Man and tree, woman and flower, babe and bud, palace, temple and home — Norhala had stamped flat. She had crushed them within the rock — even as she had promised.
The tremendous tragedy had absorbed my every faculty2; I had had no time to think of my companions; I had forgotten them. Now in the painful surges of awakening3 realization4, of full human understanding of that inhuman5 annihilation, I turned to them for strength. Faintly I wondered again at Ruth’s scantiness6 of garb7, her more than half nudity; dwelt curiously8 upon the red brand across Ventnor’s forehead.
In his eyes and in Drake’s I saw reflected the horror I knew was in my own. But in the eyes of Ruth was none of this — sternly, coldly triumphant9, indifferent to its piteousness as Norhala herself, she scanned the waste that less than an hour since had been a place of living beauty.
I felt a shock of repulsion. After all, those who had been destroyed so ruthlessly could not ALL have been wholly evil. Yet mother and blossoming maid, youth and oldster, all the pageant10 of humanity within the great walls were now but lines within the stone. According to their different lights, it came to me, there had been in Ruszark no greater number of the wicked than one could find in any great city of our own civilization.
From Norhala, of course, I looked for no perception of any of this. But from Ruth —
My reaction grew; the pity long withheld11 racing12 through me linked with a burning anger, a hatred13 for this woman who had been the directing soul of that catastrophe14.
My gaze fell again upon the red brand. I saw that it was a deep indentation as though a thong15 had been twisted around Ventnor’s head biting the bone. There was dried blood on the edges, a double ring of swollen16 white flesh rimming17 the cincture. It was the mark of — torture!
“Martin,” I cried. “That ring? What did they do to you?”
“They waked me with that,” he answered quietly. “I suppose I ought to be grateful — although their intentions were not exactly — therapeutic18 —”
“They tortured him,” Ruth’s voice was tense, bitter; she spoke19 in Persian — for Norhala’s benefit I thought then, not guessing a deeper reason. “They tortured him. They gave him agony until he — returned. And they promised him other agonies that would make him pray long for death.
“And me — me”— she raised little clenched20 hands —“me they stripped like a slave. They led me through the city and the people mocked me. They took me before that swine Norhala has punished — and stripped me before him — like a slave. Before my eyes they tortured my brother. Norhala — they were evil, all evil! Norhala — you did well to slay21 them!”
She caught the woman’s hands, pressed close to her. Norhala gazed at her from great gray eyes in which the wrath22 was dying, into which the old tranquillity24, the old serenity25 was flowing. And when she spoke the golden voice held more than returning echoes of the far-away, faint chimings.
“It is done,” she said. “And it was well done — sister. Now you and I shall dwell together in peace — sister. Or if there be those in the world from which you came that you would have slain26, then you and I shall go forth27 with our companies and stamp them out — even as I did these.”
My heart stopped beating — for from the depths of Ruth’s eyes shining shadows were rising, wraiths28 answering Norhala’s calling; and, as they rose, steadily29 they drew life from the clear radiance summoning — drew closer to the semblance30 of that tranquil23 spirit which her vengeance31 had banished32 but that had now returned to its twin thrones of Norhala’s eyes.
And at last it was twin sister of Norhala who looked upon her from the face of Ruth!
The white arms of the woman encircled her; the glorious head bent33 over her; flaming tresses mingled34 with tender brown curls.
“Sister!” she whispered. “Little sister! These men you shall have as long as it pleases you — to do with as you will. Or if it is your wish they shall go back to their world and I will guard them to its gates.
“But you and I, little sister, will dwell together — in the vastnesses — in the peace. Shall it not be so?”
With no faltering35, with no glance toward us three — lover, brother, old friend — Ruth crept closer to her, rested her head upon the virginal, royal breasts.
“It shall be so!” she murmured. “Sister — it shall be so. Norhala — I am tired. Norhala — I have seen enough of men.”
An ecstasy36 of tenderness, a flame of unearthly rapture37, trembled over the woman’s wondrous38 face. Hungrily, defiantly40, she pressed the girl to her; the stars in the lucid41 heavens of her eyes were soft and gentle and caressing42.
“Ruth!” cried Drake — and sprang toward them. She paid no heed43; and even as he leaped he was caught, whirled back against us.
“Wait,” said Ventnor, and caught him by the arm as wrathfully, blindedly, he strove against the force that held him. “Wait. No use — now.”
There was a curious understanding in his voice — a curious sympathy, too, in the patient, untroubled gaze that dwelt upon his sister and this weirdly44 exquisite45 woman who held her.
“Wait!” exclaimed Drake. “Wait — hell! The damned witch is stealing her away from us!”
Again he threw himself forward; recoiled46 as though swept back by an invisible arm; fell against us and was clasped and held by Ventnor. And as he struggled the Thing we rode halted. Like metal waves back into it rushed the enigmatic billows that had washed over the fragments of the city.
We were lifted; between us and the woman and girl a cleft47 appeared; it widened into a rift48. It was as though Norhala had decreed it as a symbol of this her second victory — or had set it between us as a barrier.
Wider grew the rift. Save for the bridge of our voices it separated us from Ruth as though she stood upon another world.
Higher we rose; the three of us now upon the flat top of a tower upon whose counterpart fifty feet away and facing the homeward path, Ruth and Norhala stood with white arms interlaced.
The serpent shape flashed toward us; it vanished beneath, merging49 into the waiting Thing.
Then slowly the Thing began to move; quietly it glided50 to the chasm51 it had blasted in the cliff wall. The shadow of those walls fell upon us. As one we looked back; as one we searched out the patch of blue with the black blot52 at its breast.
We found it; then the precipices53 hid it. Silently we streamed through the chasm, through the canyon54 and the tunnel — speaking no word, Drake’s eyes fixed55 with bitter hatred upon Norhala, Ventnor brooding upon her always with that enigmatic sympathy. We passed between the walls of the further cleft; stood for an instant at the brink56 of the green forest.
There came to us as though from immeasurable distances, a faint, sustained thrumming — like the beating of countless57 muffled58 drums. The Thing that carried us trembled — the sound died away. The Thing quieted; it began its steady, effortless striding through the crowding trees — but now with none of that speed with which it had come, spurred forward by Norhala’s awakened59 hate.
Ventnor stirred; broke the silence. And now I saw how wasted was his body, how sharpened his face; almost ethereal; purged60 not only by suffering but by, it came to me, some strange knowledge.
“No use, Drake,” he said dreamily. “All this is now on the knees of the gods. And whether those gods are humanity’s or whether they are — Gods of Metal — I do not know.
“But this I do know — only one way or another can the balance fall; and if it be one way, then you and we shall have Ruth back. And if it falls the other way — then there will be little need for us to care. For man will be done!”
“Martin! What do you mean?”
“It is the crisis,” he answered. “We can do nothing, Goodwin — nothing. Whatever is to be steps forth now from the womb of Destiny.”
Again there came that distant rolling — louder, now. Again the Thing trembled.
“The drums,” whispered Ventnor. “The drums of destiny. What is it they are heralding61? A new birth of Earth and the passing of man? A new child to whom shall be given dominion62 — nay63, to whom has been given dominion? Or is it — taps — for Them?”
The drumming died as I listened — fearfully. About us was only the swishing, the sighing of the falling trees beneath the tread of the Thing. Motionless stood Norhala; and as motionless Ruth.
“Martin,” I cried once more, a dreadful doubt upon me. “Martin — what do you mean?”
“Whence did — They — come?” His voice was clear and calm, the eyes beneath the red brand clear and quiet, too. “Whence did They come — these Things that carry us? That strode like destroying angels over Cherkis’s city? Are they spawn64 of Earth — as we are? Or are they foster children — changelings from another star?
“These creatures that when many still are one — that when one still are many. Whence did They come? What are They?”
He looked down upon the cubes that held us; their hosts of tiny eyes shone up at him, enigmatically — as though they heard and understood.
“I do not forget,” he said. “At least not all do I forget of what I saw during that time when I seemed an atom outside space — as I told you, or think I told you, speaking with unthinkable effort through lips that seemed eternities away from me, the atom, who strove to open them.
“There were three — visions, revelations — I know not what to call them. And though each seemed equally real, of two of them, only one, I think, can be true; and of the third — that may some time be true but surely is not yet.”
Through the air came a louder drum roll — in it something ominous65, something sinister66. It swelled67 to a crescendo68; abruptly70 ceased. And now I saw Norhala raise her head; listen.
“I saw a world, a vast world, Goodwin, marching stately through space. It was no globe — it was a world of many facets72, of smooth and polished planes; a huge blue jewel world, dimly luminous73; a crystal world cut out from Aether. A geometric thought of the Great Cause, of God, if you will, made material. It was airless, waterless, sunless.
“I seemed to draw closer to it. And then I saw that over every facet71 patterns were traced; gigantic symmetrical designs; mathematical hieroglyphs74. In them I read unthinkable calculations, formulas of interwoven universes, arithmetical progressions of armies of stars, pandects of the motions of the suns. In the patterns was an appalling75 harmony — as though all the laws from those which guide the atom to those which direct the cosmos76 were there resolved into completeness — totalled.
“The faceted77 world was like a cosmic abacist, tallying78 as it marched the errors of the infinite.
“The patterned symbols constantly changed form. I drew nearer — the symbols were alive. They were, in untold79 numbers — These!”
He pointed80 to the Thing that bore us.
“I was swept back; looked again upon it from afar. And a fantastic notion came to me — fantasy it was, of course, yet built I know around a nucleus81 of strange truth. It was”— his tone was half whimsical, half apologetic —“it was that this jeweled world was ridden by some mathematical god, driving it through space, noting occasionally with amused tolerance82 the very bad arithmetic of another Deity83 the reverse of mathematical — a more or less haphazard84 Deity, the god, in fact, of us and the things we call living.
“It had no mission; it wasn’t at all out to do any reforming; it wasn’t in the least concerned in rectifying85 any of the inaccuracies of the Other. Only now and then it took note of the deplorable differences between the worlds it saw and its own impeccably ordered and tidy temple with its equally tidy servitors.
“Just an itinerant86 demiurge of supergeometry riding along through space on its perfectly87 summed-up world; master of all celestial88 mechanics; its people independent of all that complex chemistry and labor89 for equilibrium90 by which we live; needing neither air nor water, heeding91 neither heat nor cold; fed with the magnetism92 of interstellar space and stopping now and then to banquet off the energy of some great sun.”
A thrill of amazement93 passed through me; fantasy all this might be but — how, if so, had he gotten that last thought? He had not seen, as we had, the orgy in the Hall of the Cones94, the prodigious95 feeding of the Metal Monster upon our sun.
“That passed,” he went on, unnoticing. “I saw vast caverns96 filled with the Things; working, growing, multiplying. In caverns of our Earth — the fruit of some unguessed womb? I do not know.
“But in those caverns, under countless orbs97 of many colored lights”— again the thrill of amaze shook me — “they grew. It came to me that they were reaching out toward sunlight and the open. They burst into it — into yellow, glowing sunlight. Ours? I do not know. And that picture passed.”
His voice deepened.
“There came a third vision. I saw our Earth — I knew, Goodwin, indisputably, unmistakably that it was our earth. But its rolling hills were leveled, its mountains were ground and shaped into cold and polished symbols — geometric, fashioned.
“The seas were fettered98, gleaming like immense jewels in patterned settings of crystal shores. The very Polar ice was chiseled99. On the ordered plains were traced the hieroglyphs of the faceted world. And on all Earth, Goodwin, there was no green life, no city, no trace of man. On this Earth that had been ours were only — These.
“Visioning!” he said. “Don’t think that I accept them in their entirety. Part truth, part illusion — the groping mind dazzled with light of unfamiliar100 truths and making pictures from half light and half shadow to help it understand.
“But still — SOME truth in them. How much I do not know. But this I do know — that last vision was of a cataclysm101 whose beginnings we face now — this very instant.”
The picture flashed behind my own eyes — of the walled city, its thronging102 people, its groves103 and gardens, its science and its art; of the Destroying Shapes trampling104 it flat — and then the dreadful, desolate105 mount.
And suddenly I saw that mount as Earth — the city as Earth’s cities — its gardens and groves as Earth’s fields and forests — and the vanished people of Cherkis seemed to expand into all humanity.
“But Martin,” I stammered106, fighting against choking, intolerable terror, “there was something else. Something of the Keeper of the Cones and of our striking through the sun to destroy the Things — something of them being governed by the same laws that govern us and that if they broke them they must fall. A hope — a PROMISE, that they would NOT conquer.”
“I remember,” he replied, “but not clearly. There WAS something — a shadow upon them, a menace. It was a shadow that seemed to be born of our own world — some threatening spirit of earth hovering107 over them.
“I cannot remember; it eludes108 me. Yet it is because I remember but a little of it that I say those drums may not be — taps — for us.”
As though his words had been a cue, the sounds again burst forth — no longer muffled nor faint. They roared; they seemed to pelt109 through air and drop upon us; they beat about our ears with thunderous tattoo110 like covered caverns drummed upon by Titans with trunks of great trees.
The drumming did not die; it grew louder, more vehement111; defiant39 and deafening112. Within the Thing under us a mighty113 pulse began to throb114, accelerating rapidly to the rhythm of that clamorous115 roll.
I saw Norhala draw herself up, sharply; stand listening and alert. Under me, the throbbing116 turned to an uneasy churning, a ferment117.
“Drums?” muttered Drake. “THEY’RE no drums. It’s drum fire. It’s like a dozen Marnes, a dozen Verduns. But where could batteries like those come from?”
“Drums,” whispered Ventnor. “They ARE drums. The drums of Destiny!”
Louder the roaring grew. Now it was a tremendous rhythmic118 cannonading. The Thing halted. The tower that upheld Ruth and Norhala swayed, bent over the gap between us, touched the top on which we rode.
Gently the two were plucked up; swiftly they were set beside us.
Came a shrill119, keen wailing120 — louder than ever I had heard before. There was an earthquake trembling; a maelstrom121 swirling122 in which we spun123; a swift sinking.
The Thing split in two. Up before us rose a stupendous, stepped pyramid; little smaller it was than that which Cheops built to throw its shadows across holy Nile. Into it streamed, over it clicked, score upon score of cubes, building it higher and higher. It lurched forward — away from us.
From Norhala came a single cry — resonant124, blaring like a wrathful, golden trumpet125.
The speeding shape halted, hesitated; it seemed about to return. Crashed down upon us an abrupt69 crescendo of the distant drumming; peremptory126, commanding. The shape darted127 forward; raced away crushing to straw the trees beneath it in a full quarter-mile-wide swath.
Great gray eyes wide, filled with incredulous wonder, stunned128 disbelief, Norhala for an instant faltered129. Then out of her white throat, through her red lips pelted130 a tempest of staccato buglings.
Under them what was left of the Thing leaped, tore on. Norhala’s flaming hair crackled and streamed; about her body of milk and pearl — about Ruth’s creamy skin — a radiant nimbus began to glow.
In the distance I saw a sapphire131 spark; knew it for Norhala’s home. Not far from it now was the rushing pyramid — and it came to me that within that shape was strangely neither globe nor pyramid. Nor except for the trembling cubes that made the platform on which we stood, did the shrunken Thing carrying us hold any unit of the Metal Monster except its spheres and tetrahedrons — at least within its visible bulk.
The sapphire spark had grown to a glimmering132 azure133 marble. Steadily we gained upon the pyramid. Never for an instant ceased that scourging134 hail of notes from Norhala — never for an instant lessened135 the drumming clamor that seemed to try to smother136 them.
The sapphire marble became a sapphire ball, a great globe. I saw the Thing we sought to join lift itself into a prodigious pillar; the pillar’s base thrust forth stilts137; upon them the Thing stepped over the blue dome138 of Norhala’s house.
The blue bubble was close; now it curved below us. Gently we were lifted down; were set before its portal. I looked up at the bulk that had carried us.
I had been right — built it was only of globe and pyramid; an inconceivably grotesque139 shape, it hung over us.
Throughout the towering Shape was awful movement; its units writhed140 within it. Then it was lost to sight in the mists through which the Thing we had pursued had gone.
In Norhala’s face as she watched it go was a dismay, a poignant141 uncertainty142, that held in it something indescribably pitiful.
“I am afraid!” I heard her whisper.
She tightened143 her grasp upon dreaming Ruth; motioned us to go within. We passed, silently; behind us she came, followed by three of the great globes, by a pair of her tetrahedrons.
Beside a pile of the silken stuffs she halted. The girl’s eyes dwelt upon hers trustingly.
“I am afraid!” whispered Norhala again. “Afraid — for you!”
Tenderly she looked down upon her, the galaxies144 of stars in her eyes soft and tremulous.
“I am afraid, little sister,” she whispered for the third time. “Not yet can you go as I do — among the fires.” She hesitated. “Rest here until I return. I shall leave these to guard you and obey you.”
She motioned to the five shapes. They ranged themselves about Ruth. Norhala kissed her upon both brown eyes.
“Sleep till I return,” she murmured.
She swept from the chamber145 — with never a glance for us three. I heard a little wailing chorus without, fast dying into silence.
Spheres and pyramids twinkled at us, guarding the silken pile whereon Ruth lay asleep — like some enchanted146 princess.
Beat down upon the blue globe like hollow metal worlds, beaten and shrieking147.
The drums of Destiny!
The drums of Doom148!
Beating taps for the world of men?
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收听单词发音
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1
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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2
faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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4
realization
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| n.实现；认识到，深刻了解 | |
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5
inhuman
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| adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的 | |
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6
scantiness
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| n.缺乏 | |
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garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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8
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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9
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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pageant
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| n.壮观的游行；露天历史剧 | |
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11
withheld
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| withhold过去式及过去分词 | |
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racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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thong
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| n.皮带；皮鞭；v.装皮带 | |
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swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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rimming
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| n.（沸腾钢）结壳沸腾作用 | |
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18
therapeutic
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| adj.治疗的，起治疗作用的；对身心健康有益的 | |
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19
spoke
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| 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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clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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slay
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| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
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wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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tranquillity
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serenity
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| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
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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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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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wraiths
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| n.幽灵( wraith的名词复数 )；（传说中人在将死或死后不久的）显形阴魂 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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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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faltering
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| 犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的 | |
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ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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wondrous
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| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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defiantly
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| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
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41
lucid
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| adj.明白易懂的，清晰的，头脑清楚的 | |
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42
caressing
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| 爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的 | |
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43
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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weirdly
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| 古怪地 | |
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exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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46
recoiled
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| v.畏缩( recoil的过去式和过去分词 )；退缩；报应；返回 | |
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47
cleft
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| n.裂缝；adj.裂开的 | |
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48
rift
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| n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入 | |
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49
merging
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| 合并（分类） | |
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50
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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51
chasm
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| n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突 | |
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52
blot
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| vt.弄脏（用吸墨纸）吸干；n.污点，污渍 | |
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53
precipices
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| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
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54
canyon
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| n.峡谷，溪谷 | |
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55
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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56
brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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57
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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58
muffled
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| 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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59
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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60
purged
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| 清除（政敌等）( purge的过去式和过去分词 )； 涤除（罪恶等）； 净化（心灵、风气等）； 消除（错事等）的不良影响 | |
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61
heralding
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| v.预示( herald的现在分词 )；宣布（好或重要） | |
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62
dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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63
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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64
spawn
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| n.卵，产物，后代，结果；vt.产卵，种菌丝于，产生，造成；vi.产卵，大量生产 | |
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65
ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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66
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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67
swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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68
crescendo
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| n.(音乐)渐强，高潮 | |
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69
abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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70
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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71
facet
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| n.(问题等的)一个方面；(多面体的)面 | |
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72
facets
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| n.（宝石或首饰的）小平面( facet的名词复数 )；（事物的）面；方面 | |
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73
luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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74
hieroglyphs
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| n.象形字（如古埃及等所用的）( hieroglyph的名词复数 )；秘密的或另有含意的书写符号 | |
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75
appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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76
cosmos
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| n.宇宙；秩序，和谐 | |
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77
faceted
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| adj. 有小面的，分成块面的 | |
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78
tallying
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| v.计算，清点( tally的现在分词 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合 | |
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79
untold
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| adj.数不清的，无数的 | |
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80
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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81
nucleus
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| n.核，核心，原子核 | |
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82
tolerance
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| n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差 | |
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83
deity
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| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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84
haphazard
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| adj.无计划的，随意的，杂乱无章的 | |
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85
rectifying
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| 改正，矫正( rectify的现在分词 )； 精馏； 蒸流； 整流 | |
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86
itinerant
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| adj.巡回的；流动的 | |
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87
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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88
celestial
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| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
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89
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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90
equilibrium
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| n.平衡，均衡，相称，均势，平静 | |
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91
heeding
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| v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的现在分词 ) | |
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92
magnetism
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| n.磁性，吸引力，磁学 | |
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93
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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94
cones
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| n.（人眼）圆锥细胞；圆锥体( cone的名词复数 )；球果；圆锥形东西；（盛冰淇淋的）锥形蛋卷筒 | |
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95
prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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96
caverns
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| 大山洞，大洞穴( cavern的名词复数 ) | |
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97
orbs
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| abbr.off-reservation boarding school 在校寄宿学校n.球，天体，圆形物( orb的名词复数 ) | |
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98
fettered
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| v.给…上脚镣，束缚( fetter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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99
chiseled
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| adj.凿刻的，轮廓分明的v.凿，雕，镌( chisel的过去式 ) | |
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100
unfamiliar
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| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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101
cataclysm
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| n.洪水，剧变，大灾难 | |
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102
thronging
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的现在分词 ) | |
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103
groves
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| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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104
trampling
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| 踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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105
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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106
stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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107
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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108
eludes
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| v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的第三人称单数 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到 | |
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109
pelt
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| v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火 | |
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110
tattoo
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| n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于 | |
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111
vehement
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| adj.感情强烈的；热烈的；(人)有强烈感情的 | |
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112
deafening
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| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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113
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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114
throb
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| v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动 | |
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115
clamorous
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| adj.吵闹的，喧哗的 | |
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116
throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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117
ferment
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| vt.使发酵；n./vt.（使）激动，（使）动乱 | |
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118
rhythmic
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| adj.有节奏的，有韵律的 | |
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119
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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120
wailing
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱 | |
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121
maelstrom
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| n.大乱动；大漩涡 | |
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122
swirling
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| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 ) | |
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123
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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124
resonant
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| adj.(声音)洪亮的，共鸣的 | |
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125
trumpet
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| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
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126
peremptory
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| adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的 | |
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127
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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128
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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129
faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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130
pelted
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| （连续地）投掷( pelt的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续抨击； 攻击； 剥去…的皮 | |
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131
sapphire
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| n.青玉，蓝宝石；adj.天蓝色的 | |
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132
glimmering
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| n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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133
azure
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| adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的 | |
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134
scourging
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| 鞭打( scourge的现在分词 )； 惩罚，压迫 | |
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135
lessened
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| 减少的，减弱的 | |
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136
smother
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| vt./vi.使窒息；抑制；闷死；n.浓烟；窒息 | |
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137
stilts
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| n.（支撑建筑物高出地面或水面的）桩子，支柱( stilt的名词复数 )；高跷 | |
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138
dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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139
grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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140
writhed
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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141
poignant
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| adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的 | |
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142
uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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143
tightened
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| 收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧 | |
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144
galaxies
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| 星系( galaxy的名词复数 )； 银河系； 一群（杰出或著名的人物） | |
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145
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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146
enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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147
shrieking
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| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
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148
doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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