‘Come hither,’ said he, beckoning4 to Reuben. ‘It is not meet, lad, that you should go bare-breasted against the enemy when your comrades are girt with steel. I have here mine own old breastplate and head-piece, which should, methinks, fit you, for if you have more flesh than I, I am a larger framework of a man. Ah, said I not so! Were’t measured for you by Silas Thomson, the court armourer, it could not grip better. Now on with the head-piece. A close fit again. You are now a cavalier whom Monmouth or any other leader might be proud to see ride beneath his banner.’
Both helmet and body-plates were of the finest Milan steel, richly inlaid with silver and with gold, and carved all over in rare and curious devices. So stern and soldierly was the effect, that the ruddy, kindly visage of our friend staring out of such a panoply6 had an ill-matched and somewhat ludicrous appearance.
‘Nay7, nay,’ cried the old cavalier, seeing a smile upon our features, ‘it is but right that so precious a jewel as a faithful heart should have a fitting casket to protect it.’
‘I am truly beholden to you, sir,’ said Reuben; ‘I can scarce find words to express my thanks. Holy mother! I have a mind to ride straight back to Havant, to show them how stout8 a man-at-arms hath been reared amongst them.’
‘It is steel of proof,’ Sir Jacob remarked; ‘a pistol-bullet might glance from it. And you,’ he continued, turning to me, ‘here is a small gift by which you shall remember this meeting. I did observe that you did cast a wistful eye upon my bookshelf. It is Plutarch’s lives of the ancient worthies9, done into English by the ingenious Mr. Latimer. Carry this volume with you, and shape your life after the example of the giant men whose deeds are here set forth10. In your saddle-bag I place a small but weighty packet, which I desire you to hand over to Monmouth upon the day of your arrival in his camp. As to you, sir,’ addressing Decimus Saxon, ‘here is a slug of virgin11 gold for you, which may fashion into a pin or such like ornament12. You may wear it with a quiet conscience, for it is fairly given to you and not filched13 from your entertainer whilst he slept.’
Saxon and I shot a sharp glance of surprise at each other at this speech, which showed that our words of the night before were not unknown to him. Sir Jacob, however, showed no signs of anger, but proceeded to point out our road and to advise us as to our journey.
‘You must follow this sheep-track until you come on another and broader pathway which makes for the West,’ said he. ‘It is little used, and there is small chance of your falling in with any of your enemies upon it. This path will lead you between the villages of Fovant and Hindon, and soon to Mere14, which is no great distance from Bruton, upon the Somersetshire border.’
Thanking our venerable host for his great kindness towards us we gave rein15 to our horses, and left him once more to the strange solitary16 existence in which we had found him. So artfully had the site of his cottage been chosen, that when we looked back to give him a last greeting both he and his dwelling17 had disappeared already from our view, nor could we, among the many mounds18 and hollows, determine where the cottage lay which had given us such welcome shelter. In front of us and on either side the great uneven19 dun-coloured plain stretched away to the horizon, without a break in its barren gorse-covered surface. Over the whole expanse there was no sign of life, save for an occasional rabbit which whisked into its burrow20 on hearing our approach, or a few thin and hungry sheep, who could scarce sustain life by feeding on the coarse and wiry grass which sprang from the unfruitful soil.
The pathway was so narrow that only one of us could ride upon it at a time, but we presently abandoned it altogether, using it simply as a guide, and galloping22 along side by side over the rolling plain. We were all silent, Reuben meditating23 upon his new corslet, as I could see from his frequent glances at it; while Saxon, with his eyes half closed, was brooding over some matter of his own. For my own part, my thoughts ran upon the ignominy of the old soldier’s designs upon the gold chest, and the additional shame which rose from the knowledge that our host had in some way divined his intention. No good could come of an alliance with a man so devoid24 of all feelings of honour or of gratitude25. So strongly did I feel upon it that I at last broke the silence by pointing to a cross path, which turned away from the one which we were pursuing, and recommending him to follow it, since he had proved that he was no fit company for honest men.
‘By the living rood!’ he cried, laying his hand upon the hilt of his rapier,’ have you taken leave of your senses? These are words such as no honourable26 cavaliero can abide27.’
‘They are none the less words of truth,’ I answered.
His blade flashed out in an instant, while his mare29 bounded twice her length under the sharp dig of his spurs.
‘We have here,’ he cried, reining30 her round, with his fierce lean face all of a quiver with passion, ‘an excellent level stretch on which to discuss the matter. Out with your bilbo and maintain your words.’
‘I shall not stir a hair’s-breadth to attack you,’ I answered. ‘Why should I, when I bear you no ill-will? If you come against me, however, I will assuredly beat you out of your saddle, for all your tricky31 sword play.’ I drew my broadsword as I spoke32, and stood upon my guard, for I guessed that with so old a soldier the onset33 would be sharp and sudden.
‘By all the saints in heaven!’ cried Reuben, ‘which ever of ye strikes first at the other I’ll snap this pistol at his head. None of your jokes, Don Decimo, for by the Lord I’ll let drive at you if you were my own mother’s son. Put up your sword, for the trigger falls easy, and my finger is a twitching34.’
‘Curse you for a spoil-sport!’ growled35 Saxon, sulkily sheathing36 his weapon. ‘Nay, Clarke,’ he added, after a few moments of reflection, ‘this is but child’s play, that two camarados with a purpose in view should fall out over such a trifle. I, who am old enough to be your father, should have known better than to have drawn37 upon you, for a boy’s tongue wags on impulse and without due thought. Do but say that you have said more than you meant.’
‘My way of saying it may have been over plain and rough,’ I answered, for I saw that he did but want a little salve where my short words had galled38 him. ‘At the same time, our ways differ from your ways, and that difference must be mended, or you can be no true comrade of ours.’
‘All right, Master Morality,’ quoth he, ‘I must e’en unlearn some of the tricks of my trade. Od’s feet, man, if ye object to me, what the henker would ye think of some whom I have known? However, let that pass. It is time that we were at the wars, for our good swords will not bide28 in their scabbards.
“The trenchant39 blade, Toledo trusty,
For want of fighting was grown rusty40,
And ate into itself for lack
Of somebody to hew41 and hack42.”
You cannot think a thought but old Samuel hath been before you.’
‘Surely we shall be at the end of this dreary43 plain presently,’ Reuben cried. ‘Its insipid44 flatness is enough to set the best of friends by the ears. We might be in the deserts of Libya instead of his most graceless Majesty’s county of Wiltshire.’
‘There is smoke over yonder, upon the side of that hill,’ said Saxon, pointing to the southward.
‘Methinks I see one straight line of houses there,’ I observed, shading my eyes with my hand. ‘But it is distant, and the shimmer45 of the sun disturbs the sight.’
‘It must be the hamlet of Hindon,’ said Reuben. ‘Oh, the heat of this steel coat! I wonder if it were very unsoldierly to slip it off and tie it about Dido’s neck. I shall be baked alive else, like a crab46 in its shell. How say you, illustrious, is it contravened47 by any of those thirty-nine articles of war which you bear about in your bosom48?’
‘The bearing of the weight of your harness, young man,’ Saxon answered gravely, ‘is one of the exercises of war, and as such only attainable49 by such practice as you are now undergoing. You have many things to learn, and one of them is not to present petronels too readily at folk’s heads when you are on horseback. The jerk of your charger’s movement even now might have drawn your trigger, and so deprived Monmouth of an old and tried soldier.’
‘There would be much weight in your contention,’ my friend answered, ‘were it not that I now bethink me that I had forgot to recharge my pistol since discharging it at that great yellow beast yesternight.’
Decimus Saxon shook his head sadly. ‘I doubt we shall never make a soldier of you,’ he remarked. ‘You fall from your horse if the brute50 does bit change his step, you show a levity51 which will not jump with the gravity of the true soldado, you present empty petronels as a menace, and finally, you crave52 permission to tie your armour — armour which the Cid himself might be proud to wear — around the neck of your horse. Yet you have heart and mettle53, I believe, else you would not be here.’
‘Gracias, Signor!’ cried Reuben, with a bow which nearly unhorsed him; ‘the last remark makes up for all the rest, else had I been forced to cross blades with you, to maintain my soldierly repute.’
‘Touching that same incident last night,’ said Saxon, ‘of the chest filled, as I surmise54, with gold, which I was inclined to take as lawful55 plunder56, I am now ready to admit that I may have shown an undue57 haste and precipitance, considering that the old man treated us fairly.’
‘Say no more of it,’ I answered, ‘if you will but guard against such impulses for the future.’
‘They do not properly come from me,’ he replied, ‘but from Will Spotterbridge, who was a man of no character at all.’
‘And how comes he to be mixed up in the matter?’ I asked curiously58.
‘Why, marry, in this wise. My father married the daughter of this same Will Spotterbridge, and so weakened a good old stock by an unhealthy strain. Will was a rake-hell of Fleet Street in the days of James, a chosen light of Alsatia, the home of bullies59 and of brawlers. His blood hath through his daughter been transmitted to the ten of us, though I rejoice to say that I, being the tenth, it had by that time lost much of its virulence60, and indeed amounts to little more than a proper pride, and a laudable desire to prosper61.’
‘How, then, has it affected62 the race?’ I asked.
‘Why,’ he answered, ‘the Saxons of old were a round-faced, contented63 generation, with their ledgers64 in their hands for six days and their bibles on the seventh. If my father did but drink a cup of small beer more than his wont65, or did break out upon provocation66 into any fond oath, as “Od’s niggers!” or “Heart alive!” he would mourn over it as though it were the seven deadly sins. Was this a man, think ye, in the ordinary course of nature to beget67 ten long lanky68 children, nine of whom might have been first cousins of Lucifer, and foster-brothers of Beelzebub?’
‘It was hard upon him,’ remarked Reuben.
‘On him! Nay, the hardship was all with us. If he with his eyes open chose to marry the daughter of an incarnate69 devil like Will Spotterbridge, because she chanced to be powdered and patched to his liking70, what reason hath he for complaint? It is we, who have the blood of this Hector of the taverns71 grafted72 upon our own good honest stream, who have most reason to lift up our voices.’
‘Faith, by the same chain of reasoning,’ said Reuben, ‘one of my ancestors must have married a woman with a plaguy dry throat, for both my father and I are much troubled with the complaint.’
‘You have assuredly inherited a plaguy pert tongue,’ growled Saxon. ‘From what I have told you, you will see that our whole life is a conflict between our natural Saxon virtue73 and the ungodly impulses of the Spotterbridge taint74. That of which you have had cause to complain yesternight is but an example of the evil to which I am subjected.’
‘And your brothers and sisters?’ I asked; ‘how hath this circumstance affected them?’ The road was bleak75 and long, so that the old soldier’s gossip was a welcome break to the tedium76 of the journey.
‘They have all succumbed,’ said Saxon, with a groan77. ‘Alas78, alas! they were a goodly company could they have turned their talents to better uses. Prima was our eldest79 born. She did well until she attained80 womanhood. Secundus was a stout seaman81, and owned his own vessel82 when he was yet a young man. It was remarked, however, that he started on a voyage in a schooner83 and came back in a brig, which gave rise to some inquiry84. It may be, as he said, that he found it drifting about in the North Sea, and abandoned his own vessel in favour of it, but they hung him before he could prove it. Tertia ran away with a north-country drover, and hath been on the run ever since. Quartus and Nonus have been long engaged in busying themselves over the rescue of the black folk from their own benighted86 and heathen country, conveying them over by the shipload to the plantations87, where they may learn the beauties of the Christian88 religion. They are, however, men of violent temper and profane89 speech, who cherish no affection for their younger brother. Quintus was a lad of promise, but he found a hogshead of rumbo which was thrown up from a wreck90, and he died soon afterwards. Sextus might have done well, for he became clerk to Johnny Tranter the attorney; but he was of an enterprising turn, and he shifted the whole business, papers, cash, and all to the Lowlands, to the no small inconvenience of his employer, who hath never been able to lay hands either on one or the other from that day to this. Septimus died young. As to Octavius, Will Spotterbridge broke out early in him, and he was slain91 in a quarrel over some dice92, which were said by his enemies to be so weighted that the six must ever come upwards93. Let this moving recital94 be a warning to ye, if ye are fools enough to saddle yourselves with a wife, to see that she hath no vice5 in her, for a fair face is a sorry make-weight against a foul95 mind.’
Reuben and I could not but laugh over this frank family confession96, which our companion delivered without a sign of shame or embarrassment97. ‘Ye have paid a heavy price for your father’s want of discretion,’ I remarked. ‘But what in the name of fate is this upon our left?’
‘A gibbet, by the look of it,’ said Saxon, peering across at the gaunt framework of wood, which rose up from a little knoll98. ‘Let us ride past it, for it is little out of our way. They are rare things in England, though by my faith there were more gallows99 than milestones100 when Turenne was in the Palatinate. What between the spies and traitors101 who were bred by the war, the rascally102 Schwartzritter and Lanzknechte, the Bohemian vagabonds, and an occasional countryman who was put out of the way lest he do something amiss, there was never such a brave time for the crows.’
As we approached this lonely gibbet we saw that a dried-up wisp of a thing which could hardly be recognised as having once been a human being was dangling103 from the centre of it. This wretched relic104 of mortality was secured to the cross-bar by an iron chain, and flapped drearily105 backwards106 and forwards in the summer breeze. We had pulled up our horses, and were gazing in silence at this sign-post of death, when what had seemed to us to be a bundle of rags thrown down at the foot of the gallows began suddenly to move, and turned towards us the wizened107 face of an aged85 woman, so marked with evil passions and so malignant108 in its expression that it inspired us with even more horror than the unclean thing which dangled109 above her head.
‘Gott in Himmel!’ cried Saxon, ‘it is ever thus! A gibbet draws witches as a magnet draws needles. All the hexerei of the country side will sit round one, like cats round a milk-pail. Beware of her! she hath the evil eye!’
‘Poor soul! It is the evil stomach that she hath,’ said Reuben, walking his horse up to her. ‘Whoever saw such a bag of bones! I warrant that she is pining away for want of a crust of bread.’
The creature whined110, and thrust out two skinny claws to grab the piece of silver which our friend had thrown down to her. Her fierce dark eyes and beak-like nose, with the gaunt bones over which the yellow parchment-like skin was stretched tightly, gave her a fear-inspiring aspect, like some foul bird of prey111, or one of those vampires112 of whom the story-tellers write.
‘What use is money in the wilderness113?’ I remarked; ‘she cannot feed herself upon a silver piece.’
She tied the coin hurriedly into the corner of her rags, as though she feared that I might try to wrest114 it from her. ‘It will buy bread,’ she croaked115.
‘But who is there to sell it, good mistress?’ I asked.
‘They sell it at Fovant, and they sell it at Hindon,’ she answered. ‘I bide here o’ days, but I travel at night.’
‘I warrant she does, and on a broomstick,’ quoth Saxon; ‘but tell us, mother, who is it who hangs above your head?’
‘It is he who slew116 my youngest born,’ cried the old woman, casting a malignant look at the mummy above her, and shaking a clenched117 hand at it which was hardly more fleshy than its own. ‘It is he who slew my bonny boy. Out here upon the wide moor118 he met him, and he took his young life from him when no kind hand was near to stop the blow. On that ground there my lad’s blood was shed, and from that watering hath grown this goodly gallows-tree with its fine ripe fruit upon it. And here, come rain, come shine, shall I, his mother, sit while two bones hang together of the man who slow my heart’s darling.’ She nestled down in her rags as she spoke, and leaning her chin upon her hands stared up with an intensity119 of hatred120 at the hideous121 remnant.
‘Come away, Reuben,’ I cried, for the sight was enough to make one loathe122 one’s kind. ‘She is a ghoul, not a woman.’
‘Pah! it gives one a foul taste in the mouth,’ quoth Saxon. ‘Who is for a fresh gallop21 over the Downs? Away with care and carrion123!
“Sir John got on his bonny brown steed,
To Monmouth for to ride — a.
A brave buff coat upon his back,
A broadsword by his side — a.
Ha, ha, young man, we rebels can
Pull down King James’s pride — a!”
Hark away, lads, with a loose rein and a bloody124 heel!’
We spurred our steeds and galloped125 from the unholy spot as fast as our brave beasts could carry us. To all of us the air had a purer flavour and the heath a sweeter scent126 by contrast with the grim couple whom we had left behind us. What a sweet world would this be, my children, were it not for man and his cruel ways!
When we at last pulled up we had set some three or four miles between the gibbet and ourselves. Right over against us, on the side of a gentle slope, stood a bright little village, with a red-roofed church rising up from amidst a clump127 of trees. To our eyes, after the dull sward of the plain, it was a glad sight to see the green spread of the branches and the pleasant gardens which girt the hamlet round. All morning we had seen no sight of a human being, save the old hag upon the moor and a few peat-cutters in the distance. Our belts, too, were beginning to be loose upon us, and the remembrance of our breakfast more faint.
‘This,’ said I, ‘must be the village of Mere, which we were to pass before coming to Bruton. We shall soon be over the Somersetshire border.’
‘I trust that we shall soon be over a dish of beefsteaks,’ groaned128 Reuben. ‘I am well-nigh famished129. So fair a village must needs have a passable inn, though I have not seen one yet upon my travels which would compare with the old Wheatsheaf.’
‘Neither inn nor dinner for us just yet,’ said Saxon. ‘Look yonder to the north, and tell me what you see.’
On the extreme horizon there was visible a long line of gleaming, glittering points, which shone and sparkled like a string of diamonds. These brilliant specks130 were all in rapid motion, and yet kept their positions to each other.
‘What is it, then?’ we both cried.
‘Horse upon the march,’ quoth Saxon. ‘It may be our friends of Salisbury, who have made a long day’s journey; or, as I am inclined to think, it may be some other body of the King’s horse. They are far distant, and what we see is but the sun shining on their casques; yet they are bound for this very village, if I mistake not. It would be wisest to avoid entering it, lest the rustics131 set them upon our track. Let us skirt it and push on for Bruton, where we may spare time for bite and sup.’
‘Alas, alas! for our dinners!’ cried Reuben ruefully. ‘I have fallen away until my body rattles132 about, inside this shell of armour, like a pea in a pod. However, lads, it is all for the Protestant faith.’
‘One more good stretch to Bruton, and we may rest in peace,’ said Saxon. ‘It is ill dining when a dragoon may be served up as a grace after meat. Our horses are still fresh, and we should he there in little over an hour.’
We pushed on our way accordingly, passing at a safe distance from Mere, which is the village where the second Charles did conceal133 himself after the battle of Worcester. The road beyond was much crowded by peasants, who were making their way out of Somersetshire, and by farmers’ waggons134, which were taking loads of food to the West, ready to turn a few guineas either from the King’s men or from the rebels. We questioned many as to the news from the war, but though we were now on the outskirts135 of the disturbed country, we could gain no clear account of how matters stood, save that all agreed that the rising was on the increase. The country through which we rode was a beautiful one, consisting of low swelling136 hills, well tilled and watered by numerous streamlets. Crossing over the river Brue by a good stone bridge, we at last reached the small country town for which we had been making, which lies embowered in the midst of a broad expanse of fertile meadows, orchards137, and sheep-walks. From the rising ground by the town we looked back over the plain without seeing any traces of the troopers. We learned, too, from an old woman of the place, that though a troop of the Wiltshire Yeomanry had passed through the day before, there were no soldiers quartered at present in the neighbourhood. Thus assured we rode boldly into the town, and soon found our way to the principal inn. I have some dim remembrance of an ancient church upon an eminence138, and of a quaint139 stone cross within the market-place, but assuredly, of all the recollections which I retain of Bruton there is none so pleasing as that of the buxom140 landlady’s face, and of the steaming dishes which she lost no time in setting before us.
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1
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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beckoning
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| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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panoply
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| n.全副甲胄，礼服 | |
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nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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worthies
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| 应得某事物( worthy的名词复数 )； 值得做某事； 可尊敬的； 有（某人或事物）的典型特征 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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filched
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| v.偷（尤指小的或不贵重的物品）( filch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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mounds
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| 土堆，土丘( mound的名词复数 )； 一大堆 | |
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uneven
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| adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的 | |
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burrow
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| vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞 | |
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gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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meditating
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| a.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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abide
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| vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受 | |
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bide
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| v.忍耐；等候；住 | |
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mare
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| n.母马，母驴 | |
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reining
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| 勒缰绳使（马）停步( rein的现在分词 )； 驾驭； 严格控制； 加强管理 | |
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tricky
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| adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的 | |
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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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onset
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| n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始 | |
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twitching
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| n.颤搐 | |
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growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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sheathing
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| n.覆盖物，罩子v.将（刀、剑等）插入鞘( sheathe的现在分词 )；包，覆盖 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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38
galled
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| v.使…擦痛( gall的过去式和过去分词 )；擦伤；烦扰；侮辱 | |
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39
trenchant
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| adj.尖刻的，清晰的 | |
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40
rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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41
hew
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| v.砍；伐；削 | |
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42
hack
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| n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳 | |
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43
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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44
insipid
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| adj.无味的，枯燥乏味的，单调的 | |
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45
shimmer
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| v./n.发微光，发闪光；微光 | |
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46
crab
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| n.螃蟹，偏航，脾气乖戾的人，酸苹果；vi.捕蟹，偏航，发牢骚；vt.使偏航，发脾气 | |
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47
contravened
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| v.取消，违反( contravene的过去式 ) | |
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48
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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49
attainable
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| a.可达到的，可获得的 | |
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50
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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51
levity
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| n.轻率，轻浮，不稳定，多变 | |
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52
crave
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| vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求 | |
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53
mettle
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| n.勇气，精神 | |
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54
surmise
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| v./n.猜想，推测 | |
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55
lawful
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| adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的 | |
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56
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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57
undue
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| adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的 | |
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58
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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59
bullies
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| n.欺凌弱小者, 开球 vt.恐吓, 威胁, 欺负 | |
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60
virulence
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| n.毒力，毒性；病毒性；致病力 | |
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61
prosper
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| v.成功，兴隆，昌盛；使成功，使昌隆，繁荣 | |
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62
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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63
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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64
ledgers
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| n.分类账( ledger的名词复数 ) | |
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65
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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66
provocation
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| n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因 | |
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67
beget
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| v.引起；产生 | |
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68
lanky
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| adj.瘦长的 | |
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69
incarnate
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| adj.化身的，人体化的，肉色的 | |
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70
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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71
taverns
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| n.小旅馆，客栈，酒馆( tavern的名词复数 ) | |
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72
grafted
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| 移植( graft的过去式和过去分词 )； 嫁接； 使（思想、制度等）成为（…的一部份）； 植根 | |
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73
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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74
taint
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| n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染 | |
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75
bleak
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| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
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76
tedium
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| n.单调；烦闷 | |
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77
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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78
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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79
eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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80
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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81
seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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82
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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83
schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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84
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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85
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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86
benighted
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| adj.蒙昧的 | |
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87
plantations
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| n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 ) | |
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88
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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89
profane
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| adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污 | |
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90
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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91
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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92
dice
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| n.骰子；vt.把（食物）切成小方块，冒险 | |
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93
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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94
recital
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| n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会 | |
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95
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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96
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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97
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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98
knoll
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| n.小山，小丘 | |
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99
gallows
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| n.绞刑架，绞台 | |
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100
milestones
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| n.重要事件( milestone的名词复数 )；重要阶段；转折点；里程碑 | |
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101
traitors
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| 卖国贼( traitor的名词复数 )； 叛徒； 背叛者； 背信弃义的人 | |
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102
rascally
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| adj. 无赖的，恶棍的 adv. 无赖地，卑鄙地 | |
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103
dangling
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| 悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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104
relic
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| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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105
drearily
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| 沉寂地，厌倦地，可怕地 | |
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106
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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107
wizened
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| adj.凋谢的；枯槁的 | |
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108
malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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109
dangled
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| 悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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110
whined
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| v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 )；哀诉，诉怨 | |
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111
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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112
vampires
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| n.吸血鬼( vampire的名词复数 )；吸血蝠；高利贷者；（舞台上的）活板门 | |
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113
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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114
wrest
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| n.扭，拧，猛夺；v.夺取，猛扭，歪曲 | |
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115
croaked
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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116
slew
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| v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多 | |
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117
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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118
moor
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| n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊 | |
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119
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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120
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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121
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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122
loathe
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| v.厌恶，嫌恶 | |
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123
carrion
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| n.腐肉 | |
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124
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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125
galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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126
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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127
clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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128
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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129
famished
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| adj.饥饿的 | |
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130
specks
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| n.眼镜；斑点，微粒，污点( speck的名词复数 ) | |
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131
rustics
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| n.有农村或村民特色的( rustic的名词复数 )；粗野的；不雅的；用粗糙的木材或树枝制作的 | |
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132
rattles
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| （使）发出格格的响声， （使）作嘎嘎声( rattle的第三人称单数 )； 喋喋不休地说话； 迅速而嘎嘎作响地移动，堕下或走动； 使紧张，使恐惧 | |
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133
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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134
waggons
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| 四轮的运货马车( waggon的名词复数 )； 铁路货车； 小手推车 | |
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135
outskirts
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| n.郊外，郊区 | |
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136
swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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137
orchards
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| （通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 ) | |
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138
eminence
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| n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家 | |
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139
quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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140
buxom
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| adj.（妇女）丰满的，有健康美的 | |
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