The house might contain, upon a pinch, the retinue5 of a greater person than Sir Daniel; but even now it was filled with hubbub6. The court rang with arms and horseshoe-iron; the kitchens roared with cookery like a bees’-hive; minstrels, and the players of instruments, and the cries of tumblers, sounded from the hall. Sir Daniel, in his profusion7, in the gaiety and gallantry of his establishment, rivalled with Lord Shoreby, and eclipsed Lord Risingham.
All guests were made welcome. Minstrels, tumblers, players of chess, the sellers of relics8, medicines, perfumes, and enchantments9, and along with these every sort of priest, friar, or pilgrim, were made welcome to the lower table, and slept together in the ample lofts10, or on the bare boards of the long dining-hall.
On the afternoon following the wreck11 of the Good Hope, the buttery, the kitchens, the stables, the covered cartshed that surrounded two sides of the court, were all crowded by idle people, partly belonging to Sir Daniel’s establishment, and attired12 in his livery of murrey and blue, partly nondescript strangers attracted to the town by greed, and received by the knight14 through policy, and because it was the fashion of the time.
The snow, which still fell without interruption, the extreme chill of the air, and the approach of night, combined to keep them under shelter. Wine, ale, and money were all plentiful15; many sprawled16 gambling17 in the straw of the barn, many were still drunken from the noontide meal. To the eye of a modern it would have looked like the sack of a city; to the eye of a contemporary it was like any other rich and noble household at a festive18 season.
Two monks—a young and an old—had arrived late, and were now warming themselves at a bonfire in a corner of the shed. A mixed crowd surrounded them—jugglers, mountebanks, and soldiers; and with these the elder of the two had soon engaged so brisk a conversation, and exchanged so many loud guffaws20 and country witticisms21, that the group momentarily increased in number.
The younger companion, in whom the reader has already recognised Dick Shelton, sat from the first somewhat backward, and gradually drew himself away. He listened, indeed, closely, but he opened not his mouth; and by the grave expression of his countenance22, he made but little account of his companion’s pleasantries.
At last his eye, which travelled continually to and fro, and kept a guard upon all the entrances of the house, lit upon a little procession entering by the main gate and crossing the court in an oblique23 direction. Two ladies, muffled24 in thick furs, led the way, and were followed by a pair of waiting-women and four stout25 men-at-arms. The next moment they had disappeared within the house; and Dick, slipping through the crowd of loiterers in the shed, was already giving hot pursuit.
“The taller of these twain was Lady Brackley,” he thought; “and where Lady Brackley is, Joan will not be far.”
At the door of the house the four men-at-arms had ceased to follow, and the ladies were now mounting the stairway of polished oak, under no better escort than that of the two waiting-women. Dick followed close behind. It was already the dusk of the day; and in the house the darkness of the night had almost come. On the stair-landings, torches flared26 in iron holders27; down the long, tapestried28 corridors, a lamp burned by every door. And where the door stood open, Dick could look in upon arras-covered walls and rush-bescattered floors, glowing in the light of the wood fires.
Two floors were passed, and at every landing the younger and shorter of the two ladies had looked back keenly at the monk19. He, keeping his eyes lowered, and affecting the demure30 manners that suited his disguise, had but seen her once, and was unaware31 that he had attracted her attention. And now, on the third floor, the party separated, the younger lady continuing to ascend32 alone, the other, followed by the waiting-maids, descending33 the corridor to the right.
Dick mounted with a swift foot, and holding to the corner, thrust forth35 his head and followed the three women with his eyes. Without turning or looking behind them, they continued to descend34 the corridor.
“It is right well,” thought Dick. “Let me but know my Lady Brackley’s chamber36, and it will go hard an I find not Dame37 Hatch upon an errand.”
And just then a hand was laid upon his shoulder, and, with a bound and a choked cry, he turned to grapple his assailant.
He was somewhat abashed38 to find, in the person whom he had so roughly seized, the short young lady in the furs. She, on her part, was shocked and terrified beyond expression, and hung trembling in his grasp.
“Madam,” said Dick, releasing her, “I cry you a thousand pardons; but I have no eyes behind, and, by the mass, I could not tell ye were a maid.”
The girl continued to look at him, but, by this time, terror began to be succeeded by surprise, and surprise by suspicion. Dick, who could read these changes on her face, became alarmed for his own safety in that hostile house.
“Fair maid,” he said, affecting easiness, “suffer me to kiss your hand, in token ye forgive my roughness, and I will even go.”
“Y’ are a strange monk, young sir,” returned the young lady, looking him both boldly and shrewdly in the face; “and now that my first astonishment39 hath somewhat passed away, I can spy the layman40 in each word you utter. What do ye here? Why are ye thus sacrilegiously tricked out? Come ye in peace or war? And why spy ye after Lady Brackley like a thief?”
“Madam,” quoth Dick, “of one thing I pray you to be very sure: I am no thief. And even if I come here in war, as in some degree I do, I make no war upon fair maids, and I hereby entreat41 them to copy me so far, and to leave me be. For, indeed, fair mistress, cry out—if such be your pleasure—cry but once, and say what ye have seen, and the poor gentleman before you is merely a dead man. I cannot think ye would be cruel,” added Dick; and taking the girl’s hand gently in both of his, he looked at her with courteous42 admiration43.
“Are ye, then, a spy—a Yorkist?” asked the maid.
“Madam,” he replied, “I am indeed a Yorkist, and, in some sort, a spy. But that which bringeth me into this house, the same which will win for me the pity and interest of your kind heart, is neither of York nor Lancaster. I will wholly put my life in your discretion44. I am a lover, and my name—”
But here the young lady clapped her hand suddenly upon Dick’s mouth, looked hastily up and down and east and west, and, seeing the coast clear, began to drag the young man, with great strength and vehemence45, up-stairs.
“Hush!” she said, “and come! Shalt talk hereafter.”
Somewhat bewildered, Dick suffered himself to be pulled up-stairs, bustled46 along a corridor, and thrust suddenly into a chamber, lit, like so many of the others, by a blazing log upon the hearth47.
“Now,” said the young lady, forcing him down upon a stool, “sit ye there and attend my sovereign good pleasure. I have life and death over you, and I will not scruple48 to abuse my power. Look to yourself; y’ ’ave cruelly mauled my arm. He knew not I was a maid, quoth he! Had he known I was a maid, he had ta’en his belt to me, forsooth!”
And with these words, she whipped out of the room and left Dick gaping49 with wonder, and not very sure if he were dreaming or awake.
“Ta’en my belt to her!” he repeated. “Ta’en my belt to her!” And the recollection of that evening in the forest flowed back upon his mind, and he once more saw Matcham’s wincing50 body and beseeching51 eyes.
And then he was recalled to the dangers of the present. In the next room he heard a stir, as of a person moving; then followed a sigh, which sounded strangely near; and then the rustle52 of skirts and tap of feet once more began. As he stood hearkening, he saw the arras wave along the wall; there was the sound of a door being opened, the hangings divided, and, lamp in hand, Joanna Sedley entered the apartment.
She was attired in costly53 stuffs of deep and warm colours, such as befit the winter and the snow. Upon her head, her hair had been gathered together and became her as a crown. And she, who had seemed so little and so awkward in the attire13 of Matcham, was now tall like a young willow54, and swam across the floor as though she scorned the drudgery55 of walking.
“What make ye here, good brother?” she inquired. “Ye are doubtless ill-directed. Whom do ye require? And she set her lamp upon the bracket.
“Joanna,” said Dick; and then his voice failed him. “Joanna,” he began again, “ye said ye loved me; and the more fool I, but I believed it!”
“Dick!” she cried. “Dick!”
And then, to the wonder of the lad, this beautiful and tall young lady made but one step of it, and threw her arms about his neck and gave him a hundred kisses all in one.
“Oh, the fool fellow!” she cried. “Oh, dear Dick! Oh, if ye could see yourself! Alack!” she added, pausing. “I have spoilt you, Dick! I have knocked some of the paint off. But that can be mended. What cannot be mended, Dick—or I much fear it cannot!—is my marriage with Lord Shoreby.”
“To-morrow, before noon, Dick, in the abbey church,” she answered, “John Matcham and Joanna Sedley both shall come to a right miserable58 end. There is no help in tears, or I could weep mine eyes out. I have not spared myself to pray, but Heaven frowns on my petition. And, dear Dick—good Dick—but that ye can get me forth of this house before the morning, we must even kiss and say good-bye.”
“Nay,” said Dick, “not I; I will never say that word. ’Tis like despair; but while there’s life, Joanna, there is hope. Yet will I hope. Ay, by the mass, and triumph! Look ye, now, when ye were but a name to me, did I not follow—did I not rouse good men—did I not stake my life upon the quarrel? And now that I have seen you for what ye are—the fairest maid and stateliest of England—think ye I would turn?—if the deep sea were there, I would straight through it; if the way were full of lions, I would scatter29 them like mice.”
“Ay,” she said, dryly, “ye make a great ado about a sky-blue robe!”
“Nay, Joan,” protested Dick, “’tis not alone the robe. But, lass, ye were disguised. Here am I disguised; and, to the proof, do I not cut a figure of fun—a right fool’s figure?”
“Ay, Dick, an’ that ye do!” she answered, smiling.
“Well, then!” he returned, triumphant59. “So was it with you, poor Matcham, in the forest. In sooth, ye were a wench to laugh at. But now!”
So they ran on, holding each other by both hands, exchanging smiles and lovely looks, and melting minutes into seconds; and so they might have continued all night long. But presently there was a noise behind them; and they were aware of the short young lady, with her finger on her lips.
“Saints!” she cried, “but what a noise ye keep! Can ye not speak in compass? And now, Joanna, my fair maid of the woods, what will ye give your gossip for bringing you your sweetheart?”
“And you, sir,” added the young lady, “what do ye give me?”
“Madam,” said Dick, “I would fain offer to pay you in the same money.”
“Come, then,” said the lady, “it is permitted you.”
But Dick, blushing like a peony, only kissed her hand.
“What ails61 ye at my face, fair sir?” she inquired, curtseying to the very ground; and then, when Dick had at length and most tepidly62 embraced her, “Joanna,” she added, “your sweetheart is very backward under your eyes; but I warrant you, when first we met he was more ready. I am all black and blue, wench; trust me never, if I be not black and blue! And now,” she continued, “have ye said your sayings? for I must speedily dismiss the paladin.”
But at this they both cried out that they had said nothing, that the night was still very young, and that they would not be separated so early.
“And supper?” asked the young lady. “Must we not go down to supper?”
“Nay, to be sure!” cried Joan. “I had forgotten.”
“Hide me, then,” said Dick, “put me behind the arras, shut me in a chest, or what ye will, so that I may be here on your return. Indeed, fair lady,” he added, “bear this in mind, that we are sore bested, and may never look upon each other’s face from this night forward till we die.”
At this the young lady melted; and when, a little after, the bell summoned Sir Daniel’s household to the board, Dick was planted very stiffly against the wall, at a place where a division in the tapestry63 permitted him to breathe the more freely, and even to see into the room.
He had not been long in this position, when he was somewhat strangely disturbed. The silence, in that upper storey of the house, was only broken by the flickering64 of the flames and the hissing65 of a green log in the chimney; but presently, to Dick’s strained hearing, there came the sound of some one walking with extreme precaution; and soon after the door opened, and a little black-faced, dwarfish66 fellow, in Lord Shoreby’s colours, pushed first his head, and then his crooked67 body, into the chamber. His mouth was open, as though to hear the better; and his eyes, which were very bright, flitted restlessly and swiftly to and fro. He went round and round the room, striking here and there upon the hangings; but Dick, by a miracle, escaped his notice. Then he looked below the furniture, and examined the lamp; and, at last, with an air of cruel disappointment, was preparing to go away as silently as he had come, when down he dropped upon his knees, picked up something from among the rushes on the floor, examined it, and, with every signal of delight, concealed68 it in the wallet at his belt.
Dick’s heart sank, for the object in question was a tassel69 from his own girdle; and it was plain to him that this dwarfish spy, who took a malign70 delight in his employment, would lose no time in bearing it to his master, the baron71. He was half-tempted to throw aside the arras, fall upon the scoundrel, and, at the risk of his life, remove the telltale token. And while he was still hesitating, a new cause of concern was added. A voice, hoarse72 and broken by drink, began to be audible from the stair; and presently after, uneven73, wandering, and heavy footsteps sounded without along the passage.
“What make ye here, my merry men, among the greenwood shaws?” sang the voice. “What make ye here? Hey! sots, what make ye here?” it added, with a rattle74 of drunken laughter; and then, once more breaking into song:
“If ye should drink the clary wine,
Fat Friar John, ye friend o’ mine—
If I should eat, and ye should drink,
Who shall sing the mass, d’ye think?”
Lawless, alas75! rolling drunk, was wandering the house, seeking for a corner wherein to slumber76 off the effect of his potations. Dick inwardly raged. The spy, at first terrified, had grown reassured77 as he found he had to deal with an intoxicated78 man, and now, with a movement of cat-like rapidity, slipped from the chamber, and was gone from Richard’s eyes.
What was to be done? If he lost touch of Lawless for the night, he was left impotent, whether to plan or carry forth Joanna’s rescue. If, on the other hand, he dared to address the drunken outlaw79, the spy might still be lingering within sight, and the most fatal consequences ensue.
It was, nevertheless, upon this last hazard that Dick decided. Slipping from behind the tapestry, he stood ready in the doorway80 of the chamber, with a warning hand upraised. Lawless, flushed crimson81, with his eyes injected, vacillating on his feet, drew still unsteadily nearer. At last he hazily82 caught sight of his commander, and, in despite of Dick’s imperious signals, hailed him instantly and loudly by his name.
Dick leaped upon and shook the drunkard furiously.
“Beast!” he hissed—“beast and no man! It is worse than treachery to be so witless. We may all be shent for thy sotting.”
But Lawless only laughed and staggered, and tried to clap young Shelton on the back.
And just then Dick’s quick ear caught a rapid brushing in the arras. He leaped towards the sound, and the next moment a piece of the wall-hanging had been torn down, and Dick and the spy were sprawling83 together in its folds. Over and over they rolled, grappling for each other’s throat, and still baffled by the arras, and still silent in their deadly fury. But Dick was by much the stronger, and soon the spy lay prostrate84 under his knee, and, with a single stroke of the long poniard, ceased to breathe.
点击收听单词发音
1 commodious | |
adj.宽敞的;使用方便的 | |
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2 mansion | |
n.大厦,大楼;宅第 | |
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3 thatch | |
vt.用茅草覆盖…的顶部;n.茅草(屋) | |
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4 alleys | |
胡同,小巷( alley的名词复数 ); 小径 | |
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5 retinue | |
n.侍从;随员 | |
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6 hubbub | |
n.嘈杂;骚乱 | |
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7 profusion | |
n.挥霍;丰富 | |
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8 relics | |
[pl.]n.遗物,遗迹,遗产;遗体,尸骸 | |
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9 enchantments | |
n.魅力( enchantment的名词复数 );迷人之处;施魔法;着魔 | |
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10 lofts | |
阁楼( loft的名词复数 ); (由工厂等改建的)套房; 上层楼面; 房间的越层 | |
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11 wreck | |
n.失事,遇难;沉船;vt.(船等)失事,遇难 | |
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12 attired | |
adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服,使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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13 attire | |
v.穿衣,装扮[同]array;n.衣着;盛装 | |
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14 knight | |
n.骑士,武士;爵士 | |
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15 plentiful | |
adj.富裕的,丰富的 | |
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16 sprawled | |
v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的过去式和过去分词);蔓延;杂乱无序地拓展;四肢伸展坐着(或躺着) | |
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17 gambling | |
n.赌博;投机 | |
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18 festive | |
adj.欢宴的,节日的 | |
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19 monk | |
n.和尚,僧侣,修道士 | |
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20 guffaws | |
n.大笑,狂笑( guffaw的名词复数 )v.大笑,狂笑( guffaw的第三人称单数 ) | |
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21 witticisms | |
n.妙语,俏皮话( witticism的名词复数 ) | |
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22 countenance | |
n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同 | |
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23 oblique | |
adj.斜的,倾斜的,无诚意的,不坦率的 | |
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24 muffled | |
adj.(声音)被隔的;听不太清的;(衣服)裹严的;蒙住的v.压抑,捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 );用厚厚的衣帽包着(自己) | |
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26 Flared | |
adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词 | |
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27 holders | |
支持物( holder的名词复数 ); 持有者; (支票等)持有人; 支托(或握持)…之物 | |
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28 tapestried | |
adj.饰挂绣帷的,织在绣帷上的v.用挂毯(或绣帷)装饰( tapestry的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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29 scatter | |
vt.撒,驱散,散开;散布/播;vi.分散,消散 | |
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30 demure | |
adj.严肃的;端庄的 | |
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31 unaware | |
a.不知道的,未意识到的 | |
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32 ascend | |
vi.渐渐上升,升高;vt.攀登,登上 | |
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33 descending | |
n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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34 descend | |
vt./vi.传下来,下来,下降 | |
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35 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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36 chamber | |
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所 | |
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37 dame | |
n.女士 | |
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38 abashed | |
adj.窘迫的,尴尬的v.使羞愧,使局促,使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39 astonishment | |
n.惊奇,惊异 | |
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40 layman | |
n.俗人,门外汉,凡人 | |
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41 entreat | |
v.恳求,恳请 | |
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42 courteous | |
adj.彬彬有礼的,客气的 | |
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43 admiration | |
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕 | |
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44 discretion | |
n.谨慎;随意处理 | |
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45 vehemence | |
n.热切;激烈;愤怒 | |
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46 bustled | |
闹哄哄地忙乱,奔忙( bustle的过去式和过去分词 ); 催促 | |
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47 hearth | |
n.壁炉炉床,壁炉地面 | |
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48 scruple | |
n./v.顾忌,迟疑 | |
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49 gaping | |
adj.口的;张口的;敞口的;多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 );张开,张大 | |
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50 wincing | |
赶紧避开,畏缩( wince的现在分词 ) | |
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51 beseeching | |
adj.恳求似的v.恳求,乞求(某事物)( beseech的现在分词 ) | |
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52 rustle | |
v.沙沙作响;偷盗(牛、马等);n.沙沙声声 | |
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53 costly | |
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的 | |
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54 willow | |
n.柳树 | |
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55 drudgery | |
n.苦工,重活,单调乏味的工作 | |
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56 tremor | |
n.震动,颤动,战栗,兴奋,地震 | |
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57 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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58 miserable | |
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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59 triumphant | |
adj.胜利的,成功的;狂欢的,喜悦的 | |
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60 fierily | |
如火地,炽热地,猛烈地 | |
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61 ails | |
v.生病( ail的第三人称单数 );感到不舒服;处境困难;境况不佳 | |
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62 tepidly | |
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63 tapestry | |
n.挂毯,丰富多采的画面 | |
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64 flickering | |
adj.闪烁的,摇曳的,一闪一闪的 | |
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65 hissing | |
n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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66 dwarfish | |
a.像侏儒的,矮小的 | |
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67 crooked | |
adj.弯曲的;不诚实的,狡猾的,不正当的 | |
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68 concealed | |
a.隐藏的,隐蔽的 | |
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69 tassel | |
n.流苏,穗;v.抽穗, (玉米)长穗须 | |
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70 malign | |
adj.有害的;恶性的;恶意的;v.诽谤,诬蔑 | |
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71 baron | |
n.男爵;(商业界等)巨头,大王 | |
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72 hoarse | |
adj.嘶哑的,沙哑的 | |
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73 uneven | |
adj.不平坦的,不规则的,不均匀的 | |
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74 rattle | |
v.飞奔,碰响;激怒;n.碰撞声;拨浪鼓 | |
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75 alas | |
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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76 slumber | |
n.睡眠,沉睡状态 | |
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77 reassured | |
adj.使消除疑虑的;使放心的v.再保证,恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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78 intoxicated | |
喝醉的,极其兴奋的 | |
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79 outlaw | |
n.歹徒,亡命之徒;vt.宣布…为不合法 | |
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80 doorway | |
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径 | |
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81 crimson | |
n./adj.深(绯)红色(的);vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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82 hazily | |
ad. vaguely, not clear | |
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83 sprawling | |
adj.蔓生的,不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 );蔓延;杂乱无序地拓展;四肢伸展坐着(或躺着) | |
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84 prostrate | |
v.拜倒,平卧,衰竭;adj.拜倒的,平卧的,衰竭的 | |
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