But, to reach this wanderer, it was first necessary for me to escape from the house. This proved simple enough. The upstairs room toward which I rushed had a window overlooking one of the many lean-tos already mentioned. The window was fastened, but I had little difficulty in unlocking it or in finding my way to the ground from the top of the lean-to. But once again on terra-firma, I discovered that the mist was now so thick that it had all the effect of a fog at sea. It was icy cold as well, and clung to me so closely that I presently began to shudder1 most violently, and, strong man though I was, wish myself back in the little attic2 bedroom from which I had climbed in search of one in more unhappy case than myself.
But these feelings did not cause me to return. If I found the night cold, she must find it biting. If desolation oppressed my naturally hopeful spirit, must it not be more overwhelming yet to one whose memories were sad and whose future was doubtful? And the child! What infant could live in an air like this? Edging away from the house, I called out her name, but no answer came back. The persons whom we had heard flitting in restless longing3 about the house a few moments before had left in rage, and she, possibly, with them. Yet I could not imagine her joining herself to people of their stamp. There had been a solitariness4 in her aspect which seemed to forbid any such companionship. Whatever her story, at least she had nothing in common with the two ill-favoured persons whose faces I had seen looking in at the casement5. No; I should find her alone, but where? Certainly the ring of mist, surrounding me at that moment, offered me little prospect6 of finding her anywhere, either easily or soon.
Again I raised my voice, and again I failed to meet with response. Then, fearing to leave the house lest I should be quite lost amid the fences and brush lying between it and the road, I began to feel my way along the walls, calling softly now, instead of loudly, so anxious was I not to miss any chance of carrying comfort, if not succour, to the woman I was seeking. But the night gave back no sound, and when I came to the open door of a shed I welcomed the refuge it offered, and stepped in. I was, of course, confronted by darkness — a different darkness from that without, blanket-like and impenetrable. But when after a moment of intense listening I heard a soft sound as of weariful breathing, I was seized anew by hope, and, feeling in my pocket for my matchbox, I made a light and looked around.
My intuitions had not deceived me: she was there. Sitting on the floor with her cheek pressed against the wall, she revealed to my eager scrutiny7 only the outlines of her pure, pale profile; but in those outlines and on those pure, pale features I saw such an abandonment of hope, mingled8 with such quiet endurance, that my whole soul melted before it, and it was with difficulty I managed to say:
“Pardon! I do not wish to intrude9; but I am shut out of the house also, and the night is raw and cold. Can I do nothing for your comfort or for — for the child’s?”
She turned toward me, and I saw the faintest gleam of pleasure tremble in the sombre stillness of her face, and then the match went out in my hand, and we were again in complete darkness. But the little wail10, which at the same instant rose from between her arms, filled up the pause as her sweet “Hush11!” filled my heart.
“I am used to the cold,” came in another moment from the place where she crouched12. “It is the child — she is hungry; and I— I walked here — feeling, hoping that, as my father’s heir, I might partake in some slight measure of Uncle Anthony’s money. Though my father cast me out before he died, and I have neither home nor money, I do not complain. I forfeited13 all when ——” Another wail, another gentle “Hush!” then silence.
I lit another match. “Look in my face!” I prayed. “I am a stranger, and you would be showing only proper prudence14 not to trust me. But I overheard your words when you withdrew from the room where your fortune lay; and I honour you, madam. If food can be got for your little one, I will get it.”
I caught sight of the convulsive clasp with which she drew to her breast the tiny bundle she held; then darkness fell again.
“A little bread,” she entreated15; “a little milk — ah, baby, baby, hush!”
“But where can I get it?” I cried. “They are at table inside. I hear them shouting over their good cheer. But perhaps there are neighbours near by. Do you know?”
“There are no neighbours,” she replied. “What is got must be got here. I know a way to the kitchen; I used to visit Uncle Anthony when a little child. If you have the courage ——”
I laughed. This token of confidence seemed to reassure16 her. I heard her move; possibly she stood up.
“In the further corner of this shed,” said she, “there used to be a trap, connecting this floor with an underground passage-way. A ladder stood against the trap, and the small cellar at the foot communicated by means of an iron-bound door with the large one under the house. Eighteen years ago the wood of that door was old; now it should be rotten. If you have the strength ——”
“I will make the effort and see,” said I. “But when I am in the cellar, what then?”
“Follow the wall to the right; you will come to a stone staircase. As this staircase has no railing, be careful in ascending17 it. At the top you will find a door; it leads into a pantry adjoining the kitchen. Some one will be in that pantry. Some one will give you a bite for the child, and when she is quieted and the sun has risen I will go away. It is my duty to do so. My uncle was always upright, if cold. He was perfectly18 justified19 in exacting20 rectitude in his heirs.”
I might have rejoined by asking if she detected rectitude in the faces of the greedy throng21 she had left behind her with the guardian22 of this estate, but I did not; I was too intent upon following out her directions. Lighting23 another match, I sought the trap. Alas24! it was burdened with a pile of sticks and rubbish which looked as if they had lain there for years. As these had to be removed in total darkness, it took me some time. But once this d?bris had been scattered25 and thrown aside, I had no difficulty in finding the trap, and, as the ladder was still there, I was soon on the cellar-bottom. When, by the reassuring26 shout I gave, she knew that I had advanced thus far, she spoke27, and her voice had a soft and thrilling sound.
“Don’t forget your own needs,” she said. “We two are not so hungry that we cannot wait for you to take a mouthful. I will sing to the baby. Good-bye.”
These ten minutes we had spent together had made us friends. The warmth, the strength which this discovery brought, gave to my arm a force that made that old oak door go down before me in three vigorous pushes.
Had the eight fortunate ones above not been indulging in a noisy celebration of their good luck, they must have heard the clatter28 of this door when it fell. But good eating, good drink, and the prospect of an immediate29 fortune far beyond their wildest dreams, made all ears deaf, and no pause occurred in the shouts of laughter and the hum of good-fellowship which sifted30 down between the beams supporting the house above my head. Consequently, little or no courage was required for the completion of my adventure; and before long I came upon the staircase and the door leading from its top into the pantry. The next minute I was in front of that door.
But here a surprise awaited me. The noise, which had hitherto been loud, now became deafening32, and I realised that, contrary to Eunice Westonhaugh’s expectation, the supper had been spread in the kitchen, and that I was likely to run amuck33 of the whole despicable crowd in any effort I might make to get a bite for the famished34 baby.
I therefore naturally hesitated to push open the door, fearing to draw attention to myself; and when I did succeed in lifting the latch35 and making a small crack, I was so astonished by the sudden lull36 in the general babble37 that I drew hastily back and was for descending38 the stairs in sudden retreat.
But I was prevented from carrying out this cowardly impulse by catching39 the sound of the lawyer’s voice, addressing the assembled guests.
“You have eaten and you have drunk,” he was saying; “you are therefore ready for the final toast. Brothers, nephews — heirs all of Anthony Westonhaugh, I rise to propose the name of your generous benefactor40, who, if spirits walk this earth, must certainly be with us to-night.”
A grumble41 from more than one throat and an uneasy hitch42 from such shoulders as I could see through my narrow vantage-hole testified to the rather doubtful pleasure with which this suggestion was received. But the lawyer’s tones lost none of their animation43, as he went on to say:
“The bottle, from which your glasses are to be replenished44 for this final draught45, he has himself provided. So anxious was he that it should be of the very best and altogether worthy46 of the occasion it is to celebrate, that he gave into my charge, almost with his dying breath, this key, telling me that it would unlock a cupboard here in which he had placed a bottle of wine of the very rarest vintage. This is the key, and yonder, if I do not mistake, is the cupboard.”
They had already quaffed48 a dozen toasts. Perhaps this was why they accepted this proposition in a sort of panting silence, which remained unbroken while the lawyer crossed the floor, unlocked the cupboard, and brought out before them a bottle which he held up before their eyes with a simulated glee almost saturnine49.
“Isn’t that a bottle to make your eyes dance? The very cobwebs on it are eloquent50. And see! look at this label. Tokay, friends — real Tokay! Mow51 many of you ever had the opportunity of drinking real Tokay before?”
A long deep sigh from a half-dozen throats, in which some strong but hitherto repressed passion, totally incomprehensible to me, found sudden vent31, rose in one simultaneous sound from about that table, and I heard one jocular voice sing out:
“Pass it around, Smead! I’ll drink to Uncle Anthony out of that bottle till there isn’t a drop left to tell what was in it!”
But the lawyer was in no hurry.
“You have forgotten the letter, for the hearing of which you are called together. Mr. Anthony Westonhaugh left behind him a letter. The time is now come for reading it.”
As I heard these words, and realised that the final toast was to be delayed, and that some few moments must yet elapse before the room would be cleared and an opportunity given me for obtaining what I needed for the famishing mother and child, I felt such impatience52 with the fact, and so much anxiety as to the condition of those I had left behind me, that I questioned whether it would not be better for me to return to them empty-handed than to leave them so long without the comfort of my presence, when the fascination53 of the scene again seized me, and I found myself lingering to mark its conclusion with an avidity which can only be explained by my sudden and intense consciousness of what it all might mean to her whose witness I had thus inadvertently become.
The careful lawyer began by quoting the injunction with which this letter had been put in his hands. “‘When they are warm with food and wine, but not too warm’— thus his adjuration54 ran —‘then let them hear my first and only words to them.’ I know you are eager for these words. Folk so honest, so convinced of their own purity and uprightness that they can stand unmoved while the youngest and most helpless among them withdraws her claim to wealth and independence rather than share an unmerited bounty55 — such folk, I say, must be eager, must be anxious, to know why they have been made the legatees of so great a fortune under the easy conditions and amid such slight restrictions56 as have been imposed upon them by their munificent57 kinsman58.”
“I had rather go on drinking toasts,” babbled59 one thick voice.
“I had rather finish my figuring,” growled60 another, in whose grating tones no echo remained of Hector Westonhaugh’s formerly61 honeyed voice. “I am making out a list of stock ——”
“Blast your stock — that is, if you mean horses and cows!” screamed a third. “I’m going in for city life. With less money than we have got, Andreas Amsberger got to be Alderman ——”
“Alderman!” sneered62 the whole pack; and the tumult63 became general. “If more of us had been sick,” called out one, “or if Uncle Luke, say, had tripped into the ditch instead of on the edge of it, the fellows who came safe through might have had anything they wanted, even to the governorship of the State, or — or ——”
“Silence!” came in commanding tones from the lawyer, who had begun to let his disgust appear, perhaps because he held under his thumb the bottle upon which all eyes were now lovingly centred — so lovingly, indeed, that I ventured to increase in the smallest perceptible degree the crack by means of which I was myself an interested, if unseen, participator in this scene.
A sight of Smead, and a partial glimpse of old Luke’s covetous64 profile, rewarded this small act of daring on my part. The lawyer was standing65; all the rest were sitting. Perhaps he alone retained sufficient steadiness to stand, for I observed by the control he exercised over this herd66 of self-seekers that he had not touched the cup which had so freely gone about among the others. The woman was hidden from me, but the change in her voice, when by any chance I heard it, convinced me that she had not disdained67 the toasts drunk by her brothers and nephews.
“Silence!” the lawyer reiterated68, “or I will smash this bottle on the hearth69!” He raised it in one threatening hand, and every man there seemed to tremble, while old Luke put out his long fingers with an entreaty70 that ill became them. “You want to hear the letter?” old Smead called out. “I thought so.”
Putting the bottle down again, but still keeping one hand upon it, he drew a folded paper from his breast. “This,” said he, “contains the final injunctions of Anthony Westonhaugh. You will listen, all of you — listen till I am done — or I will not only smash this bottle before your eyes, but I will keep forever buried in my breast the whereabouts of certain drafts and bonds in which, as his heirs, you possess the greatest interest. Nobody but myself knows where these papers can be found.”
Whether this was so, or whether the threat was an empty one, thrown out by this subtle old schemer for the purpose of safeguarding his life from their possible hate and impatience, it answered his end with these semi-intoxicated men, and secured him the silence he demanded. Breaking open the seal of the envelope he held, he showed them the folded sheet which it contained with the remark:
“I have had nothing to do with the writing of this letter. It is in Mr. Westonhaugh’s own hand, and he was not even so good as to communicate to me the nature of its contents. I was bidden to read it to such as should be here assembled under the provisos mentioned in his will; and as you are now in a condition to listen, I will proceed with my task as required.”
This was my time for leaving, but a certain brooding terror, latent in the air, held me chained to the spot, listening with my ears, but receiving the full sense of what was read from the expression of old Luke’s face, which was probably more plainly visible to me than to those who sat beside him. For, being bent71 almost into a bow, as I have said, his forehead came within an inch of touching72 his plate, and one had to look under his arms, as I did, to catch the workings of his evil mouth, as old Smead gave forth73, in his professional sing-song, the following words from his departed client:
“‘Brothers, nephews, and heirs! Though the earth has lain upon my breast a month, I am with you here to-night.’”
A snort from old Luke’s snarling74 lips, and a stir — not a comfortable one — in the jostling crowd, whose shaking arms and clawing hands I could see projecting here and there over the board.
“‘My presence at this feast — a presence which, if unseen, cannot be unfelt, may bring you more pain than pleasure. But if so, it matters little. You are my natural heirs, and I have left you my money. Why, when so little love has characterised our intercourse75, must be evident to such of my brothers as can recall their youth and the promise our father exacted from us on the day we set foot in this new land.
“‘There were nine of us in those days — Luke, Salmon76, Barbara, Hector, Eustace, Janet, Hudson, William, and myself — and all save one were promising77, in appearance at least. But our father knew his offspring, and when we stood, an alien and miserable78 band in front of Castle Garden, at the foot of the great city whose immensity struck terror to our hearts, he drew all our hands together and made us swear by the soul of our mother, whose body we had left in the sea, that we would keep the bond of brotherhood79 intact, and share with mutual80 confidence whatever good fortune this untried country might hold in store for us. You were strong, and your voices rang out loudly. Mine was faint, for I was weak — so weak that my hand had to be held in place by my sister Barbara. But my oath has never lost its hold upon my heart, while yours — answer how you have kept it, Luke; or you, Janet; or you, Hector, of the smooth tongue and vicious heart; or you, or you, who, from one stock, recognise but one law — the law of cold-blooded selfishness, which seeks its own in face of all oaths and at the cost of another man’s heart-break.
“‘This I say to such as know my story. But lest there be one amongst you who has not heard from parent or uncle the true tale of him who has brought you all under one roof to-night, I will repeat it here in words, that no man may fail to understand why I remembered my oath through life and beyond death, yet stand above you an accusing spirit while you quaff47 me toasts and count the gains my justice divides among you.
“‘I, as you all remember, was the weak one — the ne’er-do-weel. When all of you were grown and had homes of your own, I still remained under the family roof-tree, fed by our father’s bounty and looking to our father’s justice for that share of his savings81 which he had promised to all alike. When he died it came to me as it came to you; but I had married before that day — married, not, like the rest of you, for what a wife could bring, but for sentiment and true passion. This, in my case, meant a loving wife, but a frail82 one; and while we lived a little while on the patrimony83 left us, it was far too small to support us long without some aid from our own hands; and our hands were feeble and could not work. And so we fell into debt for rent and, ere long, for the commonest necessities of life. In vain I struggled to redeem84 myself; the time of my prosperity had not come, and I only sank deeper and deeper into debt, and finally into indigence85. A baby came. Our landlord was kind, and allowed us to stay for two weeks under the roof for whose protection we could not pay; but at the end of that time we were asked to leave, and I found myself on the road with a dying wife, a wailing86 infant, no money in my purse, and no power in my arm to earn any. Then, when heart and hope were both failing, I recalled that ancient oath and the six prosperous homes scattered up and down the very highway on which I stood. I could not leave my wife; the fever was in her veins87, and she could not bear me out of her sight; so I put her on a horse, which a kind old neighbour was willing to lend me, and holding her up with one hand, guided the horse with the other to the home of my brother Luke. He was a straight enough fellow in those days — physically88, I mean — and he looked able and strong that morning, as he stood in the open doorway89 of his house, gazing down at us as we halted before him in the roadway. But his temper had grown greedy with the accumulation of a few dollars, and he shook his head as he closed his door, saying he remembered no oath, and that spenders must expect to be beggars.
“‘Struck to the heart by a rebuff which meant prolongation of the suffering I saw in my dear wife’s eyes, I stretched up and kissed her where she sat half fainting on the horse; then I moved on. I came to Barbara’s home next. She had been a little mother to me once — that is, she had fed and dressed me, and doled90 out blows and caresses91, and taught me to read and sing. But Barbara in her father’s home and without fortune was not the Barbara I saw on the threshold of the little cottage she called her own. She heard my story; looked in the face of my wife, and turned her back. She had no place for idle folk in her little house; if we would work she would feed us; but we must earn our supper or go hungry to bed. I felt the trembling of my wife’s frame where she leaned against my arm, and kissing her again, led her on to Salmon’s. Luke, Hector, Janet, have you heard him tell of that vision at his gateway92, twenty-five years ago? He is not amongst you. For twelve years he has lain beside our father in the churchyard, but his sons may be here, for they were ever alert when gold was in sight or a full glass to be drained. Ask them, ask John, whom I saw skulking93 behind his cousins at the garden fence that day, what it was they saw as I drew rein94 under the great tree which shadowed their father’s doorstep.
“‘The sunshine had been pitiless that morning, and the head, for whose rest in some loving shelter I would have bartered95 soul and body, had fallen sidewise till it lay on my arm. Pressed to her breast was our infant, whose little wail struck in pitifully as Salmon called out, “What’s to do here to-day?” Do you remember it, lads? Or how you all laughed, little and great, when I asked for a few weeks’ stay under my brother’s roof till we could all get well and go about our tasks again? I remember. I, who am writing these words from the very mouth of the tomb, I remember; but I did not curse you. I only rode on to the next. The way ran uphill now; and the sun which, since our last stop, had been under a cloud, came out and blistered97 my wife’s cheeks, already burning red with fever. But I pressed my lips upon them, and led her on. With each rebuff I gave her a kiss; and her smile, as her head pressed harder and harder upon my arm, now exerting all its strength to support her, grew almost divine. But it vanished at my nephew Lemuel’s.
“‘He was shearing98 sheep, and could give no time to company; and when late in the day I drew rein at Janet’s, and she said she was going to have a dance, and could not look after sick folk, the pallid99 lips failed to return my despairing embrace; and in the terror which this brought me I went down in the gathering100 twilight101 into the deep valley where William raised his sheep, and reckoned day by day the increase among his pigs. Oh, the chill of that descent! Oh, the gloom of the gathering shadows! As we neared the bottom, and I heard a far-off voice shout out a hoarse102 command, some instinct made me reach up for the last time and bestow103 that faithful kiss, which was at once her consolation104 and my prayer. My lips were cold with the terror of my soul, but they were not so cold as the cheek they touched, and, shrieking106 in my misery107 and need, I fell before William where he halted by the horse-trough and —— He was always a hard man, was William, and it was a shock to him, no doubt, to see us standing in our anguish108 and necessity before him; but he raised the whip in his hand, and when it fell my arm fell with it, and she slipped from my grasp to the ground and lay in a heap in the roadway.
“‘He was ashamed next minute, and pointed109 to the house nearby. But I did not carry her in, and she died in the roadway. Do you remember it, Luke? Do you remember it, Lemuel?
“‘But it is not of this that I complain at this hour, nor is it for this I ask you to drink the toast I have prepared for you.’”
The looks, the writhings of old Luke and such others as I could now see through the widening crack my hands unconsciously made in the doorway, told me that the rack was at work in this room so lately given up to revelry. Yet the mutterings, which from time to time came to my ears from one sullen110 lip or another, did not rise into frightened imprecation or even into any assertion of sorrow or contrition111. It seemed as if some suspense112 common to all held them speechless, if not dumbly apprehensive113; and while the lawyer said nothing in recognition of this, he could not have been quite blind to it, for he bestowed114 one curious glance around the table before he proceeded with old Anthony’s words.
Those words had now become short, sharp, and accusatory.
“‘My child lived, and what remained to me of human passion and longing centred in his frail existence. I managed to earn enough for his eating and housing, and in time I was almost happy again. This was while our existence was a struggle; but when, with the discovery of latent powers in my own mind, I began to find my place in the world and to earn money, then your sudden interest in my boy taught me a new lesson in human selfishness, but not as yet new fears. My nature was not one to grasp ideas of evil, and the remembrance of that oath still remained to make me lenient115 toward you.
“‘I let him see you; not much, not often, but yet often enough for him to realise that he had uncles and cousins, or, if you like it better, kindred. And how did you repay this confidence on my part? What hand had ye in the removal of this small barrier to the fortune my own poor health warranted you in looking upon even in those early days as your own? To others’ eyes it may appear none; to mine, ye are one and all his murderers as certainly as all of you were the murderers of the good physician hastening to his aid. For his illness was not a mortal one. He would have been saved if the doctor had reached him; but a precipice116 swallowed that good Samaritan, and only I of all who looked upon the footprints which harrowed up the road at this dangerous point knew whose shoes would fit those marks. God’s providence117, it was called, and I let it pass for such; but it was a providence which cost me my boy and made you my heirs.’”
Silence, as sullen in character as the men who found themselves thus openly impeached118, had for some minutes now replaced the muttered complaints which had accompanied the first portion of this denunciatory letter. As the lawyer stopped to cast them another of those strange looks, a gleam from old Luke’s sidewise eyes startled the man next him, who, shrugging a shoulder, passed the underhanded look on, till it had circled the board and stopped with the man sitting opposite the crooked119 sinner who had started it.
I began to have a wholesome120 dread121 of them all, and was astonished to see the lawyer drop his hand from the bottle, which to some degree offered itself as a possible weapon. But he knew his audience better than I did. Though the bottle was now free for any man’s taking, not a hand trembled toward it, nor was a single glass held out.
The lawyer, with an evil smile, went on with his relentless122 client’s story.
“‘Ye had killed my wife; ye had killed my son; but this was not enough. Being lonesome in my great house, which was as much too large for me as my fortune was, I had taken a child to replace the boy I had lost. Remembering the cold blood running in the veins of those nearest me, I chose a boy from alien stock, and for a while knew contentment again. But as he developed and my affections strengthened, the possibility of all my money going his way roused my brothers and sisters from the complacency they had enjoyed since their road to fortune had been secured by my son’s death, and one day — can you recall it, Hudson? Can you recall it, Lemuel? — the boy was brought in from the mill, and laid at my feet dead! He had stumbled amongst the great belts, but whose was the voice which, with the loud “Halloo!” had startled him? Can you say, Luke? Can you say, John? I can say, in whose ear it was whispered that three, if not more of you were seen moving among the machinery123 that fatal morning.
“‘Again God’s providence was said to have visited my house; and again ye were my heirs.’”
“Stop there!” broke in the harsh voice of Luke, who was gradually growing livid under his long grey locks.
“Lies! lies!” shrieked124 Hector, gathering courage from his brother.
“Cut it all and give us the drink!” snarled125 one of the younger men, who was less under the effect of liquor than the rest.
But a trembling voice muttered “Hush!” and the lawyer, whose eye had grown steely under these comments, took advantage of the sudden silence which had followed this last objurgation, and went steadily126 on:
“‘Some men would have made a will and denounced you. I made a will, but did not denounce you. I am no breaker of oaths. More than this, I learned a new trick. I, who hated all subtlety127, and looked upon craft as the favourite weapon of the devil, learned to smile with my lips while my heart was burning with hatred128. Perhaps this was why you all began to smile, too, and joke me about certain losses I had sustained, by which you meant the gains which had come to me. That these gains were many times greater than you realised added to the sting of this good-fellowship, but I held my peace, and you began to have confidence in a good-nature which nothing could shake. You even gave me a supper.’”
A supper!
What was there in these words to cause every man there to stop in whatever movement he was making, and stare with wide-open eyes intently at the reader? He had spoken quietly; he had not even looked up; but the silence which for some minutes back had begun to reign129 over that tumultuous gathering now became breathless, and the seams in Hector’s cheeks deepened to a bluish criss-cross.
“‘You remember that supper?’”
As the word rang out again I threw wide the door. I might have stalked openly into their circle; not a man there would have noticed me.
“‘It was a memorable130 occasion,’” the lawyer read on, with stoical impassiveness. “‘There was not a brother lacking. Luke, and Hudson, and William, and Hector, and Eustace’s boys, as well as Eustace himself; Janet too, and Salmon’s Lemuel, and Barbara’s son, who, even if his mother had gone the way of all flesh, had so trained her black brood in the love of the things of this world that I scarcely missed her when I looked about among you all for the eight sturdy brothers and sisters who had joined in one clasp and one oath under the eye of a true-hearted immigrant, our father. What I did miss was one true eye lifted to my glance; but I did not show that I missed it. And so our peace was made, and we separated, you to wait for your inheritance, and I for the death which was to secure it to you. For when the cup passed round that night you each dropped into it a tear of repentance131, and tears make bitter drinking. I sickened as I quaffed, and was never myself again, as you know. Do you understand me, you cruel, crafty132 ones?’”
Did they not! Heads quaking, throats gasping133, teeth chattering134 — no longer sitting — all risen, all looking with wild eyes for the door — was it not apparent that they understood, and only waited for one more word to break away and flee the accursed house?
But that word lingered. Old Smead had now grown pale himself, and read with difficulty the lines which were to end this frightful135 scene. As I saw the red gleam of terror shine out from his small eyes, I wondered if he had been but the blind tool of his implacable client, and was as ignorant as those before him of what was to follow this heavy arraignment136. The dread with which he finally proceeded was too marked for me to doubt the truth of this surmise137. This is what he found himself forced to read:
“‘There was a bottle reserved for me. It had a green label on it ——’”
A shriek105 from every one there and a hurried look up and down at the bottles standing on the table.
“‘A green label,’” the lawyer repeated, “‘and it made a goodly appearance as it was set down before me. But you had no liking138 for wine with a green label on the bottle. One by one you refused it, and when I rose to quaff my final glass alone, every eye before me fell and did not lift again until the glass was drained. I did not notice this then, but I see it all now, just as I hear again the excuses you gave for not filling your glasses as the bottle went round. One had drunk enough; one suffered from qualms139 brought on by an unaccustomed indulgence in oysters140; one felt that wine good enough for me was too good for him, and so on, and so on. Not one to show frank eyes and drink with me as I was ready to drink with him! Why? Because one and all of you knew what was in that cup, and would not risk an inheritance so nearly within your grasp.’”
“Lies! lies!” again shrieked the raucous141 voice of Luke, smothered142 by terror; while oaths, shouts, imprecations, rang out in horrid143 tumult from one end of the table to the other, till the lawyer’s face, over which a startling change was rapidly passing, drew the whole crowd forward again in awful fascination, till they clung, speechless, arm in arm, shoulder propping144 shoulder, while he gasped145 out in dismay equal to their own these last fatal words:
“‘That was at your board, my brothers; now you are at mine. You have eaten my viands146, drunk of my cup; and now, through the mouth of the one man who has been true to me because therein lies his advantage, I offer you a final glass. Will you drink it? I drank yours. By that old-time oath which binds147 us to share each other’s fortune, I ask you to share this cup with me. You will not?’”
“No, no, no!” shouted one after another.
“‘Then,’” the inexorable voice went on, a voice which to these miserable souls was no longer that of the lawyer, but an issue from the grave they had themselves dug for Anthony Westonhaugh, “‘know that your abstinence comes too late; that you have already drunk the toast destined148 to end your lives. The bottle which you must have missed from that board of yours has been offered you again. A label is easily changed, and — Luke, John, Hector, I know you all so well — that bottle has been greedily emptied by you; and while I, who sipped149 sparingly, lived three weeks, you, who have drunk deep, have not three hours before you, possibly not three minutes.’”
Oh, the wail of those lost souls as this last sentence issued in a final pant of horror from the lawyer’s quaking lips! Shrieks150 — howls — prayers for mercy — groans152 deep enough to make the hair rise — and curses, at sound of which I shut my ears in horror, only to open them again in dread, as, with one simultaneous impulse, they flung themselves upon the lawyer, who, foreseeing this rush, had backed up against the wall.
He tried to stem the tide.
“I knew nothing of the poisoning,” he protested. “That was not my reason for declining to drink. I wished to preserve my senses — to carry out my client’s wishes. As God lives, I did not know he meant to carry his revenge so far. Mercy! mer ——”
But the hands which clutched him were the hands of murderers, and the lawyer’s puny153 figure could not stand up against the avalanche154 of human terror, relentless fury, and mad vengeance155 which now rolled in upon it. As I bounded to his relief he turned his ghastly face upon me. But the way between us was blocked, and I was preparing myself to see him sink before my eyes when an unearthly shriek rose from behind us, and every living soul in that mass of struggling humanity paused, set and staring, with stiffened156 limbs and eyes fixed157, not on him, not on me, but on one of their own number — the only woman amongst them, Janet Clapsaddle — who, with clutching hands clawing her breast, was reeling in solitary158 agony in her place beside the board. As they looked she fell, and lay with upturned face and staring eyes, in whose glassy depths the ill-fated ones who watched her could see mirrored their own impending159 doom160.
It was an awful moment. A groan151, in which was concentrated the despair of seven miserable souls, rose from that petrified161 band; then, man by man, they separated and fell back, showing on each weak or wicked face the particular passion which had driven them into crime and made them the victims of this wholesale162 revenge. There had been some sort of bond between them till the vision of death rose before each shrinking soul. Shoulder to shoulder in crime, they fell apart as their doom approached, and rushing, shrieking, each man for himself, they one and all sought to escape by doors, windows, or any outlet163 which promised release from this fatal spot. One rushed by me — I do not know which one — and I felt as if a flame from hell had licked me, his breath was so hot and the moans he uttered so like the curses we imagine to blister96 the lips of the lost. None of them saw me; they did not even detect the sliding form of the lawyer crawling away before them to some place of egress164 of which they had no knowledge; and, convinced that in this scene of death I could play no part worthy of her who awaited me, I too rushed away, and, seeking my old path through the cellar, sought her side, where she still crouched in patient waiting against the dismal165 wall.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
shudder
|
|
| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
attic
|
|
| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
longing
|
|
| n.（for）渴望 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
solitariness
|
|
| n.隐居；单独 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
5
casement
|
|
| n.竖铰链窗；窗扉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
prospect
|
|
| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
scrutiny
|
|
| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
mingled
|
|
| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
intrude
|
|
| vi.闯入；侵入；打扰，侵扰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
wail
|
|
| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
hush
|
|
| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
crouched
|
|
| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
forfeited
|
|
| （因违反协议、犯规、受罚等）丧失，失去( forfeit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
prudence
|
|
| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
entreated
|
|
| 恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
reassure
|
|
| v.使放心，使消除疑虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
ascending
|
|
| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
justified
|
|
| a.正当的，有理的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
exacting
|
|
| adj.苛求的，要求严格的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
throng
|
|
| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
guardian
|
|
| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
lighting
|
|
| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
alas
|
|
| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
scattered
|
|
| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
reassuring
|
|
| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
clatter
|
|
| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
immediate
|
|
| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
sifted
|
|
| v.筛( sift的过去式和过去分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
vent
|
|
| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
deafening
|
|
| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
amuck
|
|
| ad.狂乱地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
famished
|
|
| adj.饥饿的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
latch
|
|
| n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
lull
|
|
| v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
babble
|
|
| v.含糊不清地说，胡言乱语地说，儿语 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
descending
|
|
| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
catching
|
|
| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
benefactor
|
|
| n. 恩人，行善的人，捐助人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
grumble
|
|
| vi.抱怨；咕哝；n.抱怨，牢骚；咕哝，隆隆声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
hitch
|
|
| v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
animation
|
|
| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
replenished
|
|
| 补充( replenish的过去式和过去分词 )； 重新装满 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
draught
|
|
| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
worthy
|
|
| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
quaff
|
|
| v.一饮而尽；痛饮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
quaffed
|
|
| v.痛饮( quaff的过去式和过去分词 )；畅饮；大口大口将…喝干；一饮而尽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
saturnine
|
|
| adj.忧郁的，沉默寡言的，阴沉的，感染铅毒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
eloquent
|
|
| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
mow
|
|
| v.割（草、麦等），扫射，皱眉；n.草堆，谷物堆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
impatience
|
|
| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
fascination
|
|
| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
adjuration
|
|
| n.祈求，命令 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
bounty
|
|
| n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
restrictions
|
|
| 约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
munificent
|
|
| adj.慷慨的，大方的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
kinsman
|
|
| n.男亲属 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
babbled
|
|
| v.喋喋不休( babble的过去式和过去分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
growled
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
formerly
|
|
| adv.从前，以前 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
sneered
|
|
| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
tumult
|
|
| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
covetous
|
|
| adj.贪婪的，贪心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
herd
|
|
| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
disdained
|
|
| 鄙视( disdain的过去式和过去分词 )； 不屑于做，不愿意做 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
reiterated
|
|
| 反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
hearth
|
|
| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
entreaty
|
|
| n.恳求，哀求 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
touching
|
|
| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
snarling
|
|
| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
intercourse
|
|
| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
salmon
|
|
| n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
promising
|
|
| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
miserable
|
|
| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
brotherhood
|
|
| n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
mutual
|
|
| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
savings
|
|
| n.存款，储蓄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
frail
|
|
| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
patrimony
|
|
| n.世袭财产，继承物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
redeem
|
|
| v.买回，赎回，挽回，恢复，履行（诺言等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
indigence
|
|
| n.贫穷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
wailing
|
|
| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
veins
|
|
| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
physically
|
|
| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
doled
|
|
| 救济物( dole的过去式和过去分词 )； 失业救济金 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
caresses
|
|
| 爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
gateway
|
|
| n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
skulking
|
|
| v.潜伏，偷偷摸摸地走动，鬼鬼祟祟地活动( skulk的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
rein
|
|
| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
bartered
|
|
| v.作物物交换，以货换货( barter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
blister
|
|
| n.水疱；(油漆等的)气泡；v.(使)起泡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
blistered
|
|
| adj.水疮状的，泡状的v.（使）起水泡( blister的过去式和过去分词 )；（使表皮等）涨破，爆裂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
shearing
|
|
| n.剪羊毛，剪取的羊毛v.剪羊毛( shear的现在分词 )；切断；剪切 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
pallid
|
|
| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
gathering
|
|
| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
twilight
|
|
| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
hoarse
|
|
| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
bestow
|
|
| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
consolation
|
|
| n.安慰，慰问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
shriek
|
|
| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
shrieking
|
|
| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
misery
|
|
| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
anguish
|
|
| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
sullen
|
|
| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
contrition
|
|
| n.悔罪，痛悔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
suspense
|
|
| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
apprehensive
|
|
| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
bestowed
|
|
| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
lenient
|
|
| adj.宽大的，仁慈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
precipice
|
|
| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
providence
|
|
| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
impeached
|
|
| v.控告（某人）犯罪( impeach的过去式和过去分词 )；弹劾；对（某事物）怀疑；提出异议 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
crooked
|
|
| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
wholesome
|
|
| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
dread
|
|
| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
relentless
|
|
| adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
machinery
|
|
| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
shrieked
|
|
| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
snarled
|
|
| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
steadily
|
|
| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
subtlety
|
|
| n.微妙，敏锐，精巧；微妙之处，细微的区别 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
hatred
|
|
| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
reign
|
|
| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
memorable
|
|
| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
repentance
|
|
| n.懊悔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
crafty
|
|
| adj.狡猾的，诡诈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
gasping
|
|
| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
chattering
|
|
| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
135
frightful
|
|
| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
136
arraignment
|
|
| n.提问，传讯，责难 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
137
surmise
|
|
| v./n.猜想，推测 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
138
liking
|
|
| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
139
qualms
|
|
| n.不安；内疚 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
140
oysters
|
|
| 牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
141
raucous
|
|
| adj.(声音)沙哑的，粗糙的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
142
smothered
|
|
| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
143
horrid
|
|
| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
144
propping
|
|
| 支撑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
145
gasped
|
|
| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
146
viands
|
|
| n.食品，食物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
147
binds
|
|
| v.约束( bind的第三人称单数 )；装订；捆绑；（用长布条）缠绕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
148
destined
|
|
| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
149
sipped
|
|
| v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
150
shrieks
|
|
| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
151
groan
|
|
| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
152
groans
|
|
| n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
153
puny
|
|
| adj.微不足道的，弱小的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
154
avalanche
|
|
| n.雪崩，大量涌来 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
155
vengeance
|
|
| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
156
stiffened
|
|
| 加强的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
157
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
158
solitary
|
|
| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
159
impending
|
|
| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
160
doom
|
|
| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
161
petrified
|
|
| adj.惊呆的；目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆，使惊呆；变僵硬；使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
162
wholesale
|
|
| n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
163
outlet
|
|
| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
164
egress
|
|
| n.出去；出口 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
165
dismal
|
|
| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |