Not that it formed a part of her plan that des Ageaux should discover her. To be near him unknown, to share his peril3 whom she loved, while he remained unwitting, to give and take nothing--this was the essence of the mystery that charmed her fancy, this was the heart of the adventure on which her affection had settled. He, by whose side she rode, and near whom she must pass the dark hours in a solitude4 which only love could rob of its terrors, must never know what she had done for love of him; or know it only from her lips in a delicious future on which reason forbade her to count.
In supporting her disguise she was perfectly5 successful. No suspicion that the girl riding beside him in depressed6 silence was other than the Countess, the unwilling7 sharer of his exile, crossed his mind. Bonne, hooded8 to the eyes and muffled9 in her cloak, sat low-hunched on her horse. Fulbert, who was in the secret, and to whom nothing which any one could do for his adored mistress seemed odd or extraordinary, helped her to mount and dismount, and nightly lay grim and stark10 across the door of her hut repelling11 inquiry12. Add the fact that the Lieutenant13 on his side had his delicacy14. Fortune compelled the Countess into his company, forced her on his protection. It behoved him to take no advantage, and, short of an indifference15 that might appear brutal16, to leave her as much as possible to herself.
Bonne therefore had her wish. He had no slightest suspicion who was with him. She had, too, if she needed it, proof of his honour; proof certain that if he loved the great lady, he respected her to the same extent. Love her he might, see in her a grand alliance he might; but had he been the adventurer the Abbess styled him, he had surely made more of this opportunity, more of her helplessness and her dependence17. The Countess's fortune, the wide lands that had tempted18 Vlaye, what a chance of making them sure was his! No great lady was here, but a young girl helpless, terrified, hedged in by perils19. Such an one would be ready at the first word, at a sign, to fling herself into the arms of her only friend, her only protector, and promise him all and everything if he would but save her scatheless20.
Bonne had imagination enough, and perhaps jealousy21 enough, to picture the temptation. And finding him superior to it--so that in the sweetness of her secret nearness to him was mingled22 no gall--she whispered to herself that if he loved he did not love overmuch. Was it possible that he did not love--in that direction? Was it possible that he had no more feeling for the Countess than she had for him?
Perhaps for an hour Bonne was happy--happy in these thoughts. Happy while the tones of his even and courteous23 voice, telling her that she need fear nothing, dwelt in her ears. For that period the pleasures of fancy overcame the tremors24 of the real. Then--for sleep was in no haste to visit her--a chance rustle25, caused by something moving in her neighbourhood, the passage it might be of a prowling dog, made her prick26 her ears, forced her against her will to listen, sent a creepy chill down her back. After that she was lost. She did not wish to think of such things, it was foolish to think of such things; but how flimsy were the walls of her hut! How defenceless she lay, in the midst of the savage27, grisly horde28, whose looks even in the daylight had paled her cheeks. How useless must two swords prove against a multitude!
She must divert her thoughts. Alas29, when she tried to do so, she found it impossible. It was in vain that she chid30 herself, in vain that she asked herself what she was doing there, if des Ageaux' presence were no charm against fear, if with him at hand she was a coward! Always some sound, something that seemed the shuffle31 of feet or the whisper of murder, brought her to earth with quivering nerves; and as by the Lieutenant's desire she burned no light, she could not interpret the most innocent alarm or learn its origin. She was no coward. But to lie in the dark, expecting and trembling, and thrice in the hour to sit up bathed in perspiration--a short experience of this left her no right to despise the younger girl whose place she had taken. When at last the longed-for light pierced the thin walls, and she knew that the night was past, she knew also that she looked forward to a second with dread32. And she hated herself for it.
Not that to escape a hundred such nights would she withdraw. If she suffered, what must the child have suffered? She was clear that the Countess must not go again. But during the day she was more grave than usual; more tender with her father, more affectionate to her sister. And when she rode across the camp in the evening, exciting as little suspicion as before, she carried with her, hidden in her dress, a thing that she touched now and again to assure herself of its safety. She took it with her to the rough pallet on which she lay in her clothes; and her hand clasped it under the pillow. Something of a link it seemed between her and des Ageaux, so near yet so unwitting; for as she held it her mind ran on him. It kept at bay, albeit33 it was a strange amulet34 for a woman's hand, the thought that had troubled her the previous night; and though more than once she raised herself on her elbow, fancying that she heard some one moving outside, the panic-terror that had bedewed her brow was absent. She lay down again on these occasions with her fingers on her treasure. And towards morning she slept--slept so soundly that when the light touched her eyelids35 and woke her, she sprang up in pleased confusion. They were calling her, the horses were waiting at the door. And in haste she wrapped herself in her travesty36.
"I give you joy of your courage, Countess!" the Lieutenant said, as he came forward to assist her to mount. Fortunately Fulbert, with apparent clumsiness, interposed and did her the office. "You have slept?" des Ageaux continued, as he swung himself into his saddle and took his place by her side. "That's good," accepting her inarticulate murmur37 for assent38. "Well, one more night will end it, I fancy. I greatly, very greatly regret," he continued, speaking with more warmth than usual, "that it has been necessary to expose you to this strain, Countess."
Again she muttered something through her closely drawn39 hood. Fortunately a chill, grey mist, through which the huts loomed40 gigantic, swathed the camp, and he thought that it was to guard herself from this that she kept her mouth covered. He suspected nothing, though, at dismounting, Fulbert interposed again. In two minutes from starting she was safe within the shelter of the Countess's hut, with the Countess's arms about her, and the child's grateful kisses warm on her cheek.
He had praised her courage! That was something; nay41, it was much if he learned the truth. But he should never learn it from her, she was resolved. She had the loyalty42 which, if it gives, gives nobly; nor by telling robs the gift of half its virtue43. She had saved the younger woman some hours of fear and misery44, but at a price too high were she ever to speak and betray her confidence. No one saw that more clearly than Bonne, or was more firmly resolved to hide her share in the matter.
The third night she set out, not with indifference, since she rode by his side whose presence could never be indifferent to her, but with a heart comparatively light. If she took with her the charm which had served her so well, if it attended her to her couch and lay beneath her pillow, it was no longer the same thing to her; she smiled as she placed it there. And if her fingers closed on it in silence and darkness and she derived45 some comfort from it, she fell asleep with scarce a thought of the things its presence imported. For two nights she had slept little; now, worn-out, she was proof against all ordinary sounds, the rustle of a dog prowling in search of food, or the restless movements of a horse tethered near. Ay, and against other sounds as stealthy as these and more dangerous, that by-and-by crept rustling46 and whispering through the camp; sounds caused by a cloud of low stooping figures that moved and halted, lurked47 behind huts, and anon swept forward across an open space, and again lurking48 showed like some dark shadow of the night.
A shadow fraught49, when it bared its face, with horror! For what was that cry, sharp, wild, stopped in mid-utterance?
Even as Bonne sprang up palpitating, and glared at the open doorway50, the cry rose again--close by her; and the doorway melted into a press of dark forms that hurled51 themselves on her as soon as they were seen. She was borne back, choked, stifled52; and desperately53 writhing54, vainly striving to shriek55, or to free mouth or hands from the folds of the coverlets that blinded her, she felt herself lifted up in a grasp against which it was vain to struggle. A moment, and with a shock that took away what breath was left in her, she was flung head and heels across something--across a horse; for the moment the thing felt her weight it moved under her.
Whoever rode it held her pitilessly, cruelly heedless of the pain her position caused her. She could hardly breathe, she could not see, the movement was torture; for her arms, pinned above her head, were caught in the folds of the thing that swathed her, and she could not use them to support herself. Her one thought, her only thought was to keep her senses; her one instinct to maintain her grip on the long sharp knife which had lain under her pillow; and which had become more valuable to her than the wealth of the world. The hand that had rested on it in her sleep had tightened56 on it in the moment of surprise. She had it, she felt it, her fingers, even while she groaned57 in pain, stiffened58 about its haft.
It was useless to struggle, but by a movement she managed at last to relieve the pressure on her side. The blood ceased to run so tumultuously to her head. And by-and-by, under the mufflings, she freed her hands, and by holding apart the edges of the stuff was able to breathe more easily, and even to learn something of what was happening about her. Abreast59 of her horse moved another horse, and on either side of the two ran and trotted60 a score of pattering naked feet, feet of the unkempt filthy61 Crocans from the hill-town, or of the more desperate spirits in the camp--feet of men from whom no ruth or mercy was to be expected.
Were they clear of the camp? Yes, for to one side the water of the stream glimmered62 between the pattering feet. As she made the discovery the other horse sidled against the one that bore her, and all but crushed her head and shoulders between their bodies. She only saved herself by lifting herself convulsively; on which the man who held her thrust her down brutally63 with an oath as savage as the action. She uttered a moan of pain, but it was wrung64 from her against her will. She would have suffered twice as much and gladly to learn what she knew now.
The horse beside her also carried double; and the after rider was a prisoner, a man with his hands bound behind him, and his feet roped under the horse's body. A prisoner? If so it could be no other than des Ageaux. As she swung, painfully, to the movement of the horse across whose withers65 she lay, her pendant hands lacked little of touching66, under cover of the stuff, his bound wrists.
Little? Nay, nothing. For suddenly the footmen, for a reason which she did not immediately divine, fell away leftwards, and the horse that bore the other prisoner strove to turn with them. Being spurred it sidled once more against hers, and though she raised herself, her head rubbed the rider's leg. The man noticed it, patted her head, and made a jest upon it. "She wants to come to me," he said. "My burden for yours, Matthias!"
"Wait until we are through the ford67 and I'll talk," her captor answered. "What will you offer for her? But it is so cursed dark here"--with an oath--"I can see nothing! We had better have crossed with them at the stepping-stones and led over." As he spoke68 he turned his horse to the ford.
She knew then that the footmen had crossed by the stepping-stones, a hundred yards short of the ford. And she felt that Heaven itself had given her, weak as she was, this one opportunity. As the men urged their horses warily69 into the stream she stretched herself out stiffly, and gripping the bound hands that hung within her reach, she cut recklessly, heeding70 little whether she cut to the bone if she could only cut the cords. The man who held her felt her body writhing under his hand; for she knew that any instant the other horse might move out of reach. But he was thinking most of his steed's footing, he had no fear that she could wrest71 herself from him, and he contented72 himself for the moment with a curse and a threat.
"Burn the wench," he cried, "she won't be still!"
"Don't let her go!" the other answered.
"No fear! And when we have her on the hill she shall pay for this! When----"
It was his last word. The keen long knife had passed from her hands to des Ageaux', from her weak fingers to his practised grip. As the man who held her paused to peer before him--for the ford, shadowed by spreading trees, was dark as pitch--des Ageaux drove the point straight and sure into the throat above the collar-bone. The action was so sudden, so unexpected, that the man he struck had no time to cry out, but with a low gurgling moan fell forward on his burden.
His comrade who rode before the Lieutenant knew little more. Before he could turn, almost before he could give the alarm, the weapon was driven in between his shoulders, and the Lieutenant, availing himself of the purchase which his bound feet gave him, hurled him over the horse's head. Unfortunately the man had time to utter one shriek, and the cry with the splash, and the plunging73 of the terrified horse, bore the alarm to his comrades on the bank.
"What is it? What is the matter?" a voice asked. And a score of feet could be heard pounding hurriedly along the bank.
The Lieutenant had one moment only in which to make his choice. If he remained on the horse, which he could not restrain, for the reins74 had fallen, he might escape, but the girl must perish. He did not hesitate. As the frightened horse reared he cut his feet loose, and slid from it. He made one clutch at the floating reins but missed them. Before he could make a second the terrified animal was on the bank.
There remained the girl's horse. But Bonne, drenched75 by the dying man's blood, had flung herself off--somehow, anyhow, in irrepressible horror. As des Ageaux turned she rose, dripping and panting beside him, her nerve quite gone. "Oh, oh!" she cried. "Save me! Save me!" and she clung to him.
Alas, while she clung to him her horse floundered out of the stream, and trotted after its fellow.
The pursuers were no more than thirty yards away, and but for the deep shadow which lay on the ford must have seen them. The Lieutenant had no time to think. He caught the girl up, and as quickly as he could he waded76 with her to the bank from which they had entered the water. Once on dry land he set her on her feet, seized her wrist and gripped it firmly.
"Courage!" he said. "We must run! Run for your life, and if we can reach the wind-mill we may escape!"
He spoke harshly, but his words had the effect he intended. She straightened herself, caught up her wet skirt and set off with him across the road and up the bare hill-side. He knew that not far above them stood a wind-mill with a narrow doorway in which one man might make some defence against numbers. The chance was slight, the hope desperate; but he could see no other. Already the pursuers were splashing through the ford and scattering77 on the trail, some running up the stream, some down, some stooping cunningly to listen. To remain beside the water was to be hunted as otters78 are hunted.
His plan answered well at first. For a few precious instants their line of retreat escaped detection. They even increased their start, and had put fifty or sixty yards of slippery hill-side between themselves and danger before a man of sharper ears than his fellows caught the sound of a stone rolling down the slope, and drew the hue79 and cry in the right direction. By that time the dark form of the wind-mill was faintly visible sixty or eighty yards above the fugitives80. And the race was not ill set.
But Bonne's skirt hung heavy, her knees shook; and nearer and nearer she heard the pursuers' feet. She could do no more! She must fall, her lungs were bursting! But des Ageaux dragged her on ruthlessly, and on; and now the wind-mill was not ten paces before them.
"In!" he cried. "In!" And loosing her hand, he turned, quick as a hare, the knife gleaming in his hand.
But the nearest man--the Lieutenant's ear had told him that only one was quite near--saw the action and the knife, and as quickly sheered off, to wait for his companions. The Lieutenant turned again, and in half a dozen bounds was through the low narrow doorway and in the mill tower.
He had no sword, he had only the knife, still reeking82. But he made no complaint. Instead, "There were sheep penned here yesterday," he panted. "There are some bars somewhere. Grope for them and find them."
"Yes!" she said. And she groped bravely in the darkness, though her breath came in sobs83. She found the bars. Before the half-dozen men who led the chase had squeezed their courage to the attacking point, the bars that meant so much to the fugitives were in their places. Then des Ageaux bade her keep on one side, while he crouched84 with his knife beside the opening.
The men outside were chattering85 and scolding furiously. At length they scattered86, and instead of charging the doorway, fired a couple of shots into it and held off, waiting for reinforcements. "Courage, we have a fair chance now," the Lieutenant muttered. And then in a different tone, "Thanks to you! Thanks to you!" with deep emotion. "Never woman did braver thing!"
"Then do you one thing for me!" she answered, her voice shaking. "Promise that I shall not fall into their hands! Promise, sir, promise," she continued hysterically87, "that you will kill me yourself! I have given you my knife. I have given you all I had. If you will not promise you must give it back to me."
"God forbid!" he said. And then, "Dear Lord, am I mad? Who was it I picked up at the ford? Am I mad or dreaming? You are not the Countess?"
"I took her place," she panted. "I am Bonne de Villeneuve." The place was so dark that neither could see the other's face, nor so much as the outline of the figure.
"I might have known it," he cried impulsively88. And even in that moment of danger, of discomfort89, of uncertainty90, the girl's heart swelled91 at the inference she drew from his words. "I might have known it!" he repeated with emotion. "No other woman would have done it, sweet, would have done it' But how--I am as far from understanding as ever--how come you to be here? And not the Countess?"
"I took her place," Bonne repeated--the truth must out now. "She is very young and it was hurting her. She was ill."
"You took her place? To-night?"
"This is--the third night."
"And I"--in a tone of wonder that a second time brought the blood to her cheeks--"I never discovered you! You rode beside me all those nights--all those nights and I never knew you! Is it possible?"
She did not answer.
He was silent a moment. Then, "By Heaven, it was well for me that you did!" he murmured. "Very well! Very well! Without you where should I be now?" His eyes strove to pierce the darkness in which she crouched on the farther side of the opening, scarce out of reach of his hand. "Where should I be now? A handsome situation," he continued bitterly, "for the Governor of Périgord to be seized and hurried to a dog's death by a band of brigands92! And to be rescued by a woman!"
"Is it so dreadful to you," she murmured, "to owe your life to a woman?"
"Is it so dreadful to me," he repeated in an altered tone, "to owe my life to you, do you mean? I am willing to owe all to you. You are the only woman----"
But there, even as her heart began to flutter, he stopped. He stopped and she fell to earth. "They are coming!" he muttered. "Keep yourself close! For God's sake, keep yourself close!"
"And you too!" she cried impulsively. "Your life is mine."
He did not answer: perhaps he did not hear. The Crocans who had spent some minutes in consultation93 had brought a beam up the hill. They were about to drive it against the stout94 wooden bars, of which they must have guessed the presence, since they could not see them. The plan was not unwise; and as they fell into a ragged81 line on either side of the ram95, while three skirmished forward, with a view to leaping into the opening before the defenders96 could recover from the shock, the Lieutenant's heart sank. The form of attack was less simple than he had hoped. He had exulted97 too soon.
Whether Bonne knew this or not, she acted as if she knew it. As the leader of the assault shouted to his men to be ready, and the men lifted the beam hip98 high, she flitted across the opening, and des Ageaux felt her fingers close upon his arm.
He did not misunderstand her: he knew that she meant only to remind him of his promise. But at the touch a wave of feeling, as unexpected as it was irresistible99, filled the breast of the case-hardened soldier; who, something cold by nature, had hitherto found in his career all that he craved100. At that touch the admiration101 and interest which had been working within him since his talk with Bonne in the old garden at Villeneuve blossomed into a feeling infinitely102 more tender, infinitely stronger--into a love that craved return. The girl who had saved him, who had proved herself so brave, so true, so gentle, what a wife would she be! What a mother of brave and loyal and gentle children, meet sons and daughters of a loyal sire! And even as he thought that thought and was conscious of the love that pervaded103 his being, he felt her shiver against him, and before he knew it his arm was round her, he was clasping her to him, giving her assurance that until the end--until the end he would not let her go! He would never let her go.
And the end was not yet. For his lips in that moment which he thought might be their last found hers in the darkness, and she knew seconds of a great joy that seemed to her long as hours as she crouched against him unresisting; while the last orders of the men who sought their lives found strange echo in his words of love.
Crash! The splinters flew to right and left, the two upper bars were gone, dully the beam struck the back of the mill. But he had drawn her behind him, and was waiting with the tight-grasped knife for the man bold enough to leap through the opening. Woe104 betide the first, though he must keep his second blow for her. After that--if he had to strike her--there would be one moment of joy, while he fought them.
But the stormers, poor-hearted, deemed the breach105 insufficient106. They drew back the beam, intending to break the lowest bar, which still held place. Once more they cried, "One! Two!" But not "Three!" In place of the word a yell of pain rang loud, down crashed the battering-ram, and high rose--as all fled headlong--a clamour of shrieks107 and curses. A moment and the thunder of hoofs108 followed, and mail-clad men, riding recklessly along the steep hill-side, fell on the poor naked creatures, and driving them pell-mell before them amid stern cries of vengeance109, cut and hacked110 them without mercy.
Trembling violently, Bonne clung to her lover. "Oh, what is it? What is it?" she cried. "What is it?" Her spirits could endure no more.
"Safety!" he replied, the harder nature of the man asserting itself. "Safety, sweetheart! Hold up your head, brave! What, swooning now when all is well!"
Ay, swooning now. The word safety sufficed. She fell against him, her head dropped back.
As soon as he was assured of it, he lifted her in his arms with a new feeling of ownership. And climbing, not without difficulty, over the bar that remained, he emerged into something that, in comparison of the darkness within the mill, was light--for the day was coming. Before the door two horsemen, still in their saddles, awaited him. One was tall, the other stout and much shorter.
"Is that you, Roger?" he asked. It was not light enough to discern faces.
The shorter figure to which he addressed himself did not answer. The other, advancing a pace and reining111 up, spoke.
"No," he said, in a tone that at once veiled and exposed his triumph, "I am the Captain of Vlaye. And you are my prisoner."
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1
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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hood
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| n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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hooded
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| adj.戴头巾的；有罩盖的；颈部因肋骨运动而膨胀的 | |
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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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stark
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| adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地 | |
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repelling
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| v.击退( repel的现在分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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dependence
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| n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属 | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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scatheless
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| adj.无损伤的，平安的 | |
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jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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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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courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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tremors
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| 震颤( tremor的名词复数 )； 战栗； 震颤声； 大地的轻微震动 | |
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rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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prick
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| v.刺伤，刺痛，刺孔；n.刺伤，刺痛 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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horde
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| n.群众，一大群 | |
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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chid
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| v.责骂，责备( chide的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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shuffle
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| n.拖著脚走，洗纸牌；v.拖曳，慢吞吞地走 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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albeit
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| conj.即使；纵使；虽然 | |
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34
amulet
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| n.护身符 | |
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35
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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36
travesty
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| n.歪曲，嘲弄，滑稽化 | |
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37
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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38
assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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39
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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40
loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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41
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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42
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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43
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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44
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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45
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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46
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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47
lurked
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| vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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48
lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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49
fraught
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| adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的 | |
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50
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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51
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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52
stifled
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| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
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53
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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54
writhing
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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55
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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56
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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57
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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58
stiffened
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| 加强的 | |
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59
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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60
trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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61
filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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62
glimmered
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| v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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63
brutally
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| adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地 | |
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64
wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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65
withers
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| 马肩隆 | |
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66
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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67
Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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68
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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69
warily
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| adv.留心地 | |
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70
heeding
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| v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的现在分词 ) | |
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71
wrest
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| n.扭，拧，猛夺；v.夺取，猛扭，歪曲 | |
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72
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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73
plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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74
reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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75
drenched
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| adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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76
waded
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| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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77
scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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78
otters
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| n.（水）獭( otter的名词复数 )；獭皮 | |
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79
hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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80
fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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81
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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82
reeking
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| v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的现在分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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83
sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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84
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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85
chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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86
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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87
hysterically
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| ad. 歇斯底里地 | |
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88
impulsively
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| adv.冲动地 | |
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89
discomfort
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| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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90
uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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91
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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92
brigands
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| n.土匪，强盗( brigand的名词复数 ) | |
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93
consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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95
ram
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| (random access memory)随机存取存储器 | |
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96
defenders
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| n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者 | |
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97
exulted
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| 狂喜，欢跃( exult的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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98
hip
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| n.臀部，髋；屋脊 | |
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99
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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100
craved
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| 渴望，热望( crave的过去式 )； 恳求，请求 | |
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101
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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102
infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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103
pervaded
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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104
woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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105
breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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106
insufficient
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| adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的 | |
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107
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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108
hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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109
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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110
hacked
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| 生气 | |
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111
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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