chest they found a part of the remainder. The secretion was transferred to a bottle and the mixed with it essence of peppermint78 and ground cinnamon. As Albert remembered it, ground nutmeg also was needed, but as they had no nutmeg they were compelled to take their chances without it. Then they poured whisky on the compound until it looked like a paste.
Then the bottle was stopped up with the greatest care, and in about a week, when they stole a sniff79 or two at it, they found that the odor had increased ten or a dozen times in power.
They put eight or ten drops of the barkstone upon the bait for the beaver, or somewhere near the trap, and, despite some defects in the composition, it proved an extraordinary success. The wariest80 beaver of all would be drawn by it, and their beaver bales grew faster than any other.
Dick calculated one day that they had at least five thousand dollars worth of furs, which seemed a great sum to both boys. It certainly meant, at that time and in that region, a competence81, and it could be increased greatly.
"Of course," said Dick, "we'll have to think some day of the way in which we must get these furs out, and for that we will need horses or mules82, but we won't bother our heads about it yet."
After the long period of clear, open weather, the delayed snow came. It began to fall one evening at twilight83, when both boys were snug34 in the cabin, and it came in a very gentle, soothing84 way, as if it meant no harm whatever. Big, soft flakes85 fell as softly as the touch of down, but every time the boys looked out they were still coming in the same gentle but persistent86 way. The next morning the big flakes still came down and all that day and all the next night. When the snow stopped it lay five feet deep on the level, and uncounted feet deep in the gullies and canyons87.
"We're snowed in," said Albert in some dismay, "and we can't go to our traps. Why, this is likely to last a month!"
"We can't walk through it," said Dick meditatively88, "but we can walk on it. We've got to make snowshoes. They're what we need."
"Good!" said Albert with enthusiasm. "Let's get to work at once."
Deep snows fall in Illinois, and both, in their earlier boyhood, had experimented for the sake of sport with a crude form of snowshoe. Now they were to build upon this slender knowledge, for the sake of an immediate21 necessity, and it was the hardest task that they had yet set for themselves. Nevertheless, it was achieved, like the others.
They made a framework of elastic89 stripes of ash bent in the well-known shape of the snowshoe, which bears some resemblance to the shape of the ordinary shoe, only many times larger and sharply pointed90 at the rear end. Its length was between five and six feet, and the ends were tightly wound with strips of hide. This frame was bent into the shoe shape after it had been soaked in boiling water.
Then they put two very strong strips of hide across the front part of the framework, and in addition passed at least a half dozen stout bands of hide from strip to strip.
Then came the hard task of attaching the shoe to the foot of the boy who was to wear it. The ball of the foot was set on the second crosspiece and the foot was then tied there with a broad strip of hide which passed over the instep and was secured behind the ankle. It required a good deal of practice to fasten the foot so it would not slip up and down; and also in such a manner that the weight of the shoe would be proportioned to it properly.
They had to exercise infinite patience before two pairs of snowshoes were finished. There was much hunting in deep snow for proper wood, many strips and some good hide were spoiled, but the shoes were made and then another equally as great confronted the two boys—to learn how to use them.
Each boy put on his pair at the same time and went forth91 on the snow, which was now packed and hard. Albert promptly92 caught one of his shoes on the other, toppled over, and went down through the crust of the snow, head first. Dick, although in an extremely awkward situation himself, managed to pull his brother out and put him in the proper position, with his head pointing toward the sky instead of the earth. Albert brushed the snow out of his eyes and ears, and laughed.
"Good start, bad ending," he said. "This is certainly the biggest pair of shoes that I ever had on, Dick. They feel at least a mile long to me."
"I know that mine are a mile long," said Dick, as he, too, brought the toe of one shoe down upon the heel of the other, staggered, fell over sideways, but managed to right himself in time.
"It seems to me," said Albert, "that the proper thing to do is to step very high and very far, so you won't tangle93 up one shoe with the other."
"That seems reasonable," said Dick, "and we'll try it."
They practiced this step for an hour, making their ankles ache badly. After a good rest they tried it for another hour, and then they began to make progress. They found that they got along over the snow at a fair rate of speed, although it remained an awkward and tiring gait. Nevertheless, one could travel an indefinite distance, when it was impossible to break one's way far through five or six feet of packed snow, and the shoes met a need.
"They'll do," said Albert; "but it will never be like walking on the solid earth in common shoes."
Albert was right. Their chief use for these objects, so laboriously94 constructed, was for the purpose of visiting their traps, some of which were set at least a dozen miles away. They wished also to go back to the shanty and see that it was all right. They found a number of valuable furs in the traps, but the bark shanty had been almost crushed in by the weight of the snow, and they spent sometime strengthening and repairing it.
In the course of these excursions their skill with the snowshoes increased and they were also able to improve upon the construction, correcting little errors in measurement and balance. The snow showed no signs of melting, but they made good progress, nevertheless, with their trapping, and all the furs taken were of the highest quality.
It would have been easy for them to kill enough game to feed a small army, as the valley now fairly swarmed95 with it, although nearly all of it was of large species, chiefly buffalo, elk, and bear. There was one immense herd96 of elk congregated97 in a great sheltered space at the northern end of the valley, where they fed chiefly upon twigs98 and lichens99.
Hanging always upon the flanks of this herd was a band of timber wolves of great size and ferocity, which never neglected an opportunity to pull down a cripple or a straying yearling.
"I thought we had killed off all these timber wolves," said
Albert when he first caught sight of the band.
"We did kill off most of those that were here when we came," said Dick, "but others, I suppose, have followed the game from the mountains into the valley."
Albert went alone a few days later to one of their traps up the valley, walking at a good pace on his snowshoes. A small colony of beavers100 had been discovered on a stream that came down between two high cliffs, and the trap contained a beaver of unusually fine fur. Albert removed the skin, put it on his shoulder, and, tightening101 his snowshoes, started back to Castle Howard.
The snow had melted a little recently, and in many places among the trees it was not deep, but Albert and Dick had made it a point to wear their snowshoes whenever they could, for the sake of the skill resulting from practice.
Albert was in a very happy frame of mind. He felt always now a physical elation102, which, of course, became mental also. It is likely, too, that the rebound103 from long and despairing ill health still made itself felt. None so well as those who have been ill and are cured! He drew great draughts104 of the frosty air into his strong, sound lungs, and the emitted it slowly and with ease. It was a fine mechanism105, complex, but working beautifully. Moreover, he had an uncommonly106 large and rich beaver fur over his shoulder. Such a skin as that would bring twenty-five dollars in any decent market.
Albert kept to the deep snow on account of his shoes, and was making pretty good time, when he heard a long howl, varied107 by a kind of snappy, growling108 bark.
"One of those timber wolves," said Albert to himself, "and he has scented109 the blood of the beaver."
He thought no more about the wolf until two or three minutes later when he heard another howl and then two or three more. Moreover, they were much nearer.
"Now, I wonder what they're after?" thought Albert.
But he went on, maintaining his good pace, and then he heard behind him a cry that was a long, ferocious110 whine111 rather than a howl. Albert looked back and saw under the trees, where the snow was lighter112, a dozen leaping forms. He recognized at once the old pests, the timber wolves.
"Now, I wonder what they're after?" he repeated, and then as the whole pack suddenly gave tongue in a fierce, murderous howl, he saw that it was himself. Albert, armed though he was—neither boy ever went forth without gun or revolver—felt the blood grow cold in every vein113. These were not the common wolves of the prairie, nor yet the ordinary wolf of the East and Middle West, but the great timber wolf of the Northwest, the largest and fiercest of the dog tribe. He had grown used to the presence of timber wolves hovering114 somewhere near, but now they presented themselves in a new aspect, bearing down straight upon him, and pushed by hunger. He understood why they were about to attack him. They had been able to secure but little of the large game in the valley, and they were drawn on by starvation.
He looked again and looked fearfully. They seemed to him monstrous115 in size for wolves, and their long, yellowish-gray bodies were instinct with power. Teeth and eyes alike were gleaming. Albert scarcely knew what to do first. Should he run, taking to the deepest snow, where the wolves might sink to their bodies and thus fail to overtake him? But in his own haste he might trip himself with the long, ungainly snowshoes, and then everything would quickly be over. Yet it must be tried. He could see no other way.
Albert, almost unconsciously prayed for coolness and judgment116, and it was well for him that his life in recent months had taught him hardihood and resource. He turned at once into the open space, away from the trees, where the snow lay several feet deep, and he took long, flying leaps on his snowshoes. Behind him came the pack of great, fierce brutes118, snapping and snarling119, howling and whining120, a horrible chorus that made shivers chase one another up and down the boy's spine121. But as he reckoned, the deep snow made them flounder, and checked their speed.
Before him the open ground and the deep snow stretched straight away beside the lake until it reached the opening between the mountains in which stood Castle Howard. As Albert saw the good track lie before him, his hopes rose, but presently, when he looked back again, they fell with cruel speed. The wolves, despite the depth of the snow, had gained upon him. Sometimes, perhaps, it proved hard enough to sustain the weight of their bodies, and then they more than made up lost ground.
Albert noted122 a wolf which he took at once to be the leader, not only because he led all the others, but because also of his monstrous size. Even in that moment of danger he wondered that a wolf could grow so large, and that he should have such long teeth. But the boy, despite his great danger, retained his presence of mind. If the wolves were gaining, then he must inflict123 a check upon them. He whirled about, steadied himself a moment on his snowshoes, and fired directly at the huge leader. The wolf had swung aside when he saw the barrel of the rifle raised, but the bullet struck down another just behind him. Instantly, some of the rest fell upon the wounded brute117 and began to devour124 him, while the remainder, after a little hesitation125, continued to pursue Albert.
But the boy had gained, and he felt that the repeating rifle would be for a while like a circle of steel to him. He could hold them back for a time with bullet after bullet, although it would not suffice to stop the final rush when it came, if it came.
Albert looked longingly126 ahead. He saw a feather of blue smoke against the dazzling white and silver of the sky, and he knew that it came from their cabin. If he were only there behind those stout log walls! A hundred wolves, bigger than the big leader, might tear at them in vain! And perhaps Dick, too, would come! He felt that the two together would have little to fear.
The wolves set up their fierce, whining howl again, and once more it showed that they had gained upon the fleeing boy. He turned and fired once, twice, three times, four times, as fast as he could pull the trigger, directly into the mass of the pack. He could not tell what he had slain127 and what he had wounded, but there was a hideous128 snapping and snarling, and the sight of wolf teeth flashing into wolf flesh.
Albert ran on and that feather of blue smoke was larger and nearer. But was it near enough? He could hear the wolves behind him again. All these diversions were only temporary. No matter how many of their number were slain or wounded, no matter how many paused to devour the dead and hurt, enough were always left to follow him. The pursuit, too, had brought reinforcements from the lurking129 coverts130 of the woods and bushes.
Albert saw that none of his bullets had struck the leader. The yellowish-gray monster still hung close upon him, and he was to Albert like a demon131 wolf, one that could not be slain. He would try again. He wheeled and fired. The leader, as before, swerved132 to one side and a less fortunate wolf behind him received the bullet. Albert fired two more bullets, and then he turned to continue his flight. But the long run, the excitement, and his weakened nerves caused the fatal misstep. The toe of one snowshoe caught on the heel of the other, and as a shout pierced the air, he went down.
The huge gray leader leaped at the fallen boy, and as his body paused a fleeting133 moment in midair before it began the descent, a rifle cracked, a bullet struck him in the throat, cutting the jugular134 vein and coming out behind. His body fell lifeless on the snow, and he who had fired the shot came on swiftly, shouting and firing again.
It was well that Dick, sometime after Albert's departure, had concluded to go forth for a little hunt, and it was well also that in addition to his rifle he had taken the double-barreled shotgun thinking that he might find some winter wild fowl flying over the snow and ice-covered surface of the lake. His first shot slew135 the master wolf, his second struck down another, his third was as fortunate, his fourth likewise, and then, still running forward, he bethought himself of the shotgun that was strapped136 over his shoulder. He leveled it in an instant and fairly sprayed the pack of wolves with stinging shot. Before that it had been each bullet for a wolf and the rest untouched, but now there was a perfect shower of those hot little pellets. It was more than they could stand, big, fierce, and hungry timber wolves though they were. They turned and fled with beaten howls into the woods.
Albert was painfully righting himself, when Dick gave him his hand and sped the task. Albert had thought himself lost, and it was yet hard to realize that he had not disappeared down the throat of the master wolf. His nerves were overtaxed, and he was near collapse137.
"Thank you, Dick, old boy," he said. "If you hadn't come when you did, I shouldn't be here."
"No, you wouldn't," replied Dick grimly. "Those wolves eat fast. But look, Al, what a monster this fellow is! Did you ever see such a wolf?"
The great leader lay on his side upon the snow, and a full seven feet he stretched from the tip of his nose to the root of his stumpy tail. No such wolf as he had ever been put inside a cage, and it was rare, indeed, to find one so large, even in the mountains south of the very Far North.
"That's a skin that will be worth something," said Dick, "and here are more, but before we begin the work of taking them off, you'll have to be braced138 up, Al. You need a stimulant139."
He hurried back to Castle Howard and brought one of the bottles of whisky, a little store that they had never touched except in the compounding of the barkstone for the capture of beaver. He gave Albert a good stiff drink of it, after which the boy felt better, well enough, in fact, to help Dick skin the monster wolf.
"It gives me pleasure to do this," said Albert, as he wielded140 the knife. "You thought, Mr. Wolf, that I was going to adorn141 your inside; instead, your outside will be used as an adornment142 trodden on by the foot of my kind."
They secured four other fine and unimpaired skins among the slain, and after dressing143 and curing, they were sent to join the stores in the Annex144.
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1
thaws
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| n.（足以解冻的）暖和天气( thaw的名词复数 )；（敌对国家之间）关系缓和v.（气候）解冻( thaw的第三人称单数 )；（态度、感情等）缓和；（冰、雪及冷冻食物）溶化；软化 | |
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2
permeating
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| 弥漫( permeate的现在分词 )； 遍布； 渗入； 渗透 | |
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3
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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4
vocation
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| n.职业，行业 | |
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5
scrupulous
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| adj.审慎的，小心翼翼的，完全的，纯粹的 | |
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buffalo
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| n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛 | |
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buffaloes
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| n.水牛（分非洲水牛和亚洲水牛两种）( buffalo的名词复数 )；（南非或北美的）野牛；威胁；恐吓 | |
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defiles
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| v.玷污( defile的第三人称单数 )；污染；弄脏；纵列行进 | |
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9
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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grizzly
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| adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊 | |
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elk
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| n.麋鹿 | |
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snares
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| n.陷阱( snare的名词复数 )；圈套；诱人遭受失败（丢脸、损失等）的东西；诱惑物v.用罗网捕捉，诱陷，陷害( snare的第三人称单数 ) | |
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cougar
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| n.美洲狮；美洲豹 | |
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invaluable
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| adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的 | |
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beaver
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| n.海狸，河狸 | |
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16
surmised
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| v.臆测，推断( surmise的过去式和过去分词 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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17
cove
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| n.小海湾，小峡谷 | |
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18
havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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19
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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20
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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21
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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22
stimulus
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| n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物 | |
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23
shanty
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| n.小屋，棚屋；船工号子 | |
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24
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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25
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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27
projection
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| n.发射，计划，突出部分 | |
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28
overlap
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| v.重叠，与…交叠；n.重叠 | |
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29
shingled
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| adj.盖木瓦的；贴有墙面板的v.用木瓦盖(shingle的过去式和过去分词形式) | |
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30
pegs
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| n.衣夹( peg的名词复数 )；挂钉；系帐篷的桩；弦钮v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的第三人称单数 )；使固定在某水平 | |
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31
tenants
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| n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者 | |
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32
clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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33
abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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34
snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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35
snugly
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| adv.紧贴地；贴身地；暖和舒适地；安适地 | |
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36
lumbering
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| n.采伐林木 | |
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37
hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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38
repression
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| n.镇压，抑制，抑压 | |
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39
gauge
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| v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器 | |
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40
toiling
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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41
incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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42
wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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43
unlimited
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| adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的 | |
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44
larder
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| n.食物贮藏室，食品橱 | |
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45
staple
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| n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类 | |
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46
trout
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| n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属) | |
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47
uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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48
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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49
slit
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| n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂 | |
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50
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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51
tempting
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| a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
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52
savory
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| adj.风味极佳的，可口的，味香的 | |
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53
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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54
epicures
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| n.讲究饮食的人( epicure的名词复数 ) | |
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55
seasoning
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| n.调味；调味料；增添趣味之物 | |
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56
quail
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| n.鹌鹑；vi.畏惧，颤抖 | |
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57
sage
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| n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的 | |
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58
fowl
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| n.家禽，鸡，禽肉 | |
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59
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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60
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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61
suburban
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| adj.城郊的，在郊区的 | |
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62
villa
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| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
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63
broiled
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| a.烤过的 | |
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64
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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65
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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66
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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67
tints
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| 色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹 | |
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68
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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69
puff
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| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
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70
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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71
isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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72
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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73
scruples
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| n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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74
acrid
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| adj.辛辣的，尖刻的，刻薄的 | |
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75
secretion
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| n.分泌 | |
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76
gland
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| n.腺体，(机)密封压盖，填料盖 | |
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77
glands
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| n.腺( gland的名词复数 ) | |
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78
peppermint
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| n.薄荷，薄荷油，薄荷糖 | |
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79
sniff
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| vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视 | |
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80
wariest
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| 谨慎的，小心翼翼的( wary的最高级 ) | |
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81
competence
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| n.能力，胜任，称职 | |
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82
mules
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| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
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83
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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84
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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85
flakes
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| 小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人 | |
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86
persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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87
canyons
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| n.峡谷( canyon的名词复数 ) | |
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88
meditatively
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| adv.冥想地 | |
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89
elastic
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| n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的 | |
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90
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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91
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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92
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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93
tangle
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| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
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94
laboriously
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| adv.艰苦地；费力地；辛勤地；（文体等）佶屈聱牙地 | |
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95
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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96
herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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97
congregated
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| （使）集合，聚集( congregate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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98
twigs
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| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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99
lichens
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| n.地衣( lichen的名词复数 ) | |
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100
beavers
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| 海狸( beaver的名词复数 )； 海狸皮毛； 棕灰色； 拼命工作的人 | |
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101
tightening
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| 上紧，固定，紧密 | |
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102
elation
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| n.兴高采烈，洋洋得意 | |
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103
rebound
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| v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回 | |
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104
draughts
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| n. <英>国际跳棋 | |
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105
mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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106
uncommonly
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| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
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107
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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108
growling
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| n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼 | |
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109
scented
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| adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
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110
ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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111
whine
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| v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣 | |
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112
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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113
vein
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| n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络 | |
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114
hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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115
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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116
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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117
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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118
brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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119
snarling
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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120
whining
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| n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚 | |
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121
spine
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| n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊 | |
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122
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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123
inflict
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| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
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124
devour
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| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
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125
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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126
longingly
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| adv. 渴望地 热望地 | |
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127
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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128
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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129
lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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130
coverts
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| n.隐蔽的，不公开的，秘密的( covert的名词复数 )；复羽 | |
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131
demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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132
swerved
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| v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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133
fleeting
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| adj.短暂的，飞逝的 | |
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134
jugular
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| n.颈静脉 | |
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135
slew
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| v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多 | |
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136
strapped
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| adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
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137
collapse
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| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
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138
braced
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| adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来 | |
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139
stimulant
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| n.刺激物，兴奋剂 | |
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140
wielded
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| 手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的过去式和过去分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响） | |
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141
adorn
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| vt.使美化，装饰 | |
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142
adornment
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| n.装饰；装饰品 | |
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143
dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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144
annex
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| vt.兼并，吞并；n.附属建筑物 | |
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