"You have heard," said a harsh voice, which seemed to be Astona's, "there is no doubt now. You have your part to play, and can do it quickly and safely."
I paid little attention to words whose dangerous significance would at another moment have been plain to me. But Davilo, greatly alarmed, laid his hand upon my arm. As he did so, another voice thrilled me with intensest pain and amazement4.
"Be quick to bear your message," Eivé said, in rapid guarded tones. "They have means of vengeance5 certain and prompt, and they never spare."
Astona departed without seeing us. Eivé closed the door, and Davilo and I, hastily and unperceived, followed the spy to the gate of the enclosure. Some one waited for her there. What passed we could not hear; but, as we saw Astona and another depart, Davilo spoke6 imprudently aloud—
"She has the secret, and she must die. Nay7 (as I would have expostulated), she is spy, traitress, and assassin, and merits her doom8 most richly."
"Hist!" said I, "your words may have fallen into other ears;" for I thought that beyond the wall I discerned a crouching9 figure. If that of a man, however, it was too far off, and dressed in colours too dark, to be clearly seen; and in another instant it had certainly vanished.
"Remember," he urged, "you have heard that one quite as dangerous is under your own roof; and, once more, it is not only your life that is at stake. What you call courage, what seems to us sheer folly10, may cost you and others what you value far more than your life. An error of softness now may make your future existence one long and useless remorse11."
Half-an-hour later, having warned the women to their rooms—ordering a variety of disinfecting measures in which Martial12 science excelled while they were needed there—I opened the door of the death chamber to those who carried in a coffer hollowed out of a dark, exceedingly dense13 natural stone, and half-filled with a liquid of enormous destructive power. Then I lifted tenderly the lifeless form, laid it on cushions arranged therein, kissed the lips, and closed the coffer. Two of Davilo's attendants had meantime adjusted the electric machinery14. We carried the coffer into the apartment where this worked to heat the stove, to keep the lights burning, to raise, warm, and diffuse15 the water through the house, and perform many other important household services. Two strong bars of conducting metal were attached to the apparatus16, and fitted into two hollows of the coffer. A flash, a certain hissing17 sound, followed. After a few moments the coffer was opened, and Davilo, carefully gathering18 a few handfuls of solid white material, something resembling pumice stone in appearance, placed them in a golden chest about twelve inches cube, which was then soldered19 down by the heat derived20 from the electric power. Then all infected clothes and the contents of the death chamber were carried out for destruction; while, with a tool adjusted to the machinery, one of the attendants engraved21 a few characters upon the chest. Whatever the risk, I could not part with every relic22 of her we had lost; and, after passing them through such chemical purification as Martial science suggested, I took the three long chestnut23 locks I had preserved. Velna's quick fingers wove them into plaits, one of which I left with her, one bound around my own neck, and one reserved for Eveena. As soon as the sun had risen, I had despatched a message to the Prince, explaining the danger of infection to which I had been subjected, and asking permission notwithstanding to wait upon him. The emergency was so pressing that neither sorrow nor peril24 would allow me to neglect an embassy on which the lives of hundreds, and perhaps the safety of his kingdom, might depend. Passing Eivé as I turned towards Eveena's room, and fevered with intense thirst, I bade her bring me thither25 a cup of the carcara. I need not dwell on the terribly painful moments in which I bound round Eveena's arm a bracelet26 prized above all the choicest ornaments27 she possessed28. To calm her agitation29 and my own by means of the charny, I sought the keys. They were not at my belt, and I asked, "Have I returned them to you?"
"Certainly not," said Eveena, startled. "Can you not find them?"
At this moment Eivé entered the room and presented me with the cup for which I had asked. It struck me with surprise, even at that moment, that Eveena took it from my hand and carried it first to her own lips. Eivé had turned to leave the room; but before she had reached the threshold Eveena had sprung up, placed her foot upon the spring that closed the door, and snatching the test-stone from my watch chain dipped it into the cup. Her face turned white as death, while she held up to my eyes the discoloured disc which proved the presence of the deadliest Martial poison.
"Be calm," she said, as a cry of horror burst from my lips. "The keys!"
"You have them," Eivé said with a gasp30, her face still averted31.
"I took them from Eveena myself," I answered sternly. "Stand back into that corner, Eivé," as I opened the door and called sharply the other members of the household. When they entered, unable to stand, I had fallen back upon a chair, and called Eivé to my side. As I laid my hand on her arm she threw herself on the floor, screaming and writhing32 like a terrified child rather than a woman detected in a crime, the conception and execution of which must have required an evil courage and determination happily seldom possessed by women.
"Stand up!" I said. "Lift her, then, Enva and Eiralé. Unfasten the shoulder-clasps and zone."
As her outer robe dropped, Eivé snatched at an object in its folds, but too late; and the electric keys, which gave access to all my cases, papers, and to the medicine-chest above all, lay glittering on the ground.
"That cup Eivé brought to me. Which of you saw her?"
"I did," said Enva quietly, all feelings of malice33 and curiosity alike awed34 into silence by the evidence of some terrible, though as yet to them unknown, secret. "She mixed it and brought it hither herself."
"And," I said, "it contains a poison against which, had I drunk one-half the draught35, no antidote36 could have availed—a poison to which these keys only could have given access."
Again the test-stone was applied37, and again the discoloration testified to the truth of the charge.
"You have seen?" I said.
"We have seen," answered Enva, in the same tone of horror, too deep to be other than quiet.
We all left the room, closing the door upon the prisoner. Dismissing the girls to their own chambers38, with strict injunctions not to quit them unpermitted, I was left alone with Eveena. We were silent for some minutes, my own heart oppressed with mingled39 emotions, all intensely painful, but so confused that, while conscious of acute suffering, I scarcely realised anything that had occurred. Eveena, who knelt beside me, though deeply horror-struck, was less surprised and was far less agitated40 than I. At last, leaning forward with her arms on my knee and looking up in my face, she was about to speak. But the touch and look seemed to break a spell, and, shuddering41 from head to foot, I burst into tears like those of an hysterical42 girl. When, with the strongest effort that shame and necessity could prompt, aided by her silent soothing43, I had somewhat regained44 my self-command, Eveena spoke, in the same attitude and with the same look:—
"You said once that you could pardon such an attempt. That you should ever forgive at heart cannot be. That punishment should not follow so terrible a crime, even I cannot desire. But for my sake, do not give her up to the doom she has deserved. Do you know" (as I was silent) "what that doom is?"
"Death, I suppose."
"Yes!" she said, shuddering, "but death with torture—death on the vivisection-table. Will you, whatever the danger—can you, give up to such a fate, to such hands, one whom your hand has caressed46, whose head has rested on your heart?"
"It needs not that, Eveena," I answered; "enough that she is woman. I would face that death myself rather than, for whatever crime, send a woman, above all a young girl, to such an end. I would rather by far slay47 my worst enemy with my own hand than consign48 him to a death of torture. But, more than that, my conscience would not permit me to call on the law to punish a household treason, where household authority is so strong and so arbitrary as here. Assassination49 is the weapon of the oppressed and helpless; and it is not for me so to be judge in my own cause as to pronounce that Eivé has had no provocation50."
"Shame upon her!" said Eveena indignantly. "No one under your roof ever had or could have reason to raise a hand, I do not say against your life, but to give you a moment's pain. I do not ask, I do not wish you to spare her; only I am glad to think you will deal with her yourself—remember she has herself removed all limit to your power—and not by the shameless and merciless hands to which the law would give her."
We returned to Eveena's chamber. The scene that followed I cannot bear to recall. Enough that Eivé knew as well as Eveena the law she had broken and the penalty she had incurred51; and, petted darling as she had been, she utterly52 lacked all faith in the tenderness she had known so well, or even in the mercy to which Eveena had confidently appealed. Understanding at last that she was safe from the law, the expression of her gratitude53 was as vehement54 as her terror had been intense. But the new phase of passion was not the less repugnant. Not that there was anything strange in the violent revulsion of feeling. Born and trained among a race who fear to forgive, Eivé was familiar by report at least with the merciless vengeance of cowards. Whatever they might have done later, few would have promised mercy in the very moment of escape to an ordinary assassin; and if Eivé understood any aspect of my character, that she could best appreciate was the outraged55 tenderness which forbade me to look on hers as ordinary guilt57. Acutely sensitive to pain and fear, she had both known the better to what terror might prompt the injured, and was the more appalled58 by the prospect59. Her eagerness to accept by anticipation60 whatever degradation61 and pain domestic power could inflict62, when released by the terrible alternative of legal prosecution63 from its usual limits, breathed more of doubt and terror than of shame or penitence64. But at first it keenly affected65 me. It was with something akin3 to a bodily pang66 that I heard this fragile girl, so easily subdued67 by such rebuke68 or menace as her companions would scarcely have affected to fear, now pleading for punishment such as would have quelled69 the pride and courage of the most high-spirited of her sex. I felt the deepest pity, not so much for the fear with which she still trembled as for the agony of terror she must have previously70 endured. Eveena averted from her abject71 supplications a face in which I read much pain, but more of what would have been disgust in a less intensely sympathetic nature. And ere long I saw or felt in Eivé's manner that which caused me suddenly to dismiss Eveena from the room, as from a presence unfit for her spotless purity and exquisite72 delicacy73. Finding in me no sign of passionate74 anger, no readiness, but reluctance75 to visit treason with physical pain, Eivé's own expression changed. Unable to conceive the feeling that rendered the course she had at first expected simply impossible to me, a nature I had utterly misconceived caught at an idea few women, not experienced in the worst of life's lessons, would have entertained. The tiny fragile form, the slight limbs whose delicate proportions seemed to me almost those of infancy76, their irrepressible quivering plainly revealed by the absence of robe and veil, no man worthy77 of the name could have beheld78 without intense compassion79. But such a feeling she could not realise. As her features lost the sincerity80 of overwhelming fear, as the drooping81 lids failed for one moment to conceal82 a look of almost assured exultation83 in the dark eyes, my soul was suddenly and thoroughly84 revolted. I had forgiven the hand aimed at a heart that never throbbed85 with a pulse unkind to her. I might have forgotten the treason that requited86 tenderness and trust by seeking my life; but I could never forget, never recover, that moment's insight into thoughts that so outraged an affection which, if my conscience belied87 me not, was absolutely stainless88 and unselfish.
It cost a strong persistent89 effort of self-control to address her again. But a confession90 full and complete my duty to others compelled me to enforce. The story of the next hour I never told or can tell. To one only did I give a confidence that would have rendered explanation natural; and that one was the last to whom I could have spoken on this subject. Enough that the charming infantine simplicity91 had disguised an elaborate treachery of which I reluctantly learned that human nature is capable. The caressed and caressing92 child had sold my life, if not her own soul, for the promise of wealth that could purchase nothing I denied her, and of the first place among the women of her world. That promise I soon found had not been warranted, directly or indirectly93, by him who alone could at present fulfil it. Needless to relate the details either of the confession or its extortion. Enough that Eivé learnt at last perforce that though I had, as it seemed to her, been fool enough to spare her the vengeance of the law, and to spare her still as far as possible, her power to fool me further was gone for ever. Needless to speak of the lies repeated and sustained, till truth was wrung94 from quivering lips and sobbing95 voice; of the looks that appealed long and incredulously to a love as utterly forfeited96 as misunderstood. To the last Eivé could not comprehend the nature that, having spared her so much, would not spare wholly; the mercy felt for the weakness, not for the charms of youth and sex. Shamed, grieved, wounded to the quick, I quitted the presence of one who, I fear, was as little worth the anguish98 I then endured for her, as the tenderness she had so long betrayed; and left the late darling of my house a prisoner under strict guard, necessary for the safety of others than ourselves.
Finding a message awaiting me, I sought at once the interview which the Sovereign fearlessly granted.
"I see," said the Prince with much feeling, as he received my salute99, "that you have gone through deeper pain than such domestic losses can well cause to us. I am sorry that you are grieved. I can say no more, and perhaps the less I say the less pain I shall give. Only permit me this remark. Since I have known you, it has seemed to me that the utter distinction between our character and yours, showing as it does at so many points, springs from some single root-difference. We, so careful of our own life and comfort, care little for those of others. We, so afraid of pain, are indifferent to its infliction100, unless we have to witness it, and only some of us flinch101 from the sight. The softness of heart you show in this trouble seems in some strange way associated with the strength of heart which you have proved in dangers, the least of which none of us would have encountered willingly, and which, forced on us, would have unnerved us all. I am glad to prove to you that to some extent I depart from my national character and approach, however, distantly, to yours. I can feel for a friend's sorrow, and I can face what you seem to consider a real danger. But you had a purpose in asking this audience. My ears are open—your lips are unsealed."
"Prince," I replied, "what you have said opens the way to that I wished to ask. You say truly that courage and tenderness have a common root, as have the unmanly softness and equally unmanly hardness common among your subjects. Those for whom death ends all utterly and for ever will of necessity, at least as soon as the training of years and of generations has rendered their thought consistent, dread102 death with intensest fear, and love to brighten and sweeten life with every possible enjoyment103. Animal enjoyment becomes the most precious, since it is the keenest. Higher pleasures lose half their value, when the distinction between the two is reduced to the distinction between the sensations of higher and lower nerve centres. Thus men care too much for themselves to care for others; and after all, strong deep affection, entwined with the heartstrings, can only torture and tear the hearts for which death is a final parting. Such love as I have felt for woman—even such love as I felt for her, your gift, whom I have lost—would be pain intolerable if the thought were ever present that one day we must, and any day we might, part for ever. I put the knife against my breast, my life in your hand, when I say this, and I ask of you no secrecy104, no favour for myself; but that, as I trust you, you will guard the life that is dearest to me if you take from me the power to guard it…. There are those among your subjects who are not the cowards you find around your throne, who are not brutal105 in their households, not incapable106 of tenderness and sacrifice for others."
As I spoke I carefully watched the Prince's face, on which no shade of displeasure was visible; rather the sentiment of one who is somewhat gratified to hear a perplexing problem solved in a manner agreeable to his wishes.
"And the reason is," I continued, "that these men and women believe or know that they are answerable to an eternal Sovereign mightier107 than yourself, and that they will reap, not perhaps here, but after death as they shall have sown; that if they do not forfeit97 the promise by their own deed, they shall rejoin hereafter those dearest to them here."
"There are such?" he said. "I would they were known to me. I had not dreamed that there were in my realm men who would screen the heart of another with their own palm."
"Prince," I replied earnestly, "I as their ambassador as one of their leaders, appeal to you to know and to protect them. They can defend themselves at need, and, it may be, might prevail though matched one against a thousand. For their weapons are those against which no distance, no defences, no numbers afford protection. But in such a strife108 many of their lives must be lost, and infinite suffering and havoc109 wrought110 on foes111 they would willingly spare. They are threatened with extermination112 by secret spite or open force; but open force will be the last resort of enemies well aware that those who strike at the Star have ever been smitten113 by the lightning."
A slight change in his countenance114 satisfied me that the Emblem115 was not unknown to him.
"You say," he replied, "that there is an organised scheme to destroy these people by force or fraud?"
"The scheme, Prince, was confessed in my own hearing by one of its instruments; and in proof thereof, my own life, as a Chief of the Order, was attempted this morning."
The Prince sprang to his feet in all the passion of a man who for the first time receives a personal insult; of an Autocrat116 stung to the quick by an unprecedented117 outrage56 to his authority and dignity.
"Who has dared?" he said. "Who has taken on himself to make law, or form plans for carrying out old law, without my leave? Who has dared to strike at the life over which I have cast the shadow of my throne? Give me their names, my guest, and, before the evening mist closes in to-morrow, pronounce their doom."
"I cannot obey your royal command. I have no proof against the only man who, to my knowledge, can desire my death. Those who actually and immediately aimed at my life are shielded by the inviolable weakness of sex from the revenge and even the justice of manhood."
"Each man," returned the Prince, but partially119 conceiving my meaning, "is master at home. I wish I were satisfied that your heart will let you deal justly and wisely with the most hateful offspring of the most hateful of living races—a woman who betrays the life of her lord. But those who planned a general scheme of destruction—a purpose of public policy—without my knowledge, must aim also at my life and throne; for even were their purpose such as I approved, attempted without my permission, they know I would never pardon the presumption120. I do not sit in Council with dull ears, or silent lips, or empty hands; and it is not for the highest more than for the lowest under me to snatch my sceptre for a moment."
"Guard then your own," I said. "Without your leave and in your lifetime, open force will scarcely he used against us; and if against secret murder or outrage we appeal to the law, you will see that the law does justice?"
"I will," he replied; "and I pardon your advice to guard my own, because you judge me by my people. But a Prince's life is the charge of his guards; the lives of his people are his care."
He was silent for a few minutes, evidently in deep reflection.
"I thank you," he said at last, "and I give you one warning in partial return for yours. There is a law which can be used against the members of a secret society with terrible effect. Not only are they exposed to death if detected, but those who strike them are legally exempt121 from punishment. I will care that that law shall not menace you long. Whilst it remains122 guard yourselves; I am powerless to break it."
As I quitted the Palace, Ergimo joined me and mounted my carriage.
Seizing a moment when none were within sight or hearing, he said—
"Astona was found two hours ago dead, as an enemy or a traitor123 dies. She was seen to fall from the roof of her house, and none was near her when she fell. But Davilo has already been arrested as her murderer, on the ground that he was heard before sunrise this morning to say that she must die."
"Who heard that must have heard more. Let this news be quickly known to whom it concerns."
I checked the carriage instantly, and turned into a road that conducted us in ten minutes to a public telegraph office.
"Come with me," I said, "quickly. As an officer of the Campta your presence may ensure the delivery of letters which might otherwise be stopped."
He seized the hint at once, and as we approached a vacant desk he said to the nearest officer, "In the Campta's name;" a form which ensured that the most audacious and curious spy, backed by the highest authority save that invoked124, dared neither stop nor search into a message so warranted. Before I left the desk every Chief of the Zinta at his several post had received, through that strange symbolic125 language of which I have already given samples, from me advice of what had occurred and from Esmo warning to meet at an appointed place and time.
The day at whose close we should meet was that of Davilo's trial. I mingled with the crowd around the Court doors, a crowd manifesting bitter hostility126 to the prisoner and to the Order, of whose secrets a revelation was eagerly expected. Easily forcing my way through the mass, I felt on a sudden a touch, a sign; and turning my eyes saw a face I had surely never looked on before. Yet the sign could only have been given by a colleague. That which followed implied the presence of the Signet itself.
"I told you," whispered a voice I knew well, "how completely we can change even countenance at will."
It was so; but though acquainted with the process, I had never believed that the change could be so absolute. By help of my strength and height, still more perhaps by the subtle influence of his own powerful will acting127 none the less imperiously on minds unconscious of its influence, Esmo made his way with me into the Court.
Around five sides of the hexagon were seats, tier above tier, appropriated to the public who wish to see as well as hear. The phonograph reported every word uttered to hundreds of distant offices. Against the sixth side were placed the seats of the seven judges; in front, at an equal elevation128, the chair of the prisoner, the seats of the advocates on right and left, and the place from which each witness must deliver his testimony129 in full view and within easy hearing both of the bench, the bar, and the audience. Davilo sat in his chair unguarded, but in an attitude strangely constrained130 and motionless. Only his bright eyes moved freely, and his head turned a little from side to side. He recognised us instantly, and his look expressed no trace of fear.
"The quarry131" whispered Esmo, observing my perplexity.
"It paralyses the nerves of motion, leaving those of sensation active; and is administered to a prisoner on the instant of his arrest, so as to keep him absolutely helpless till his sentence is executed, or till on his acquittal an antidote is administered."
The counsel for the prosecution stated in the briefest possible words the story of Astona, from the moment when she left my house to that at which she was found dead, and the method of her death; related Davilo's words, and then proceeded to call his witnesses. Of course the one vital question was whether by possibility Davilo, who had never left my premises132 since the words were uttered, could have brought about a death, evidently accidental in its immediate118 cause, at a distance of many miles. His words were attested133 by one whom I recognised as an officer of Endo Zampta, and I was called to confirm or contradict them. The presiding judge, as I took my place, read a brief telling terrible menace, expounding134 the legal penalties of perjury135.
"You will speak the truth," he said, "or you know the consequences."
As he spoke, he encountered Esmo's eyes, and quailed136 under the gaze, sinking back into his seat motionless as the bird under the alleged137 fascination138 of the serpent. I admitted that the words in question had been addressed to me; and I proved that Davilo had been busily engaged with me from that moment until an hour later than that of the fatal accident. There being thus no dispute as to the facts, a keen contest of argument proceeded between the advocates on either side. The defenders139 of the prisoner ridiculed140 with an affectation of scientific contempt—none the less effective because the chief pleader was himself an experienced member of our Order—the idea that the actions or fate of a person at a distance could be affected by the mere141 will of another; and related, as absurd and incredible traditions of old to this purport142, some anecdotes143 which had been communicated to me as among the best attested and most striking examples of the historical exercise of the mystic powers. The able and bigoted144 sceptics, who prosecuted145 this day in the interests of science, insisted, with equal inconsistency and equal skill, on the innumerable recorded and attested instances of some diabolical147 power possessed by certain supposed members of a detested148 and malignant149 sect45. A year ago the judges would probably have sided unanimously with the former. But the feeling that animated150 the conspiracy151, if it should be so called, against the Zinta, had penetrated152 all Martial society; and in order to destroy the votaries153 of religion, Science, in the persons of her most distinguished154 students, was this day ready to abjure155 her character, and forswear her most cherished tenets. As has often happened in Mars, and may one day happen on Earth as the new ideas come into greater force, proven fact was deliberately156 set against logical impossibility; and for once—what probably had not happened in Mars for ten thousand years—proven fact and common sense carried the day against science and "universal experience;" but, unhappily, against the prisoner. After retiring separately for about an hour, the Judges returned. Their brief and very confused decisions were read by the Secretary. The reasons were seldom intelligible157, each contradicting himself and all his colleagues, and not one among the judgments158 having even the appearance of cohesion160 and consistency146. But, by six to one, they doomed161 the prisoner to the vivisection-table. As he was carried forth162 his eyes met ours, and the perfect calm and steadiness of their glance astounded163 me not a little.
My natural thought prompted, of course, an appeal to the mercy of the Throne. In every State a power of giving effect in the law's despite to public policy, or of commanding that, in certain strange and unforeseen circumstances, common sense and practical justice shall override164 a sentence which no court bound by the letter of the law can withhold165, must rest with the Sovereign. But in Mars the prerogative166 of mercy, in the proper sense of the word—judicial rather than political mercy—is exercised less by the Prince himself than by a small council of judges advising him and pronouncing their decision in his name. Even if we could have relied on the Campta with absolute confidence, there were many reasons against an appeal which would, in fact, have asked him to declare himself on our side. While such a declaration might, in the existing state of public feeling, have caused revolt or riot, it would have put on their guard, perhaps driven to a premature167 attempt which he was not prepared to meet, the traitors168 whose scheme against his life the Prince felt confident that he should speedily detect and punish.
All these considerations were brought before our Council, whose debate was brief but not hurried or excited. The supreme169 calm of Esmo's demeanour communicated itself to all the eleven, in not one of whom could I recognise till they spoke my colleagues of our last Council. The order went forth that a party should attend Esmo's orders at a point about half a mile distant from the studio in which, for the benefit of a great medical school, my unhappy friend was to be put to torture indescribable.
"Happily," said Esmo, "the first portion of the experiment will be made by the Vivisector-General alone, and will commence at midnight. Half an hour before that time our party will be assembled."
I had insisted on being one of the band, and Esmo had very reluctantly yielded to the unanimous approval of colleagues who thought that on this occasion physical strength might render essential service at some unforeseen crisis. Moreover, the place lying within my geographical170 province, several of those engaged looked up to me as their immediate chief, and it was thought well to place me on such an occasion at their head.
The night was, as had been predicted, absolutely dark, but the roads were brilliantly lighted. Suddenly, however, as we drew towards the point of meeting, the lights went out, an accident unprecedented in Martial administration.
"But they will be relighted!" said one of my companions.
"Can human skill relight the lamps that the power of the Star has extinguished?" was the reply of another.
We fell in military order, with perfect discipline and steadiness, under the influence of Esmo's silent will and scarcely discernible gestures. The wing of the college in which the dissection171 was to take place was guarded by some forty sentinels, armed with the spear and lightning gun. But as we came close to them, I observed that each stood motionless as a statue, with eyes open, but utterly devoid172 of sight.
"I have been here before you," murmured Esmo. "To the left."
The door gave way at once before the touch of some electric instrument or immaterial power wielded173 by his hand. We passed in, guided by him, through one or two chambers, and along a passage, at the end of which a light shone through a crystal door. Here proof of Esmo's superior judgment159 was afforded. He would fain have had the party much smaller than it was, and composed exclusively of the very few old and experienced members of the Zinta within reach at the moment. We were nearly a score in number, some even more inexperienced than myself, half the party my own immediate followers174; and I remembered far better the feelings of a friend and a soldier than the lessons of the college or the Shrine175. As the door opened, and we caught sight of our friend stretched on the vivisection table, the younger of the company, hurried on by my own example, lost their heads and got, so to speak, out of hand. We rushed tumultuously forward and fell on the Vivisector and two assistants, who stood motionless and perhaps unconscious, but with glittering knives just ready for their fiendish work. Before Esmo could interpose, these executioners were cut down with the "crimson176 blade" (cold steel); and we bore off our friend with more of eagerness and triumph than at all befitted our own consciousness of power, or suited the temper of our Chief.
Never did Esmo speak so sharply or severely177 as in the brief reprimand he gave us when we reassembled; the justice of which. I instinctively178 acknowledged, as he ceased, by the salute I had given so often at the close of less impressive and less richly deserved reprimands on the parade ground or the march. Uninjured, and speedily relieved from the effects of the quarry, Davilo was carried off to a place of temporary concealment179, and we dispersed180.
Eveena heard my story with more annoyance181 than interest, mortified182 not a little by the reproof183 I had drawn184 upon myself and my followers; and, despite her reluctance to seem to acknowledge a fault in me, apparently185 afraid that a similar ebullition of feeling might on some future occasion lead to serious disaster.
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dictated
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| v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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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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nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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9
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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10
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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11
remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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12
martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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13
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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14
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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15
diffuse
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| v.扩散；传播；adj.冗长的；四散的，弥漫的 | |
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16
apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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17
hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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18
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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19
soldered
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| v.（使）焊接，焊合( solder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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20
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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21
engraved
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| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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22
relic
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| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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23
chestnut
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| n.栗树，栗子 | |
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24
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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25
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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26
bracelet
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| n.手镯，臂镯 | |
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27
ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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28
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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29
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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30
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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31
averted
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| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
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32
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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33
malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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34
awed
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| adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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35
draught
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|
| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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36
antidote
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| n.解毒药，解毒剂 | |
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37
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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38
chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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39
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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40
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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41
shuddering
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| v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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42
hysterical
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| adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的 | |
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43
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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44
regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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45
sect
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| n.派别，宗教，学派，派系 | |
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46
caressed
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| 爱抚或抚摸…( caress的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47
slay
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| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
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48
consign
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| vt.寄售（货品），托运，交托，委托 | |
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49
assassination
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| n.暗杀；暗杀事件 | |
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50
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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51
incurred
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| [医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式 | |
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52
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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53
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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54
vehement
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| adj.感情强烈的；热烈的；(人)有强烈感情的 | |
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55
outraged
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| a.震惊的，义愤填膺的 | |
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56
outrage
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| n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒 | |
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57
guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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58
appalled
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| v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的 | |
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59
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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60
anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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61
degradation
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| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
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62
inflict
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| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
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63
prosecution
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| n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营 | |
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64
penitence
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| n.忏悔，赎罪；悔过 | |
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65
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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66
pang
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| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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67
subdued
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|
| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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68
rebuke
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|
| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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69
quelled
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| v.（用武力）制止，结束，镇压( quell的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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70
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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71
abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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72
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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73
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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74
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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75
reluctance
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|
| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
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76
infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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77
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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78
beheld
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|
| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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79
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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80
sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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81
drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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82
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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83
exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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84
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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85
throbbed
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| 抽痛( throb的过去式和过去分词 )； （心脏、脉搏等）跳动 | |
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86
requited
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| v.报答( requite的过去式和过去分词 )；酬谢；回报；报复 | |
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87
belied
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|
| v.掩饰( belie的过去式和过去分词 )；证明（或显示）…为虚假；辜负；就…扯谎 | |
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88
stainless
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| adj.无瑕疵的，不锈的 | |
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89
persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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90
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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91
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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92
caressing
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| 爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的 | |
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93
indirectly
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| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
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94
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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95
sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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96
forfeited
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| （因违反协议、犯规、受罚等）丧失，失去( forfeit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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97
forfeit
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| vt.丧失；n.罚金，罚款，没收物 | |
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98
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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99
salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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100
infliction
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| n.（强加于人身的）痛苦，刑罚 | |
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101
flinch
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| v.畏缩，退缩 | |
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102
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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103
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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104
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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105
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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106
incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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107
mightier
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| adj. 强有力的，强大的，巨大的 adv. 很，极其 | |
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108
strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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109
havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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110
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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111
foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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112
extermination
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| n.消灭，根绝 | |
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113
smitten
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| 猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去分词 ) | |
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114
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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115
emblem
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| n.象征，标志；徽章 | |
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116
autocrat
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| n.独裁者；专横的人 | |
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117
unprecedented
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| adj.无前例的，新奇的 | |
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118
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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119
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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120
presumption
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| n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定 | |
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121
exempt
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| adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者 | |
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122
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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123
traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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124
invoked
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| v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求 | |
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125
symbolic
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| adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的 | |
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126
hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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127
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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128
elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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129
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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130
constrained
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| adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
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131
quarry
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| n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找 | |
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132
premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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133
attested
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| adj.经检验证明无病的，经检验证明无菌的v.证明( attest的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；声称…属实；使宣誓 | |
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134
expounding
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| 论述，详细讲解( expound的现在分词 ) | |
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135
perjury
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| n.伪证；伪证罪 | |
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136
quailed
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| 害怕，发抖，畏缩( quail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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137
alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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138
fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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139
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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140
ridiculed
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| v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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141
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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purport
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| n.意义，要旨，大要；v.意味著，做为...要旨，要领是... | |
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143
anecdotes
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| n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 ) | |
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144
bigoted
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| adj.固执己见的，心胸狭窄的 | |
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145
prosecuted
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| a.被起诉的 | |
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146
consistency
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| n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度 | |
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diabolical
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| adj.恶魔似的，凶暴的 | |
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148
detested
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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150
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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151
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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152
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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153
votaries
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| n.信徒( votary的名词复数 )；追随者；（天主教）修士；修女 | |
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154
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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155
abjure
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| v.发誓放弃 | |
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156
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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157
intelligible
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| adj.可理解的，明白易懂的，清楚的 | |
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158
judgments
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| 判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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160
cohesion
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| n.团结，凝结力 | |
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161
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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163
astounded
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| v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶 | |
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override
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| vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于 | |
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withhold
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| v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡 | |
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166
prerogative
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| n.特权 | |
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167
premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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168
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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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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170
geographical
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| adj.地理的；地区(性)的 | |
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171
dissection
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| n.分析；解剖 | |
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172
devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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173
wielded
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| 手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的过去式和过去分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响） | |
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174
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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shrine
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| n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣 | |
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176
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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177
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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178
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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179
concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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180
dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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181
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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182
mortified
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| v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等） | |
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183
reproof
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| n.斥责，责备 | |
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184
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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185
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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