TO be cooped up for three weeks with the two stupidest girls in the school—"
"Kid McCoy isn't so bad," said Conny consolingly.
"But you know she's entertaining, Patty."
"She never says a word that isn't slang, and I think she's the limit!"
"Well, anyway, Harriet Gladden—"
"Is perfectly2 dreadful and you know it. I would just as soon spend Christmas with a weeping angel on a tombstone."
"She is pretty mournful," Priscilla agreed. "I've spent three Christmases with her. But anyway, you'll have fun. You can be late for meals whenever you want, and Nora lets you make candy on the kitchen stove."[150]
Patty sniffed3 disdainfully as she commenced the work of resettling her room, after the joyous4 upheaval5 of a Christmas packing. The other two assisted in silent sympathy. There was after all not much comfort to be offered. School in holiday time was a lonely substitute for home. Priscilla, whose father was a naval6 officer, and whose home was a peripatetic7 affair, had become inured8 to the experience; but this particular year, she was gaily9 setting out to visit cousins in New York—with three new dresses and two new hats! And Patty, whose home was a mere10 matter of two hours in a Pullman car, was to be left behind; for six-year old Thomas Wyatt had chosen this inopportune time to come down with scarlet11 fever. The case was of the lightest; Master Tommy was sitting up in bed and occupying himself with a box of lead soldiers. But the rest of the family were not so comfortable. Some were quarantined in, and the others out. Judge Wyatt had installed himself in a hotel and telegraphed the Dowager to keep Patty at St. Ursula's during the holidays. Poor Patty had been happily pack[151]ing her trunk when the news arrived; and as she unpacked12 it, she distributed a few excusable tears through the bureau drawers.
Ordinarily, a number remained for the holidays,—girls whose homes were in the West or South, or whose parents were traveling abroad or getting divorces—but this year the assortment13 was unusually meager14. Patty was left alone in "Paradise Alley15." Margarite McCoy, of Texas, was stranded16 at the end of the South Corridor, and Harriet Gladden of Nowhere, had a suite17 of eighteen rooms at her disposal in "Lark18 Lane." These and four teachers made up the household.
Harriet Gladden had been five years straight at St. Ursula's—term time and vacations without a break. She came a lanky19 little girl of twelve, all legs and arms, and she was now a lanky big girl of seventeen, still all legs and arms. An invisible father, at intervals20 mentioned in the catalogue, mailed checks to Mrs. Trent; and beyond this made no sign. Poor Harriet was a mournful, silent, neglected child; entirely21 out of place in the effervescing22 life that went on around her.[152]
She never had any birthday boxes from home, never any Christmas presents, except those that came from the school. While the other girls were clamoring for mail, Harriet stood in the background silent and unexpectant. Miss Sallie picked out her clothes, and Miss Sallie's standards were utilitarian23 rather than æsthetic. Harriet, with no exception, was the worst dressed girl in the school. Even her school uniform, which was an exact twin of sixty-three other uniforms, hung upon her with the grace of a meal-bag. Miss Sallie, with provident24 foresight26, always ordered them a size too large in order to allow her to grow and Harriet invariably wore them out, before she had established a fit.
"What on earth becomes of Harriet Gladden during vacation?" Priscilla once wondered on the opening day.
"They keep her on ice through the summer," was Patty's opinion, "and she never gets entirely thawed28 out."
As a matter of fact this was, as nearly as possible, what they did do with her. Miss Sallie picked out a quiet, comfortable, healthy[153] farmhouse29, and installed Harriet in charge of the farmer's wife. By the end of three months she was so desperately30 lonely, that she looked forward with pleasurable excitement to the larger isolation31 of term time.
Patty, one day, had overheard two of the teachers discussing Harriet, and her reported version had been picturesque32.
"Her father hasn't seen her for years and years. He just chucks her in here and pays the bills."
"I don't wonder he doesn't want her at home!" said Priscilla.
"There isn't any home. Her mother is divorced, and married again, and living in Paris. That was the reason Harriet couldn't go abroad with the school party last year. Her father was afraid that when she got to Paris, her mother would grab her—not that either of them really wants her, but they like to spite each other."
Priscilla and Conny sat up interestedly. Here was a tragic33 intrigue34, such as you expect to meet only in novels, going on under their very noses.[154]
"You girls who have had a happy home life, cannot imagine the loneliness of a childhood such as Harriet's," said Patty impressively.
"It's dreadful!" Conny cried. "Her father must be a perfect Beast not to take any notice of her."
"Harriet has her mother's eyes," Patty explained. "Her father can't bear to look at her, because she reminds him of the happy past that is dead forever."
"Did Miss Wadsworth say that?" they demanded in an interested chorus.
"Not in exactly those words," Patty confessed. "I just gathered the outline."
This story, with picturesque additions, lost no time in making the rounds of the school. Had Harriet chosen to play up to the romantic and melancholy35 rôle she was cast for, she might have attained36 popularity of a sort; but Harriet did not have the slightest trace of the histrionic in her make-up. She merely moped about, and continued to be heavy and uninteresting. Other more exciting matters[155] demanded public attention; and Harriet and her blasted childhood were forgotten.
Patty stood on the veranda37 waving good-by to the last hearseful of Christmas travelers, then turned indoors to face an empty three weeks. As she was listlessly preparing to mount the stairs, Maggie waylaid38 her with the message:
"Mrs. Trent would like to speak to you in her private study, Miss Patty."
Patty turned back, wondering for just which of her latest activities she was to be called to account. A visit to the Dowager's private study usually meant that a storm was brewing39. She found the four left-behind teachers cosily40 gathered about the tea table, and to her surprise, was received with four affable smiles.
"Sit down, Patty, and have some tea."
The Dowager motioned her to a chair, while she mingled41 an inch of tea with three inches of hot water. Miss Sallie furnished a fringed napkin, Miss Jellings presented buttered toast, and Miss Wadsworth, salted almonds. Patty blinked dazedly42 and ac[156]cepted the offerings. To be waited on by four teachers was an entirely new experience. Her spirits rose considerably43 as she mentally framed the story for Priscilla's and Conny's delectation. When she had ceased to wonder why she was being thus honored, the reason appeared.
"I am sorry, Patty," said the Dowager, "that none of your special friends are to be here this year; but I am sure that you and Margarite and Harriet will get on very happily. Breakfast will be half an hour later than usual, and the rules about bounds will be somewhat relaxed—only of course we must always know where to find you. I shall try to plan a matinée party in the city, and Miss Sallie will take you to spend a day at the farm. The ice is strong enough now for you to skate, and Martin will get out the sleds for you to coast. You must be in the open air as much as possible; and I shall be very pleased if you and Margarite can interest Harriet in out-of-door sports. Speaking of Harriet—"
The Dowager hesitated momentarily, and[157] Patty's acute understanding realized that at last they were getting at the kernel44 of the interview. The tea and toast had been merely wrapping. She listened with a touch of suspicion, while the Dowager lowered her voice with an air of confidence.
"Speaking of Harriet, I should like to enlist45 your sympathy, Patty. She is very sweet and genuine. A girl that anyone might be proud to have for a friend. But through an accident, such as sometimes happens in a crowded, busy, selfish community, she has been overlooked and left behind. Harriet has never seemed to adjust herself so readily as most girls; and I fear that the poor child is often very lonely. It would be highly gratifying to me if you would make an effort to be friendly with her. I am sure that she will meet your advances half way."
Patty murmured a few polite phrases and retired46 to dress for dinner, stubbornly resolved to be as distant with Harriet as possible. Her friendship was not a commodity to be bought with tea and buttered toast.
The three girls had dinner alone at a little[158] candle-lit table set in a corner of the dining-room, while the four teachers occupied a conveniently distant table in the opposite corner.
Patty commenced the meal by being as monosyllabic as possible; but it was not her natural attitude toward the world, and by the time the veal47 had arrived (it was Wednesday night) she was laughing whole-heartedly at Kid's ingenuous48 conversation. Miss McCoy's vocabulary was rich in the vernacular49 of the plains, and in vacation she let herself go. During term time she was forced to curb50 her discourse51, owing to the penny tax on slang. Otherwise, her entire allowance would have gone to swell52 the public coffers.
It was a relief to let dinner-table conversation flow where it listed; usually, with a teacher in attendance and the route marked out, there was a cramped53 formality about the meal. French conversation was supposed to occupy the first three courses five nights in the week, and every girl must contribute at least two remarks. It cannot be said that on French nights the dining-room was garrulous54. Saturday night was devoted55 to a discussion (in[159] English) of current events, gleaned56 from a study of the editorials in the morning paper. Nobody at St. Ursula's had much time for editorials, and even on an English Saturday conversation languished57. But the school made up for it on Sunday. This day, being festa, they could talk about anything they chose; and sixty-four magpies58 chattering59 their utmost, would have been silence in comparison to St. Ursula's at dinner time on Sunday.
The four days preceding Christmas passed with unexpected swiftness. A snow-storm marked the first, followed by three days of glistening60 sunshine. Martin got out the bobs, and the girls piled in and rode to the wood-lot for evergreens61. There were many errands in the village, and the novelty of not always having a teacher at one's heels, proved in itself diverting.
Patty found the two companions which circumstances had forced upon her unexpectedly companionable. They skated and coasted and had snow fights; and Harriet, to Patty's wide-eyed astonishment62, assumed a very ap[160]preciable animation63. On Christmas Eve they had been out with Martin delivering Christmas baskets to old time protégés of the school; and on the way home, through pure overflowing64 animal spirits, for a mile or more they had "caught on" the back of the bob, and then tumbled out and run and caught on again, until they finally dove head foremost into the big piled-up drift by the porte-cochère. They shook the snow from their clothes, like puppies from a pond, and laughing and excited trooped indoors. Harriet's cheeks were red from contact with the snow, her usually prim65 hair was a tangled66 mass about her face, her big dark eyes had lost their mournful look. They were merry, mischievous67, girlish eyes. She was not merely pretty, but beautiful, in a wild, unusual gypsyish way that compelled attention.
"I say," Patty whispered to Kid McCoy as they divested68 themselves of rubbers and leggins in the lower hall. "Look at Harriet! Isn't she pretty?"
"Golly!" murmured the Kid. "If she[161] knew enough to play up to her looks, she'd be the ravingest beauty in all the school."
"Let's make her!" said Patty.
"I open two box," he observed. "One Mees Margarite McCoy. One Mees Patty Wyatt."
A Christmas box to Kid McCoy meant a lavish71 wealth of new possessions out of all proportion to her desserts. She owned a bachelor guardian72 who was subject to fits of such erratic73 generosity74 that the Dowager had regularly to remind him that Margarite was but a school girl with simple tastes. Fortunately he always forgot this warning before the next Christmas—or else he knew Kid too well to believe it—and the boxes continued to come.
Patty had also started without ceremony for Paradise Alley, when she became aware of deserted75 Harriet, slowly trailing down the[162] dim length of Lark Lane. She ran back and grasped her by an elbow.
Harriet's face flushed with sudden pleasure; it was the first time, in the five and a half years of her school career, that she had ever achieved the dignity of a nickname. She accompanied Patty with some degree of eagerness. The next best thing to receiving a Christmas box of your own, is to be present at the reception of a friend's.
It was a big square wooden box, packed to the brim with smaller boxes and parcels tied with ribbon and holly77, and tucked into every crevice78 funny surprises. You could picture, just from looking at it, the kind of home that it came from, filled with jokes and nonsense and love.
"It's the first Christmas I've ever spent away from home," said Patty, with the suggestion of a quiver in her voice.
But her momentary79 soberness did not last; the business of exploration was too absorbing to allow any divided emotion. Harriet sat[163] on the edge of the bed and watched in silence, while Patty gaily strewed81 the floor with tissue paper and scarlet ribbon. She unpacked a wide assortment of gloves and books and trinkets, each with a message of love. Even the cook had baked a Christmas cake with a fancy top. And little Tommy, in wobbly uphill printing, had labeled an elephant filled with candy, "for dere cister from tom."
Patty laughed happily as she plumped a chocolate into her mouth, and dropped the elephant into Harriet's lap.
"Aren't they dears to go to such a lot of trouble? I tell you, it pays to stay away sometimes, they think such a lot more of you! This is from Mother," she added, as she pried82 off the cover of a big dressmaker's box, and lifted out a filmy dancing frock of pink crêpe.
"Isn't it perfectly sweet?" she demanded, "and I didn't need it a bit! Don't you love to get things you don't need?"
"I never do," said Harriet.
Patty was already deep in another parcel.[164]
"From Daddy, with all the love in the world," she read. "Dear old Dad! What on earth do you s'pose it is? I hope Mother suggested something. He's a perfect idiot about choosing presents, unless—Oh!" she squealed83. "Pink silk stockings and slippers85 to match; and look at those perfectly lovely buckles86!"
She offered for Harriet's inspection87 a pink satin slipper84 adorned88 with the daintiest of silver buckles, and with heels dizzily suggestive of France.
"Isn't my father a lamb?" Patty gaily kissed her hand toward a dignified89, judicial-looking portrait on the bureau. "Mother suggested the slippers, of course, but the buckles and French heels were his own idea. She likes me sensible, and he likes me frivolous90."
She was deep in the absorbing business of holding the pink frock before the glass to make sure that the color was becoming, when she was suddenly arrested by the sound of a sob80, and she turned to see Harriet throw herself across the bed and clutch the pillow in a[165] storm of weeping. Patty stared with wide-open eyes; she herself did not indulge in such emotional demonstrations91, and she could not imagine any possible cause. She moved the pink satin slippers out of reach of Harriet's thrashing feet, gathered up the fallen elephant and scattered92 chocolates, and sat down to wait until the cataclysm93 should pass.
"My father never sent me any s-silver b-buckles."
"He's way off in Mexico," said Patty, awkwardly groping for consolation97.
"He never sends me anything! He doesn't even know me. He wouldn't recognize me if he met me on the street."
"Oh, yes, he would," Patty assured her with doubtful comfort. "You haven't changed a bit in four years."
"And he wouldn't like me if he did know me. I'm not pretty, and my clothes are never nice, and—" Harriet was off again.
Patty regarded her for a moment of[166] thoughtful silence, then she decided98 on a new tack99. She stretched out a hand and shook her vigorously.
"For goodness' sake, stop crying! That's what's the matter with your father. No man can stand having tears dripped down his neck all the time."
Harriet arrested her sobs to stare.
"If you could see the way you look when you cry! Sort of streaked100. Come here!" She took her by the shoulder and faced her before the mirror. "Did you ever see such a fright? And I was just thinking, before you began, about how pretty you looked. I was, honestly. You could be as pretty as any of the rest of us, if you'd only make up your mind—"
"No, I couldn't! I'm just as ugly as I can be. Nobody likes me and—"
"It's your own fault!" said Patty sharply. "If you were fat, like Irene McCullough, or if you didn't have any chin like Evalina Smith, there might be some reason, but there isn't anything on earth the matter with you, except that you're so damp! You[167] cry all the time, and it gets tiresome101 to be forever sympathizing. I'm telling you the truth because I'm beginning to like you. There's never any use bothering to tell people the truth when you don't like them. The reason Conny and Pris and I get on so well together, is because we always tell each other the exact truth about our faults. Then we have a chance to correct them—that's what makes us so nice," she added modestly.
Harriet sat with her mouth open, too surprised to cry.
"And your clothes are awful," pursued Patty interestedly. "You ought not to let Miss Sallie pick 'em out. Miss Sallie's nice; I like her a lot, but she doesn't know any more than a rabbit about clothes; you can tell that by the way she dresses herself. And then, too, you'd be a lot nicer if you wouldn't be so stiff. If you'd just laugh the way the rest of us do—"
"How can I laugh when I don't think things are funny? The jokes the girls make are awfully102 silly—"
Speech was no longer possible, for Kid[168] McCoy came stampeding down the corridor with as much racket as a cavalcade103 of horses. She was decked in a fur scarf and a necklace set with pearls, she wore a muff on her head, drum-major fashion; a lace handkerchief and a carved ivory fan protruded104 from the pocket of her blouse and a pink chiffon scarf floated from her shoulders; her wrist was adorned with an Oriental bracelet105 and she was lugging106 in her arms a silver-mounted Mexican saddle, of a type that might be suited to the plains of Texas, but never to the respectable country lanes adjacent to St. Ursula's.
"Bully107 for Guardie!" she shouted as she descended108 upon them. "He's a daisy; he's a ducky; he's a lamb. Did you ever see such a perfectly corking109 saddle?"
She plumped it over a chair, transformed the pink chiffon scarf into a bridle110, and proceeded to mount and canter off.
"Get up! Whoa! Hi, there! Clear the road."
Harriet jumped aside to avoid being bumped, while Patty snatched her pink frock[169] from the path of the runaway111. They were shrieking112 with laughter, even Harriet, the tearful.
"Now you see!" said Patty, suddenly interrupting her mirth. "It's perfectly easy to laugh if you just let yourself go. Kid isn't really funny. She's just as silly as she can be."
Kid brought her horse to a stand.
"Well I like that!"
"Excuse me for telling the truth," said Patty politely, "I'm just using you for an illustration—Heavens! There's the bell!"
She commenced unlacing her blouse with one hand, while she pushed her guests to the door with the other.
"Hurry and dress, and come back to button me up. It would be a very delicate attention for us to be on time to-night. We've been late for every meal since vacation began."
The meal was half over when Osaki ap[170]peared with a telegram, which he handed to the Dowager. She read it with agitated114 surprise and passed it to Miss Sallie, who raised her eyebrows115 and handed it to Miss Wadsworth, who was thrown into a very visible flutter.
"What on earth can it be?" Kid wondered.
"Lordy's eloped, and they've got to hunt for a new Latin teacher," was Patty's interpretation116.
As the three girls left the table, the Dowager waylaid Harriet.
"Step into my study a moment. A telegram has just come—"
Patty and Kid climbed the stairs in wide-eyed wonder.
"It can't be bad news, for Miss Sallie was smiling—" meditated117 Patty. "And I can't think of any good news that can be happening to Harriet."
Ten minutes later there was the sound of footsteps on the stairs, and Harriet burst into Patty's room wild with excitement.
"He's coming!"[171]
"Who?"
"My father."
"When?"
"Right now—this afternoon—He's been in New York on business, and is coming to see me for Christmas."
"I'm so glad!" said Patty heartily118. "Now, you see the reason he hasn't come before is because he has been away off in Mexico."
Harriet shook her head, with a sudden drop in her animation.
"I suppose he thinks he ought."
"Nonsense!"
"It's so. He doesn't care for me—really. He likes girls to be jolly and pretty and clever like you."
"Well, then—be jolly and pretty and clever like me."
Harriet's eyes sought the mirror, and filled with tears.
"You're a perfect idiot!" said Patty, despairingly.
"I'm an awful fright in my green dress," said Harriet.[172]
"Yes," Patty grudgingly119 conceded. "You are."
"The skirt is too short, and the waist is too long."
"And the sleeves are sort of queer," said Patty.
"What time is he coming?" she asked.
"Four o'clock."
"That gives us two hours," Patty rallied her forces. "One can do an awful lot in two hours. If you were only nearer my size, you could wear my new pink dress—but I'm afraid—" She regarded Harriet's long legs dubiously121. "I'll tell you!" she added, in a rush of generosity. "We'll take out the tucks and let down the hem27."
"Oh, Patty!" Harriet was tearfully afraid of spoiling the gown. But when Patty's zeal122 in any cause was roused, all other considerations were swept aside. The new frock was fetched from the closet, and the ripping began.
"And you can wear Kid's new pearl neck[173]lace and pink scarf, and my silk stockings and slippers—if you can get 'em on—and I think Conny left a lace petticoat that came back from the laundry too late to pack—and—Here's Kid now!"
Miss McCoy's sympathies were enlisted123 and in fifteen minutes the task of transforming a remonstrating124, excited, and occasionally tearful Harriet into the school beauty, was going gaily forward. Kid McCoy was supposed to be an irreclaimable tomboy, but in this crucial moment the eternal feminine came triumphantly125 to the fore25. She sat herself down, with Patty's manicure scissors, and for three-quarters of an hour painstakingly126 ripped out tucks.
Patty meanwhile addressed her attention to Harriet's hair.
"Don't strain it back so tight," she ordered. "It looks as though you'd done it with a monkey-wrench. Here! Give me the comb."
She pushed Harriet into a chair, tied a towel about her neck, and accomplished127 the coifing by force.[174]
"How's that?" she demanded of Kid.
Harriet's hair was rippled129 loosely about her face, and tied with a pink ribbon bow. The ribbon belonged to Conny Wilder, and had heretofore figured as a belt; but individual property rights were forced to bow before the cause.
The slippers and stockings did prove too small, and Patty frenziedly ransacked130 the bureaus of a dozen of her absent friends in the vain hope of unearthing131 pink footwear. In the end, she had reluctantly to permit Harriet's appearing in her own simple cotton hose and patent leather pumps.
"But after all," Patty reassured132 her, "it's better for you to wear black. Your feet would be sort of conspicuous133 in pink." She was still in her truthful134 mood. "I'll tell you!" she cried, "you can wear my silver buckles." And she commenced cruelly wrenching135 them from their pink chiffon setting.
[175]
"They're just the last touch that your costume needs." Patty ruthlessly carried on the work of destruction. "When your father sees those buckles, he'll think you're beautiful!"
For a feverish137 hour they worked. They clothed her triumphantly in all the grandeur138 that they could command. The entire corridor had contributed its quota139, even to the lace-edged handkerchief with a hand-embroidered "H" that had been left behind in Hester Pringle's top drawer. The two turned her critically before the mirror, the pride of creation in their eyes. As Kid had truly presaged140, she was the ravingest beauty in all the school.
Irish Maggie appeared in the door.
"Mr. Gladden is in the drawin'-room, Miss Harriet." She stopped and stared. "Sure, ye're that beautiful I didn't know ye!"
Harriet went with a laugh—and a fighting light in her eyes.[176]
Patty and Kid restlessly set themselves to reducing the chaos141 that this sudden butterfly flight had caused in Paradise Alley—it is always dreary142 work setting things to rights, after the climax143 of an event has been reached.
It was an hour later that the sudden quick patter of feet sounded in the hall, and Harriet ran in—danced in—her eyes were shining; she was a picture of youth and happiness and bubbling spirits.
"Well?" cried Patty and Kid in a breath.
She stretched out her wrist and displayed a gold-linked bracelet set with a tiny watch.
"Look!" she cried, "he brought me that for Christmas. And I'm going to have all the dresses I want, and Miss Sallie isn't going to pick them out ever again. And he's going to stay for dinner to-night, and eat at the little table with us. And he's going to take us into town next Saturday for luncheon and the matinée, and the Dowager says we may go!"
"I knew those silver buckles would fetch him!" said Patty.[178]
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1
horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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upheaval
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| n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱 | |
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naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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peripatetic
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| adj.漫游的，逍遥派的，巡回的 | |
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inured
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| adj.坚强的，习惯的 | |
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gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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12
unpacked
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| v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的过去式和过去分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等） | |
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assortment
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| n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集 | |
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meager
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| adj.缺乏的，不足的，瘦的 | |
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alley
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| n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路 | |
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stranded
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| a.搁浅的，进退两难的 | |
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suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
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lark
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| n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏 | |
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lanky
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| adj.瘦长的 | |
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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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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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effervescing
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| v.冒气泡，起泡沫( effervesce的现在分词 ) | |
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utilitarian
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| adj.实用的，功利的 | |
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provident
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| adj.为将来做准备的，有先见之明的 | |
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25
fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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26
foresight
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| n.先见之明，深谋远虑 | |
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27
hem
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| n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制 | |
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28
thawed
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| 解冻 | |
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29
farmhouse
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| n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房） | |
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30
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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31
isolation
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| n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离 | |
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32
picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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34
intrigue
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| vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋 | |
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35
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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36
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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37
veranda
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| n.走廊；阳台 | |
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38
waylaid
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| v.拦截，拦路( waylay的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
brewing
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| n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式 | |
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40
cosily
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| adv.舒适地，惬意地 | |
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41
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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42
dazedly
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| 头昏眼花地，眼花缭乱地，茫然地 | |
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43
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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44
kernel
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| n.(果实的)核，仁；(问题)的中心，核心 | |
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45
enlist
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| vt.谋取(支持等)，赢得；征募；vi.入伍 | |
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46
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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47
veal
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| n.小牛肉 | |
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48
ingenuous
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| adj.纯朴的，单纯的；天真的；坦率的 | |
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49
vernacular
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| adj.地方的，用地方语写成的；n.白话；行话；本国语；动植物的俗名 | |
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50
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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51
discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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52
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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53
cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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54
garrulous
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| adj.唠叨的，多话的 | |
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55
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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56
gleaned
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| v.一点点地收集（资料、事实）( glean的过去式和过去分词 )；（收割后）拾穗 | |
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57
languished
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| 长期受苦( languish的过去式和过去分词 )； 受折磨； 变得（越来越）衰弱； 因渴望而变得憔悴或闷闷不乐 | |
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58
magpies
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| 喜鹊（magpie的复数形式） | |
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59
chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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60
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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61
evergreens
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| n.常青树，常绿植物，万年青( evergreen的名词复数 ) | |
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62
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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63
animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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64
overflowing
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| n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
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65
prim
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| adj.拘泥形式的，一本正经的；n.循规蹈矩，整洁；adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地 | |
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66
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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67
mischievous
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| adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的 | |
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68
divested
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| v.剥夺( divest的过去式和过去分词 )；脱去（衣服）；2。从…取去…；1。（给某人）脱衣服 | |
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69
chisel
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| n.凿子；v.用凿子刻，雕，凿 | |
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70
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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71
lavish
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| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
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72
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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73
erratic
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| adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的 | |
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74
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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75
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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76
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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77
holly
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| n.[植]冬青属灌木 | |
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78
crevice
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| n.(岩石、墙等)裂缝；缺口 | |
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79
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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80
sob
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| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
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81
strewed
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| v.撒在…上( strew的过去式和过去分词 )；散落于；点缀；撒满 | |
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82
pried
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| v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的过去式和过去分词 )；撬开 | |
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83
squealed
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| v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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84
slipper
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| n.拖鞋 | |
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85
slippers
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| n. 拖鞋 | |
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86
buckles
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| 搭扣，扣环( buckle的名词复数 ) | |
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87
inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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88
adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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89
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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90
frivolous
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| adj.轻薄的；轻率的 | |
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91
demonstrations
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| 证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威 | |
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92
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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93
cataclysm
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| n.洪水，剧变，大灾难 | |
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94
sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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95
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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96
gasps
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| v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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97
consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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98
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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99
tack
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| n.大头钉；假缝，粗缝 | |
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100
streaked
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| adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
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101
tiresome
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| adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的 | |
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102
awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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103
cavalcade
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| n.车队等的行列 | |
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104
protruded
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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105
bracelet
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| n.手镯，臂镯 | |
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106
lugging
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| 超载运转能力 | |
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107
bully
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| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 | |
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108
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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109
corking
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| adj.很好的adv.非常地v.用瓶塞塞住( cork的现在分词 ) | |
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110
bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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111
runaway
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| n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的 | |
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112
shrieking
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| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
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113
luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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114
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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115
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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116
interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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117
meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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118
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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119
grudgingly
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120
ebbing
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| （指潮水）退( ebb的现在分词 )； 落； 减少； 衰落 | |
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121
dubiously
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| adv.可疑地，怀疑地 | |
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122
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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123
enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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124
remonstrating
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| v.抗议( remonstrate的现在分词 )；告诫 | |
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125
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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126
painstakingly
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| adv. 费力地 苦心地 | |
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127
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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128
mumbled
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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129
rippled
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| 使泛起涟漪（ripple的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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130
ransacked
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| v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 )；抢劫，掠夺 | |
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131
unearthing
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| 发掘或挖出某物( unearth的现在分词 )； 搜寻到某事物，发现并披露 | |
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132
reassured
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| 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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133
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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134
truthful
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| adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的 | |
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135
wrenching
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| n.修截苗根，苗木铲根（铲根时苗木不起土或部分起土）v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的现在分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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136
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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137
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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138
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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139
quota
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| n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额 | |
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140
presaged
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| v.预示，预兆( presage的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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141
chaos
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| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
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142
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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143
climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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144
gee
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| n.马；int.向右！前进！，惊讶时所发声音；v.向右转 | |
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