The valley was very still; as silent as though sound had been withdrawn2 from it. The shimmering4 radiance suffusing5 it had thickened perceptibly; hovered6 over the valley floor faintly sparkling mists; hid it.
Like a shroud7 was that silence. Beneath it my mind struggled, its unease, its forebodings growing ever stronger. Silently we repacked the saddlebags; girthed the pony8; silently we waited for Norhala’s return.
Idly I had noted9 that the place on which we stood must be raised above the level of the vale. Up toward us the gathering10 mists had been steadily11 rising; still was their wavering crest12 a half score feet below us.
Abruptly13 out of their dim nebulosity a faintly phosphorescent square broke. It lifted, slowly; then swept, a dully lustrous14 six-foot cube, up the slope and came to rest almost at our feet. It dwelt there; contemplated15 us from its myriads17 of deep-set, sparkling striations.
In its wake swam, one by one, six others — their tops raising from the vapors18 like the first, watchfully19; like shimmering backs of sea monsters; like turrets20 of fantastic angled submarines from phosphorescent seas. One by one they skimmed swiftly over the ledge21; and one by one they nestled, edge to edge and alternately, against the cube which had gone before.
In a crescent, they stretched before us. Back from them, a pace, ten paces, twenty, we retreated.
They lay immobile — staring at us.
Cleaving22 the mists, silk of copper23 hair streaming wide, unearthly eyes lambent, floated up behind them — Norhala. For an instant she was hidden behind their bulk; suddenly was upon them; drifted over them like some spirit of light; stood before us.
Her veils were again about her; golden girdle, sandals of gold and turquoise25 in their places. Pearl white her body gleamed; no mark of lightning marred26 it.
She walked toward us, turned and faced the watching cubes. She uttered no sound, but as at a signal the central cube slid forward, halted before her. She rested a hand upon its edge.
“Ride with me,” she said to Ruth.
“Norhala.” Ventnor took a step forward. “Norhala, we must go with her. And this”— he pointed27 to the pony — “must go with us.”
“I meant — you — to come,” the faraway voice chimed, “but I had not thought of — that.”
A moment she considered; then turned to the six waiting cubes. Again as at a command four of the things moved, swirled28 in toward each other with a weird29 precision, with a monstrous30 martial31 mimicry32; joined; stood before us, a platform twelve feet square, six high.
“Mount,” sighed Norhala.
Ventnor looked helplessly at the sheer front facing him.
“Mount.” There was half-wondering impatience33 in her command. “See!”
She caught Ruth by the waist and with the same bewildering swiftness with which she had vanished from us when the aurora34 beckoned35 she stood, holding the girl, upon the top of the single cube. It was as though the two had been lifted, had been levitated36 with an incredible rapidity.
“Mount,” she murmured again, looking down upon us.
Slowly Ventnor began to bandage the pony’s eyes. I placed my hand upon the edge of the quadruple; sprang. A myriad16 unseen hands caught me, raised me, set me instantaneously on the upward surface.
“Lift the pony to me,” I called to Ventnor.
“Lift it?” he echoed, incredulously.
Drake’s grin cut like a sunray through the nightmare dread37 that shrouded38 my mind.
“Catch,” he called; placed one hand beneath the beast’s belly39, the other under its throat; his shoulders heaved — and up shot the pony, laden40 as it was, landed softly upon four wide-stretched legs beside me. The faces of the two gaped41 up, ludicrous in their amazement42.
“Follow,” cried Norhala.
Ventnor leaped wildly for the top, Drake beside him; in the flash of a humming-bird’s wing they were gripping me, swearing feebly. The unseen hold angled; struck upward; clutched from ankle to thigh43; held us fast — men and beast.
Away swept the block that bore Ruth and Norhala; I saw Ruth crouching44, head bent24, her arms around the knees of the woman. They slipped into the mists; vanished.
And after them, like a log in a racing45 current, we, too, dipped beneath the faintly luminous46 vapors.
The cubes moved with an entire absence of vibration47; so smoothly48 and skimmingly, indeed, that had it not been for the sudden wind that had risen when first we had stirred, and that now beat steadily upon our faces, and the cloudy walls streaming by, I would have thought ourselves at rest.
I saw the blurred49 form of Ventnor drift toward the forward edge. He walked as though wading50. I essayed to follow him; my feet I could not lift; I could advance only by gliding51 them as though skating.
Also the force, whatever it was, that held me seemed to pass me on from unseen clutch to clutch; it was as though up to my hips52 I moved through a closely woven yet fluid mass of cobwebs. I had the fantastic idea that if I so willed I could slip over the edge of the blocks, crawl about their sides without falling — like a fly on the vertical53 faces of a huge sugar loaf.
I drew beside Ventnor. He was staring ahead, striving, I knew, to pierce the mists for some glimpse of Ruth.
He turned to me, his face drawn3 with anxiety, his eyes feverish54.
“Can you see them, Walter?” His voice shook. “God — why did I ever let her go like that? Why did I let her go alone?”
“They’ll be close ahead, Martin.” I spoke55 out of a conviction I could not explain. “Whatever it is we’re bound for, wherever it is the woman’s taking us, she means to keep us together — for a time at least. I’m sure of it.”
“She said — follow.” It was Drake beside us. “How the hell can we do anything else? We haven’t any control over this bird we’re on. But she has. What she meant, Ventnor, is that it would follow her.”
“That’s true”— new hope softened56 the haggard face — “that’s true — but is it? We’re reckoning with creatures that man’s imagination never conceived — nor could conceive. And with this — woman — human in shape, yes, but human in thought — never. How then can we tell —”
He turned once more, all his consciousness concentrated in his searching eyes.
Drake’s rifle slipped from his hand.
He stooped to pick it up; then tugged57 with both hands. The rifle lay immovable.
I bent and strove to aid him. For all the pair of us could do, the rifle might have been a part of the gleaming surface on which it rested. The tiny, deepset star points winked58 up —
“They’re — laughing at us!” grunted59 Drake.
“Nonsense,” I answered, and tried to check the involuntary shuddering60 that shook me, as I saw it shake him. “Nonsense. These blocks are great magnets — that’s what holds the rifle; what holds us, too.”
“I don’t mean the rifle,” he said; “I mean those points of lights — the eyes —”
There came from Ventnor a cry of almost anguished61 relief. We straightened. Our head shot above the mists like those of swimmers from water. Unnoticed, we had been climbing out of them.
And a hundred yards ahead of us, cleaving them, veiled in them almost to the shoulders, was Norhala, red-gold tresses steaming; and close beside her were the brown curls of Ruth. At her brother’s cry she turned and her arm flashed out of the veils with reassuring62 gesture.
A mile away was an opening in the valley’s mountainous wall; toward it we were speeding. It was no ragged63 crevice64, no nature split fissure65; it gave the impression of a gigantic doorway66.
“Look,” whispered Drake.
Between us and the vast gateway67, gleaming triangles began to break through the vapors, like the cutting fins68 of sharks, glints of round bodies like gigantic porpoises69 — the vapors seethed70 with them. Quickly the fins and rolling curves were all about us. They centered upon the portal, streamed through — a horde71 of the metal things, leading us, guarding us, playing about us.
And weird, unutterably weird was that spectacle — the vast and silent vale with its still, smooth vapors like a coverlet of cloud; the regal head of Norhala sweeping72 over them; the dull glint and gleam of the metal paradoxes73 flowing, in ordered motion, all about us; the titanic74 gateway, glowing before us.
We were at its threshold; over it.
点击收听单词发音
1 wan | |
(wide area network)广域网 | |
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2 withdrawn | |
vt.收回;使退出;vi.撤退,退出 | |
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3 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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4 shimmering | |
v.闪闪发光,发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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5 suffusing | |
v.(指颜色、水气等)弥漫于,布满( suffuse的现在分词 ) | |
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6 hovered | |
鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 ); 靠近(某事物); (人)徘徊; 犹豫 | |
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7 shroud | |
n.裹尸布,寿衣;罩,幕;vt.覆盖,隐藏 | |
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8 pony | |
adj.小型的;n.小马 | |
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9 noted | |
adj.著名的,知名的 | |
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10 gathering | |
n.集会,聚会,聚集 | |
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11 steadily | |
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地 | |
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12 crest | |
n.顶点;饰章;羽冠;vt.达到顶点;vi.形成浪尖 | |
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13 abruptly | |
adv.突然地,出其不意地 | |
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14 lustrous | |
adj.有光泽的;光辉的 | |
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15 contemplated | |
adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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16 myriad | |
adj.无数的;n.无数,极大数量 | |
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17 myriads | |
n.无数,极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
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18 vapors | |
n.水汽,水蒸气,无实质之物( vapor的名词复数 );自夸者;幻想 [药]吸入剂 [古]忧郁(症)v.自夸,(使)蒸发( vapor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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19 watchfully | |
警惕地,留心地 | |
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20 turrets | |
(六角)转台( turret的名词复数 ); (战舰和坦克等上的)转动炮塔; (摄影机等上的)镜头转台; (旧时攻城用的)塔车 | |
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21 ledge | |
n.壁架,架状突出物;岩架,岩礁 | |
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22 cleaving | |
v.劈开,剁开,割开( cleave的现在分词 ) | |
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23 copper | |
n.铜;铜币;铜器;adj.铜(制)的;(紫)铜色的 | |
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24 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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25 turquoise | |
n.绿宝石;adj.蓝绿色的 | |
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26 marred | |
adj. 被损毁, 污损的 | |
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27 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
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28 swirled | |
v.旋转,打旋( swirl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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29 weird | |
adj.古怪的,离奇的;怪诞的,神秘而可怕的 | |
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30 monstrous | |
adj.巨大的;恐怖的;可耻的,丢脸的 | |
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31 martial | |
adj.战争的,军事的,尚武的,威武的 | |
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32 mimicry | |
n.(生物)拟态,模仿 | |
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33 impatience | |
n.不耐烦,急躁 | |
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34 aurora | |
n.极光 | |
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35 beckoned | |
v.(用头或手的动作)示意,召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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36 levitated | |
v.(使)升空,(使)漂浮( levitate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37 dread | |
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧 | |
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38 shrouded | |
v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 );保密 | |
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39 belly | |
n.肚子,腹部;(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分,膛 | |
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40 laden | |
adj.装满了的;充满了的;负了重担的;苦恼的 | |
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41 gaped | |
v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的过去式和过去分词 );张开,张大 | |
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42 amazement | |
n.惊奇,惊讶 | |
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43 thigh | |
n.大腿;股骨 | |
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44 crouching | |
v.屈膝,蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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45 racing | |
n.竞赛,赛马;adj.竞赛用的,赛马用的 | |
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46 luminous | |
adj.发光的,发亮的;光明的;明白易懂的;有启发的 | |
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47 vibration | |
n.颤动,振动;摆动 | |
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48 smoothly | |
adv.平滑地,顺利地,流利地,流畅地 | |
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49 blurred | |
v.(使)变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 );(使)难以区分;模模糊糊;迷离 | |
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50 wading | |
(从水、泥等)蹚,走过,跋( wade的现在分词 ) | |
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51 gliding | |
v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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52 hips | |
abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯,耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 );[建筑学]屋脊;臀围(尺寸);臀部…的 | |
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53 vertical | |
adj.垂直的,顶点的,纵向的;n.垂直物,垂直的位置 | |
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54 feverish | |
adj.发烧的,狂热的,兴奋的 | |
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55 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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56 softened | |
(使)变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 ); 缓解打击; 缓和; 安慰 | |
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57 tugged | |
v.用力拉,使劲拉,猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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58 winked | |
v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 );递眼色(表示友好或高兴等);(指光)闪烁;闪亮 | |
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59 grunted | |
(猪等)作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 ); (指人)发出类似的哼声; 咕哝着说 | |
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60 shuddering | |
v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动 | |
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61 anguished | |
adj.极其痛苦的v.使极度痛苦(anguish的过去式) | |
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62 reassuring | |
a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的,使人放心的 | |
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63 ragged | |
adj.衣衫褴褛的,粗糙的,刺耳的 | |
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64 crevice | |
n.(岩石、墙等)裂缝;缺口 | |
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65 fissure | |
n.裂缝;裂伤 | |
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66 doorway | |
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径 | |
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67 gateway | |
n.大门口,出入口,途径,方法 | |
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68 fins | |
[医]散热片;鱼鳍;飞边;鸭掌 | |
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69 porpoises | |
n.鼠海豚( porpoise的名词复数 ) | |
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70 seethed | |
(液体)沸腾( seethe的过去式和过去分词 ); 激动,大怒; 强压怒火; 生闷气(~with sth|~ at sth) | |
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71 horde | |
n.群众,一大群 | |
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72 sweeping | |
adj.范围广大的,一扫无遗的 | |
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73 paradoxes | |
n.似非而是的隽语,看似矛盾而实际却可能正确的说法( paradox的名词复数 );用于语言文学中的上述隽语;有矛盾特点的人[事物,情况] | |
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74 titanic | |
adj.巨人的,庞大的,强大的 | |
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