Chairman," Pug said, and they both drank. "That's a good start, and can you do anything else for us?" 'Certainly. Fast action," said Stalin, linking his ami in Pug's. They were so close that Pug caught an odor of fish on Stalin's breath. 'American style. We Russians can sometimes do it too." He walked toward the two admirals, and the old red-faced Russian stumbled to his feet and stood very erect47. Stalin spoke11 to him in low rapid sentences. Slote, behind Victor Henry, caught only a few words, but the pop-eyed look of the admiral and Stalin's tones were self-translating. The dictator turned to Victor Henry, beaming again. "Well, it is arranged about the weather codes and so forth. Tell your chief that we Russians do not intentionally48 embarrass our guests. Tell him I feel the American Navy will do historic things in this struggle, and will rule the ocean when peace comes." As Slote quickly translated, Admiral Standley stood, Iris49 thin withered50 lips quivering, and grasped the dictator's hand. Stalin went back to the head table. The incident seemed to stay in his mind, because when he rose to make the last toast of the evening, to President Roosevelt, He returned to the theme. The interpreter was Oumansky, the ambassador to the United States, whose well-cut blue suit marked him off from the other Russians. His English was extremely smooth. "Comrade Stalin says President Roosevelt has the very difficult task of leading a country which is nonbelligerent, yet wants to do all it can to help the two great democracies of Europe in their fight against Fascism. Comrade Stalin says"-Oumansky paused and looked all around the wide room, in a silence no longer marred52 by gunfire-"may God help him in his just difficult task." This religious phrase brought a surprised stillness, then a surge of all the banqueters, glasses in hand, to their feet, cheering, drinking, and applauding. Harriman heartily53 shook Stalin's hand; the plethoric54 little Russian admiral grasped the hands of Slote, Henry, and Standley; and all over the room the banquet dissolved in great handshaking, backslapping, and embracing. But the evening was not over. The Russians marched their guests through more empty splendid rooms to a movie theatre with about fifty soft low armchairs, each with a small table where attendants served cakes, fruits, sweets, and champagne55. Here they showed a war movie and then a long musical, and Slote did something he would never have believed possible: in the heart of the Kremlin, he fell asleep. A swelling56 of finale music woke him seconds before the lights came on. He saw others starting awake in the glare, furtively57 rubbing their eyes. Stalin walked out springily with Beaverbrook and Harriman, both of whom had red eyes and suffering expressions. In a grand hall, under a vast painting of a battle in snow, he shook hands with all the guests, one by one. Outside the Grand Palace the night was black, without stars, and the wind was cold and biting. The NKVD agents, leather collars turned up to their ears, blue HasWights in hand, looked sleepy, chilled, and bored, sorting the guests into their limousines60.
'Say, how the devil can he drive so fast in this blackout?" the admiral protested, as their car passed through the outer gate and speeded into an inky void. 'Can Russians see like cats?" The car stopped in blackness, the escort guided the three Americans to a doorway61, they passed inside, and found themselves in the small cold foyer of the Hotel National, where one dim lamp burned at the reception desk. The porter who had opened the door was muffled in a fur coat. The elevator stood open, dark and abandoned. The admiral bade them good-night and plodded62 to the staircase. "Come up for a minute," Henry said to Leslie Slote. 'No thanks. I'll grope my way to my apartment. It's not far." Pug insisted, and Slote followed Henry up the gloomy staircase to his squalid little room on an areaway. "I don't rate like Tudsbury," he said. "Tudsbury's about the best propagandist the Soviet63 union's got," Slote said, "and I guess they know it." Pug unlocked a suitcase, took a narrow dispatch case out, unlocked that, and glanced through papers. "I hope you understand," Slote said, "that those locks are meaningless. All the contents of that case have been photographed." "Yes," Victor Henry said absently. He slipped a letter into his pocket. 'Would you like a snooze? Please stick around for a while. Something may be doing." 'Oh?" Out of his new and growing respect for Henry, Slote asked no questions, but stretched out on the hard narrow bed to a twang and squeak65 of springs. His head still reeled from the champagne that shadowy attendants had kept pouring at the movie. Next thing he knew, knocking woke him. Victor Henry was talking at the door to a man in a black leather coat. 'Horosho, my gotovy," he said in his atrocious accent. "Odnu minutu." He closed the door. 'Want to wash up or anything, Leslie? I'd like you to come with me." "Where to?" "Back to the Kremlin. I have a letter from Harry66 Hopkins for the big cheese. I didn't think I was going to get to hand it over in person, but maybe I am." "Good lord, does the ambassador know about this?" "Yes. Admiral Standley brought him a note about it from the President. I gather he was annoyed, but he knows." Slote sat up.
"Annoyed! I should think so. Mr. Hopkins has a way of doing these things. This is very outlandish, Captain Henry. Nobody should ever, ever see a head of state without going directly through the ambassador. How have you arranged this?" I had nothing to do with it. I'm an errand boy. Hopkins wanted this letter to go to Stalin informally and privately67 or not at all. In my place you don't argue with Harry Hopkins. understand he talked to Oumansky. If it puts you in a false position, I guess I'll go alone. There'll be an interpreter." Calculating the angles in this astonishing business-mainly the angle of his own professional self-preservation-Slote began combing his hair at a yellowed wall mirror. "I'll have to file a written report with the ambassador." Sure." in a long, high-ceilinged, bleakly68 lit room lined with wall maps, Stalin sat at one end of a polished conference table, with many papers piled on a strip of green cloth before him. A stone ashtray69 at the dictator's elbow brimmed with cigarette butts70, suggesting that he had been steadily71 at work since the departure al the banquet guests. He now wore a rough khaki uniform which sagged72 and bulged73, and he looked very weary. Pavlov, his usual English interpreter, sat beside him, a thin, pale, dark-haired young man with a clever, anxiously servile expression. There was nobody else in the big room. As the uniformed protocol74 officer ushered75 in the two Americans, Stalin rose, shook hands, with a silent gracious gesture waved them to chairs, and then sat down with an inquiring look at Captain Henry. Henry handed him the letter and a round box wrapped in shiny blue paper. 'Mr. Chairman, I'd better not inflict76 my bad Russian on you any longer," he said in English, as Stalin carefully opened the White House envelope with a paper knife. Slote translated and Stalin replied in Russian, slightly inclining his head, "As you Wish." He passed to Pavlov the single handwritten pale green sheet, on which nm w iiousf was printed in an upper corner. Pug said, as Stalin unwrapped the box, "And that is the special Virginia pipe tobacco Mr. Hopkins told you about, that his son likes so much." Pavlov translattd this, and everything the American captain said thereafter, sometimes conveying Henry's tone as well as a quick exact version of his words. Slote sat silent, nodding from time to time. Stalin turned the round blue tin in his hands. 'Mr. Hopkins is very thoughtful to remember our casual chat about pipe tobacco. Of course, we have plenty of good pipe tobacco in the Soviet union." He twisted open the tin %with a quick wrench78 of strong hands and curiously79 inspected the heavy lead foil seal, before slashing80 it with a polished thumbnail and pulling a pipe from his pocket. "Now you can tell Mr.
Hopkins that I tried his son's tobacco." Pug understood Stalin's Russian in this small talk, but could not follow him after that. Stalin stuffed the pipe, put a thick wooden match to it, and puffed82 fragrant83 blue smoke while Pavlov translated Hopkins's letter aloud. After a meditative84 silence, the dictator turned veiled cold eyes on Victor Henry and proceeded to speak, pausing to let Pavlov catch up in English after three or four sentences. "That is a strange letter from Mr. Hopkins. We all know the United States manufactures millions of automobiles86 per year of many different models and types, including big, luxurious88, complicated machines such as Cadillacs and so forth. "What is the problem with landing craft, then? Landing craft are armored lighters89 with small simple engines. Surely you can produce as many as you want to. Surely the British have plenty already. I cannot see this as a real obstacle to :i second front in Europe now, as Mr. Hopkins states." Pug Henry pulled from his disatch case sketches90 and production tables of landing craft. "Different types must he designed from scratch and manufactured, Mr. Chairman, to land against a solidly fortified91 coast. We expect mass production in mid-1942, at the latest. These papers may be of interest." Unexpectedly, in midrtranslation, Stalin uttered a short harsh laugh and began to talk fast in Russian, straight at Victor Henry. Slote and Pavlov made quick notes, and when the dictator paused, Pavlov took over and spoke with much of Stalin's hard sarcastic tone. "That is very fine. Mid-1942. Unfortunately, this is October 1941-If Mr. Hitler would only halt operations until mid-1942! But perhaps we cannot count on that. And what will happen meantime? I regard Mr. Harry Hopkins"-Stalin said Gospodin Garry Gopkins-"as a friend and a clever man. Doesn't he know that any operation that the British can mount now-just a reconnaissance in force of a few divisions, if they can do no better-might decide the course of this war? The Germans have only very weak reserves, mere92 token forces, on the French coast. They are throwing everything into the battle on our front. Any action in the west might make them pause, and draw off just the decisive margin93 of strength here." Stalin doodled in red ink on a gray unlined pad during the interpretation94, drawing a wolf. Victor Henry said, "Mr. Chairman, I am instructed to answer any questions about the landing craft problem." Stalin used the back of his hand to shove aside the papers Pug Henry had laid before him. "Landing craft? But it is a question of will, not of landing craft. However, we will study the matter of landing craft. Of course, we have such machines too, for landing on defended coasts. Perhaps we can lend-lease some to the British. In 1915, when warequipment was more primitive95 than today, Mr. Churchill managed to put a big force ashore96 in Gallipoli, thousands of miles from England. Possibly he found the experience discouraging. But the Japanese have in recent years put ashore more than a million soldiers in China. Those men surely did not swim across, in such cold waters. So it is obviously a question of will, not of landing craft. I hope Mr. Harry Hopkins will use his great influence to establish a second front now in Europe, because the outcome of the war against the Hitlerites may turn on that. I can say no more." The dictator finished the wolf in rapid strokes during the translation, and started another with bared fangs97 and a hanging tongue. He looked up at Henry with the oddly genial98 expression common in his photographs, and changed his tone. "Have you enjoyed your stay? Is there anything we can do for you?" Victor Henry said, "Mr. Chairman, I have been a wartime military observer in Germany and in England. Mr. Hopkins asked me to go to the front here, if an opportunity arose, so as to bring him an eyewitness99 report." At the word 'front," Stalin shook his head. "No, no. We are obliged to guarantee the safety of our guests. That we cannot do, in the present stage of fighting. Mr. Hopkins would not forgive us if some misfortune befell you." "Mr. Hopkins has been unsparing of his own health, sir. It is wartime." An opaque101 wild look, almost the look in a gorilla's eyes, came into Stalin's gaze. "Well, you should understand that things are bad at the front. The Germans are breaking through again in force. We may soon see the worst hours for Russia since 1812. You will hear all the news tomorrow. That is why a second front now would earn for England the friendship of my people until the end of time." He went back to work on the wolf. Pug said soberly, "In view of this news, Mr. Chairman, I admire your cheerfulness of spirit at the banquet tonight. Stalin shrugged102 his broad sagging103 shoulders. "Wars are not won by gloom, nor by bad hospitality. Well, if Mr. Hopkins wants you at the front, he must have good reasons. We will see what we can do. Give him my thanks for the letter and the tobacco. It is not bad tobacco, though I am used to my Russian tobacco. Please tell him my feelings about the second front. Perhaps your trip to our front could bring home the urgency. Mr. Hopkins is a good adviser104 to your great President, and as you are an emissary from him, I wish you well." Leaving the Kremlin and driving through the blackout, the two Americans said not a word. When the car stopped, Pug Henry spoke: "Well, I'll talk to you tomorrow. I guess these fellows will take you home." "No, I'll get out." On the sidewalk, Slote touched Pug's arm as the limousine59 drove off. "Let'stalk here. I was utterly105 shocked by this business of going to the front. If Mr. Hopkins knew of the catastrophic situation Stalin just admitted to"-the diplomat106's voice wavered and he cleared his throat-"he would surely withdraw those instructions." The night was ending, and though the icy -street was still black, Pug could just see Slote's pale face under his fur hat. "I don't agree with you on that. He's a pretty tough customer, Hopkins." Slote persisted, "You won't really get to the front, you know. They've just given some correspondents a tour. They kept them far behind the lines, feeding them caviar, quails107, and. champagne. Still, the Luftwaffe pulled an air raid on a village and almost nailed them." "Right, but that could happen to us here in Moscow, too." "But why go, for God's sake?" Slote broke out in a ragged108 shrill109 tone. He lowered his voice. "At best you'll see one liny sector110 for a few hours. It's foolhardy sightseeing. It'll create endless trouble at the embassy, as well as for the Russians." Victor Henry chain-lit a cigarette. "Listen, if you can watch ten men under fire, you'll learn a lot about an army's moral in a few hours. Mr. Hopkins likes to call himself a glorified112 messenger boy. That's an exaggeration, but I'm an unglorified one. Doing this job might give me the illusion that I'm earning my salary. Come upstairs for a nightcap. I have some good Scotch113." "No, thank you. I'm going to write my report, and then try to get an hour's sleep." "Well, cheer up, My own impression was that the big cheese was being affable, but that I won't get to go." "That's what I hope. No foreign military attache has yet gone to the front, or near it. Good morning." During the talk the sky had turned violet, and Slote could see his way on the dead quiet streets. This was a relief, for he had more than once banged into lamp posts and fallen off curbs114 in the Moscow blackout. He had also been challenged at pistol-point by patrolmen. One walked toward him now in the gray dawn and gave him a suspicious squint115, then passed on without a word. In his flat Slote brewed116 coffee on the gas ring, and rapidly typed a long account of the banquet and the meeting with Stalin. When he had finished, he threw back the blackout curtains. The sun was shining. Staggeeing, bleary, he took a loose-leaf diary from a drawer and wrote briefly117 in it, ending withthese words: But the official report which I've just rattled118 off describes the meeting with Stalin in sufficient detail; and I'll keep a copy in my files. As for the Henrys, father and son, the puzzle is simply enough resolved after all. I saw the answer in die past few hours. They both have an instinct for action, and the presence of mind that goes with it. Byron displayed these traits in moments of physical danger. His father probably would too. But I've just seen him act in more sophisticated and subtle situations, requiring quick thinking, hardihood, and tact120. It is not easy to keep one's head in confronting a personage like Stalin, who has an aura like a large lump of radium, powerful, invisible, and poisonous. Victor Henry managed. On reflection, I can understand why the ladies like such men. The man of action protects, feeds-and presumably fecundates, QED-more vigorously and reliably dian the man of thought. Possibly one can't change one's nature. Still one can perhaps learn and grow. Captain Henry suggested that I disregard orders and expose the Minsk documents to Fred Fearing or some newspaperman. Such an act goes entirely121 against my grain; and entirely for that reason, I intend to do it. Talky Tudsbury was having five o'clock tea alone in his hotel suite122 Tthat day, with some light refreshment123 of sprats, cheese, sturgeon, black bread, and honey cakes, when Victor Henry came in and told him that he was going to the front. The correspondent got so excited that he stopped eating. "Good God, man, you are? With the Germans swarming125 in all over the place? it's impossible. It's just talk. Dear Christ, these Russians are good at putting you off with talk. You'll never go." He brushed up his moustaches and reached for more food. "Well, maybe," Pug said, sinking into a chair, and laying on his lap the briefcase126 stuffed with codes and harbor charts, which he had just collected at the navy ministry127. He had had five or six hours' broken sleep in four days. The room was jerking back and forth in his vision as he strove to stay awake. "But my clearance128 has just come in from pretty high up. Tudsbury was putting a chunk129 of bread heaped with mr&nes w His mouth. The morsel130 stopped in midair. He peered at Henry through his bottle-glass spectacles, and spoke in low quiet tones. 'I'll go with you." "The hell you will." "Victor, the correspondents went to the central front two weeks ago, when the Russians were counterattacking. The day they left, I had flu, with a rising temperature." Tudsbury threw down the food, seized his cane131, limped rapidly across the room, and began to put on a fur-lined coat and a fur hat. "Who's handling this, Lozovsky? Can't I just tell him you said I could come? I know them all and they love me. It's up to you." i4 Victor Henry did not want Tudsbury along, but he was exhausted132 and he was sure the Russians would refuse. "Okay.""God bless you, dear fellow. Stay and finish my tea. Tell Pam I'll be back before six, and she's to retype my broadcast." "Where is she?" "A letter came for her in the Foreign Office pouch133. She went to get it." Pug fell asleep in the armchair where he sat. Cold fingers brushing his cheek woke him. "Hello there. Wouldn't you rather lie down?" Pam stood over him, her face rosy134 from the frost, her eyes shining, wisps of brown hair showing under her gray lambskin hat. "What? Oh!" He blinked and stretched. "What am I doing here? I guess I walked in and collapsed135." "Where's Talky?" She was taking off her hat and gloves. "Why did he leave his tea? That's not like him." Sleep cleared from his brain like fog; he remembered his conversation with Tudsbury, and told her. Her face went stiff and strained. "The front? They'll never let him go, but you? Victor, are you serious? Have you heard the BBC, or the Swedish Radio?" "Yes." "Well, I know better than to argue, but-I can tell you this, our embassy's getting ready to be moved to the Urals or somewhere. By the bye, Ded's all right." She went to the desk, still in her fur coat, and picked UP typed yellow sheets. "Oh, drat, another revision. Such niggling!" By now Pug was used to her casual bombshells, but she dropped this one so swiftly that he wasn't sure he had heard aright. "Pamela, what's this? What about Ted3?" "He's fine. Or safe, anyhow." "But where is he?" "Oh, back in Blighty. Hardly the worse for wear, according to him. it seems he finally managed to escape-he and four French aviators-from a prison camp outside Strasbourg. He did have quite a few adventures in France and Belgium, straight out of the films. But he made it. I rather thought he would, sooner or later." She sat down and took the cover off the typewriter. "Good God, girl, that's tremendous news." "Yes, isn't it? You must read his letter. Seven pages, written on both sides, and quite amusing. He's lost three stone, and he still has a bullet in his thigh-or, more accurately136, in his behind. He's quite chastened, he'll take the desk job now-as soon as he can sit at a desk, he adds rather ruefully! And that means I'm to come straight home and marry him, of course." Pamela broke her offhand137 manner with a long glance at Victor Henry. She put on black-rimmed glasses. "I'd better get at this. And you obviously need some sleep.""No use. The mission's leaving soon. I have to see them off. Pam, that's splendid about Ted. I'm very glad and relieved." Rubbing her hands and blowing on them, she said, "Lord, it would be a relief at that, wouldn't it? I mean to get away from Talky's handwriting, and his optimistic drivel." Tudsbury burst in on them a little later, his face aflame, his nose empurpled by the cold, just as Henry was putting on his bridge coat "Moiet byt! Qualified138 yes, by God! They'll confirm it tomorrow, but Victor, I believe I'm going with you!-Pam, have you finished yet? It's getting near that time.-The Narkomindel's in mad confusion, Victor, the news from the front must be really bad, but God Almighty139, that clearance you've got, whatever it is, certainly is the secret password! Of course they adore me, and they know I'm entitled to a trip, but the look that came over Lozovsky's face, when I said you insisted that I accompany you!" "Oh, Talky!" Pamela stopped typing, and glared at him. "Victor didn't insist at all. He couldn't have." "Pam, one has to bludgeon these people." Tudsbury's face creased140 in a tricky141 grin. "I said you two were old friends, in fact, and that Victor rather liked you and wanted to oblige me. So please back my story if occasion arises." 'You unscrupulous old horror," Pamela said, her face mantling142 pink. "Well, that's true enough, as far as it goes," Victor Henry said. "I have to get on to the airport now. Pamela's got some great news, Talky." The intrusion of Tudsbury snagged the trip. The Narkomindel, the Foreign Office, hemmed143, hawed, and stalled. Days went by. Pug remained stuck in Moscow with nothing to do. The ambassador and the attaches acted cool and distant, for Victor Henry was that plague of the Foreign Service, an interloper from Washington. Once he dropped in on Slote's office and found the diplomat pale, harassed144, and given to pointless giggling145. "Say, what's my daughter-in-law doing on your desk?" Pug said. Natalie smiled from a silver frame, looking younger and fatter, with her hair in an unbecoming knot. "Oh! Yes, that's Natalie." Slote laughed. "D'you suppose Byron would mind? She gave it to me ages ago, and I'm still fond of her. What's happened to your trip? You won't have far to go, at the rate the Germans are coming on, bee bee." "God knows," Pug said, thinking that this man was in bad shape. "Maybe it's all off."The main trouble, it turned out, was Pamela. Her father had asked to bring her along, claiming helplessness without her. He had since withdrawn146 the request. But the Narkomindel had fed the three names into the great obscure machine that handled the matter, and there was no starting over. Lozovsky began to lose his enial humor when Pug appeared or telephoned. "My dear Captain Henry, you will hear when you will hear. There are other equally pressing problems in the Soviet union just now." So Pug wandered the streets, observing the changes in Moscow. New red-and-black posters blazed appeals for volunteers, in the crude bold socialist147 imagery of muscular young workmen and peasant women brandishing148 bayonets at spiders, snakes, or hyenas149 with Hitler faces. Labor150 battalions151 shouldering spades and picks marched raggedly152 here and there; big trucks crammed153 with children crisscrossed the city; long queues stood at food shops, despite the heavy rain that persisted day after day. Soldiers and horse-drawn carts vanished from the streets. Under the sodden154 caps and wet shawls of street crowds, the swarm124 of white high-cheekboned faces wore a different look. The Slavic phlegm was giving way to knotted brows, inquiring glances, and a hurrying pace; Victor Henry thought that the approach of the Germans made the Muscovites look more like New Yorkers. Lozovsky finally telephoned him at the hotel, his voice ringing cheerily-"Well, Captain, will tomorrow at dawn suit you? Kindly155 come here to the Narkomindel, wear warm clothing, a raincoat, and good boots, and be prepared to be out three or four days." "Right. Is the girl coming too?" " Of course." The Russian sounded surprised and a bit offended. "That was the problem. Really it was not easy to clear, though we wanted to make the exact arrangements you desired. Our Russian girl§ face combat conditions as a matter of course, but we know that foreign ladies are much less hardy111. Still we all know Miss Tudsbury, she is attractive, and one understands such a devoted156 friendship. It is arranged." Victor Henry decided157 to ignore the jollying, even ribald tone, and not to try to rewrite this record. "I'm grateful, and I'll be there." They drove southward from Moscow in the rain, and all morning ground along in a thunderous parade of army trucks, stopping only for a visit to an amazingly well camouflaged158 airfield159 for interceptors, in the woods just outside the capital. The little black automobile87, a Russian M-i that looked and sounded much like a 1930 Ford160, made cramped161 quarters, especially with unexplained packages and boxes lining77 the floor. When they had gone about a hundred miles, their guide, a mild-faced, bespectacled tank colonel, with the odd name of Porphyry Amphiteatrov, suggested that they stop to eat lunch and stretch their legs. That was when they first heard the German guns. The driver, a burly silent soldier with a close-trimmed red beard, turned off to a side road lined with old trees. They wound among cleared fields and copses of birch, glimpsing two large white country houses in the distance, and entered a gloomy lane that came to a dead end in wild woods. Here they got out, and the colonel led them along a footpath162 to a small grassy163 mound164 under the trees where garlands of fresh flowers lay. "Well, this was Tolstoy's country estate, you know," said Amphiteatrov. "It is called Yasnaya Polyana, and there is his grave.
Since it was on the way, I thought you might be interested." Tudsbury stared at the low mound and spoke in a hushed way not usual to him. "The grave of Tolstoy? No tomb? No stone?" 'He ordered it so. 'Put me in the earth," he said, 'in the woods where I played Green Stick with my brother Nicholas when we were boys. .."' Amphiteatrov's bass51 voice sounded coarse and loud over the dripping of water through the yellow leaves. Victor Henry cocked his head and glanced at the colonel, for he heard a new noise: soft irregular thumps, faint as the plop of the rain on the grass. The colonel nodded. "Well, when the wind is right, the sound carries quite far." "Ah, guns?" said Tudsbury, with a show of great calm. "Yes, guns. Well, shall we have a bite? The house where he worked is interesting, but it is not open nowadays." The bearded driver brought the lunch to benches out of sight of the burial spot. They ate black bread, very garlicky sausages, and raw cucumbers, washed down with warm beer. Nobody spoke. The rain dripped, the army trucks murmured on the highway, and the distant guns thumped165 faintly. Pamela broke the silence. "Who put the flowers there?" "The caretakers, I suppose," said the colonel. "The Germans must never get this far," she said. "Well, that's a spiritual thought," the colonel said. 'I don't think they will, but Yasnaya Polyana is not a strong point, and so the great Tolstoy must now take his chances with the rest of the Russians." He smiled, suddenly showing red gums, and not looking mild at all. "Anyway, the Germans can't lull166 him." Tudsbury said, "They should have read him a little more carefully." "We still have to prove that. But we win." The sun momentarily broke through and birds began to sing. Victor Henry and Pamela Tudsbury sat together on a bench, and light shafted167 theatrically168 through the yellow leaves, full on the girl. She wore gray slacks tucked into white fur snowboots, and a gray lamb coat and hat. "Why are you staring at me, Victor?" "Pam, I've never visited Tolstoy's grave before, certainly not with you, but I swear I remember all this, and most of all the nice way you've got that hat tilted169." As her hand went up to her hathe added, "And I could have told you you'd lift that hand, and the sun would make your ring sparkle." She held out her fingers stiffly, looking at the diamond. "Ted and I had a bit of a spat64 about that. When he produced it, I wasn't quite ready to wear it." The colonel called, "Well, Captain, I think we go on?" Edging into the thickening traffic stream on the main road, the little black automobile rolled in the direction of the gunfire. Trucks filled the highway, one line moving toward the front, one returning. Whiskered men and stout170 sunburned women, working in fields between stretches of birch forest paid no attention to the traffic. Children playing near the highway ignored the war vehicles too. In tiny villages, washing hung outside the log cabins and the wooden houses with gaily171 painted window frames. One odd observation forced itself on Victor Henry: the further one got from Moscow, the nearer to the front, the more normal and peaceful Russia appeared. The capital behind them was one vast apprehensive172 scurry173. Directly outside it, battalions of women, boys, and scrawny men With glasses clerks, journalists, and schoolteachers-had been frantically174 digging antitank ditches and planting concrete and steel obstacles in myriads175. Beyond that belt of defense176 began tranquil177 forests and fields, with fall colors splashing the stretches of green conifer. Mainly the air raid shelters for trucks along the highway-cleared spaces in the woods, masked with cut evergreen178 boughs179-showed there was an invasion on. Toward evening the car rolled into a small town and stopped at a yellow frame house on a muddy square. Here red-cheeked children lined up at a pump with pails; smoke was rising from chimneys; other children were driving in goats and cows from broad fields, stretching far and Hat under a purpling cloudy sky; and three burly old men were hammering and sawing at the raw frame of a new unfinished house. This was the strangest thing Pug saw all that day-these Russian ancients, building a house in the twilight180, within earshot of German artillery181, much louder here than at the Tolstoy estate, with yellow Hashes flickering182 like summer lightning on the western horizon. "Then this is their home," the tank colonel replied, when Victor Henry remarked on the sight, as they climbed stiffly out of the car. "Where should they go? We have the Germans stopped here. of course, we took out the pregnant women and the mothers with babies long ago.". t headIn the warm little dining room of the house, now a regimen quarters, the visitors crowded around the tabi, with the tank colonel, four officers of the regiment183, and a General Yevlenko, who wore three khaki stars on his thick wide shoulders. He was the chief of staff of the army group in that sector, and Colonel Amphiteatrov Cold Victor Henry that he had just happened to be passing through the town. This huge man with and big smooth pink jaws184, appeared to fair hair, a bulbous peasant nose oky room. Much taken With Pamela, fill one end of the narrow sen ts urging food and drink on Yevlenko kept passing gallant185 compliment and stony186, deeplyher. His fleshy face at moments settled into an abstracted, sad and tired look; then it would kindle187 with jollity, though the eyes remained filmed by fatigue188 in sunken purple sockets189. A feast almost in Kremlin style appeared, on the rough yellow cloth, course by course, brought by soldiers: champagne, caviar, soup, fowls, smoked fish, steaks and cream cakes. The mystery of this magnificent stunt190 was cleared up when Pug Henry glanced into the kitchen as one of the soldier-waiters opened and closed the door. The red-bearded driver of the M-i automobile was sweating over the stove in a white apron191. Pug had from the car into the house. Evidently he was seen him carrying boxes really a cook, and a superb one. The general talked freely about the war, and the colonel translated. r and had far fewer tanks His army group was outnumbered in this sects192 and guns than the Nazis193. Still, they might yet surprise Fritz. They had to hold a line much too long for their strength, according to doctrine194; but a good doctrine, like a good regiment, sometimes had to stretch. The Germans were taking fearful losses. He reeled off many figures of tanks destroyed, guns captured, men killed. Any army could advance if its commanders were willing to leave blood smeared195 on each yard of earth gained. The Germans were getting white as turnips196 with the bloodletting. This drive was their last big effort to win the war before winter came. "Will they take Moscow?" Tudsbury asked. "Not from this direction Pug, retorted the general, "nor do I think they will from any other. But if they like to do it, over land. We are going to beat them. well, we'll drive them out of Moscow, and then we'll drive them out of The Germans have no strategic policy. Their idea of a strategic policy is to kill, to loot, and to take slaves. In this day and age that is not a strategic policy. Furthermore, their resources are basically inferior to ours. Germany is a poor country. Finally, they overestimated197 themselves and they underrated us. According to V. I. Lenin, that is a very dangerous mistake in war. It is very dangerous in war, Lenin said, to think too much of yourself and too little of your opponent. The result can only be inaccurate198 plans and very unpleasant surprises, as, for example, defeat." Pamela said, "Still, they have come so far." The general turned a suddenly menacing, brutally199 tough, piteously exhausted, angry big face to her. His expression dissolved into a flirtatious200 smirk-'Yes, my dear girl, and I see that you mean that remark well and do not like what has happened any more than we do.
Yes, the Nazis, through unparalleled perfidy201, did achieve surprise. And there is another thing. They are cocky. Their tails are up. They are professional winners, having already won several campaigns, and driven the indomitable British into the sea, and so forth. They believe they are unbeatable. However, as they watch their comrades die like flies in Russia, I think they are starting to wonder. At first they would advance in colu= down our highways, not even bothering to guard their flanks. Lately they've grown more careful. Yes, Hitler trained them to maraud, kill, and loot, and those are old Teutonic customs, so they are good at it. We are a peace-loving people, and I suppose in ament n we were al se se e caught unprepared. So, as you say, they have come far. Now we have two jobs: to keep them from coming farther, and then to send them back where they came from, the ones we haven't squashed into our mud." He turned to Henry and Tudsbury. "We will do the job faster, naturally, if you help us with supplies, for we have lost a lot. But most of all, the opening of a front in western Europe can lead to the quick destruction of these rats. The English might be surprised to find they could march straight to Berlin once they set foot in France. I believe every German who can shoot a gun straight has been shipped here for this attack." "I never broadcast without advocating a second front now," Tudsbury said. The general nodded. "You are well known and esteemed202 as a friend of the Soviet people.-He glanced at Victor Henry. "Well, and what are you interested in seeing, Captain? Unfortunately, this far inland, we cannot show you very good naval maneuvers203." pose-0 from the fairy tales." "General, sup of course this is absurd, but-suppose my Presifr Ties," Yevlenko said, "but unfortunately no such dent14 "cowueldhvaivsiet syuocuhr stoont, in a cloak of invisibility cloaks." 'What would you like him to see?" The general glanced at the four officers sitting elbow to elbow at the table across from the visitors, smoking continuously, four kinky-haired pale Russians with shrewd weary eyes, who looked like quadruplets in their identical brown tunics204. None of them had as yet uttered a word. Now he addressed them, and a colloquy205 in rapid Russian broke out. He turned back to Henry. "You put that well. It will be arranged. As the situation is a bit fluid, I suggest you make a start at dawn." He said to Pamela, gesturing upward, "A bedroom has been cleared for you. The gentlemen will bunk206 with these officers." 'Good heavens, a bedroom? I counted on sleeping on the floor or on the ground in my clothes," Pamela said. "Anyway, I'm not at all sleepy yet." As the colonel translated, Yevlenko's face litup. "So? You talk like one of our Russian girls, not like a delicate Englishwoman." Offering her his arm, he led them into the next room, where worn, inked-over maps hung on the walls, and the fusty house furniture was jumbled207 in with desks, stools, typewriters, and black twisting telephone cables. Soldiers pushed furniture, screeching208 here and there to clear a space around a shabby upright piano with bare wooden keys. An officer sat, cigarette dangling209 from his mouth, and thumped out "There'll Always Be an England." Pamela laughed when she recognized the tune100, and stood and sang it. The general led applause and called for more champagne. The pianist began stumbling through "Alexander's Ragtime210 Band." With an elegant low bow, General Yevlenko invited Pamela to dance. He towered head and shoulders above her, so they made a grotesque211 pair, two-stepping stiffly round and round the narrow clear space in heavy muddy boots, but his face shone with enjoyment212. She danced with other officers, then with the general again, as the pianist ran through the few American tunes213 he knew and started over on "Alexander's Ragtime Band." Everybody in the room quaffed214 much champagne and vodka. In the doorway soldiers crowded, watching with round gay eyes the foreign lady in gray pants dancing and drinking with the officers. Pug knew that she hated to dance, especially with strangers; he recalled almost the first words he had heard Pamela utter, on the Breimn in the dim far past of peacetime: 'I shall get myself a cane and a white wig58." But she made a game show. The pianist began playing Russian music-which he did much better-and Pamela sank into a chair while the officers danced alone or with each other. The laughing and the handclapping grew louder. One handsome young soldier with a weeles growth of beard burst into the room and did a bravura215 solo, bounding, squatting216, pirouetting, then acknowledging applause with the bow of a professional ballet artist. The general lumbered217 to his feet and began to dance by himself; he too twirled, jumped, then folded his arms and squatted218, kicking his feet and hoarsely220 shouting, 'Skoreyel Skoreyel Faster! Faster!" His heavy steps shook the floor. The soldiers broke into the room to ring him and to cheer; the room reeked221 of men's dirty bodies, of smoke, of alcohol, yet pressed beside, Pamela, Victor Henry could faintly smell her carnation222 perfume too. When General Yevlenko finished with a shout and jumped up panting, the men roared and clapped, and Pamela came and kissed his perspiring223 big red face, and he heartily kissed her mouth, causing laughter and more roars; and that was the end. The general left. The soldiers pushed the furniture back as it had been. The visitors went to sleep. dawn, it was raining hard. Children and animals floundered in the ATdim violet light all over the square, and trucks splashed, skidded224, and spun225 their wheels, throwing up curtains of muck. The back seat of the car was roomier, since many of the packages had been eaten or drunk up. Victor Henry thought of complimenting the master chef at the wheel, but decided against it. Pamela, squeezed between her father and Pug, had managed a touch of lipstick226 and eye makeup227. In these surroundings she looked like a movie star visiting the troops, Pug thought. "Well, we go," said Colonel Amphiteatrov. "In this weather we will go slower, and not so far."The car bumped and slid about a hundred yards, then sank and stalled. "Well, I hope we will go farther than this," said the colonel. Soldiers in greatcoats surrounded the car. With shouting and shoving they got it to move. The wheels hit soldier ground, and the car went splashing, rocking, and stewing228 out of the town. After a run on asphalted highway through the fields, they took a narrow mud road into a forest. The chef drove well (or the chauffeur230 cooked well-Pug never did find out the truth), and he kept the car going through terrible ruts, mounds231, and holes, for perhaps twenty minutes. Then the car stopped dead. Pug got out with the driver and the colonel. The hubs of the rear wheels were buried in ropy red mud. It was still raining heavily. They were stuck in wild woods, so quiet that rain hitting the hot hood119 made a hiss232. "I suppose he has a shovel," Pug said. "Yes, I suppose so." The colonel was looking around. He walked off into the woods some yards ahead-to relieve himself, Pug imagined, before getting to work. Pug heard voices, then hoarse219 engine snorts. The bushes began to move. Out of the shrubbery a light tank appeared, covered with boughs, its cannon233 pointed at Pug. Behind it walked the colonel and three muddy men in greatcoats. The American had been looking straight at the mottled, camouflaged cannon, yet had not noticed it until it started toward him. The tank chugged out of the trees, swerved234, and backed on the road. Soldiers quickly attached a chain and the car was pulled loose in a moment, with the passengers inside. Then the bough-festooned turret235 opened, and two bristly, boyish Slav heads poked236 out. Pamela jumped from the car, smiled and stumbled to the tank, and kissed the tankists, to their embarrassed pleasure. The turret closed, the tank backed into the wood to its former place, and the black automobile went lurching on into the forest. Thus they were bogged237 and rescued several times, and so discovered that the wet silent forest was swarming with the Red Army. They arrived at a washout that severed238 the road like a creek239 in flood. The ully's sides bore gouge240 marks of caterpillar241 treads and thick truck tires, 9 but obviously the auto85 could not struggle across. Here soldiers emerged from the woods and laid split logs across the gash242, smooth side up, lashing81 them together into a shaky but adequate bridge. This was a sizable crew, and their leader, a fat squinting243 lieutenant244, invited the party to stop and refresh themselves. There was no way of telling him from his men, except that he gave the orders and they obeyed. They were all dressed alike and they were all a red earth color. He led the visitors through the trees and down into an icy, mucky dugout roofed with timbers, and so masked by brush and shrubs245 that Victor Henry did not see an entrance until the ofncer began to sink into the earth. The dugout was ari underground cabin of tarred logs, crisscrossed with telephone cables, lit by an oil lamp and heated by an old open iron stove burning chopped branches. The' officer, squinting proudly at a brass246 samovar on the raw plank247 table, offered them tea. While water boiled, a soldier conducted the men to a latrine so primitive and foulthough Tudsbury and the Russians happily used it-that Pug went stumbling off into the trees, only to be halted by a sentry248 who appeared like a forest spirit. While the American attended to nature, the soldier stood guard, observing with some interest how a foreigner did it. Returning to the dugout, Pug encountered three big blank-faced Russians, marching with fixed249 bayonets around Pamela, who looked vaguely250 embarrassed and amused. Before they left, the lieutenant showed Pug and Tudsbury through the soldiers' dugouts, obviously proud of his men's workmanship. These freshly dug puddle-filled holes in the damp earth, smelling like graves, did have heavy timbered roofs that might survive a shell hit, and the mudcaked, unshaven soldiers, crouched251 in their greatcoats in the gloom, appeared content enough to smoke and talk and wait for orders here. Pug saw some feeding themselves with torn chunks252 of gray bread and dollops of stew229 from a muddy tureen lugged253 by two muddy soldiers. Munching254 on their bread, dragging at their cigarettes, these men placidly255 stared at the visitors, and slowly moved their heads to watch them walk through the trenches256. Healthy-looking, well-nourished, they seemed as much at home in the red earth as earthworms, and they seemed almost as tough, abundant, and simple a form of life. Here Victor Henry first got an ineradicable feeling that Yevlenko had told the truth: that the Germans might gain the biggest victories, but that the Red Army would in time drive them out. "Ye gods," Tudsbury managed to mutter on the way back to the car, "Belgium in 1915 was nothing like this. They live like animals." "They can," Henry replied, and said no more, for Amphiteatrov's eye was on them in these brief asides. "Well, we are not really far from our destination," the Russian said, wiping rain from his face and helping257 Pamela into the back seat. "If not for the mud, we would have been there now." The car bumped and skipped out of the woods. Cleared fields stretched for miles ahead, flat as a table, under gray low clouds. "There's where we're going." Amphiteatrov pointed straight ahead to a distant line of forest. They came to a crossroads of mud churned up like water at a boil, and though the road ahead looked good, the driver slithered the car sharp right. "Why don't we drive straight on?" Pamela said. "Doesn't the road go through?" "Oh, yes. It goes through. it's mined. This whole area"-the colonel's arm swept around the quiet stubbly fields-"is mined." Pug said, somewhat chilled, "Nice to know these things when you start out." Amphiteatrov gave him his infrequent, wolfish, red-gummed smile, and wiped a dear drop from his thin bluish nose. "Well, yes, Captain. Your Intourist guide in these parts should really know what is what.
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1
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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2
gut
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| n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏 | |
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ted
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| vt.翻晒，撒，撒开 | |
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sickle
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| n.镰刀 | |
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fowls
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| 鸟( fowl的名词复数 )； 禽肉； 既不是这； 非驴非马 | |
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6
lavish
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| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
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7
reassuring
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| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
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8
largesse
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| n.慷慨援助，施舍 | |
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hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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11
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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12
opulence
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| n.财富，富裕 | |
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decadent
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| adj.颓废的，衰落的，堕落的 | |
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dent
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| n.凹痕，凹坑；初步进展 | |
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gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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16
flaring
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| a.火焰摇曳的，过份艳丽的 | |
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license
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| n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许 | |
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18
bawl
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| v.大喊大叫，大声地喊，咆哮 | |
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trotting
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| 小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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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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21
quail
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| n.鹌鹑；vi.畏惧，颤抖 | |
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22
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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convoy
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| vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队 | |
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24
torpedoes
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| 鱼雷( torpedo的名词复数 )； 油井爆破筒； 刺客； 掼炮 | |
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25
gulped
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| v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的过去式和过去分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住 | |
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26
respite
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| n.休息，中止，暂缓 | |
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convivial
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| adj.狂欢的，欢乐的 | |
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28
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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29
thump
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| v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声 | |
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30
thumps
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| n.猪肺病；砰的重击声( thump的名词复数 )v.重击， （指心脏）急速跳动( thump的第三人称单数 ) | |
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31
slumped
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| 大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下] | |
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scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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sarcastic
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| adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的 | |
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scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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civilian
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| adj.平民的，民用的，民众的 | |
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37
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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38
tinkled
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| （使）发出丁当声，（使）发铃铃声( tinkle的过去式和过去分词 )； 叮当响着发出，铃铃响着报出 | |
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39
concussions
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| n.震荡( concussion的名词复数 )；脑震荡；冲击；震动 | |
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40
cliche
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| n./a.陈词滥调(的)；老生常谈(的)；陈腐的 | |
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41
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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42
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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43
naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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44
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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45
etiquette
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| n.礼仪，礼节；规矩 | |
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46
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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47
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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48
intentionally
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| ad.故意地，有意地 | |
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49
iris
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| n.虹膜，彩虹 | |
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50
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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51
bass
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| n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴 | |
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52
marred
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| adj. 被损毁, 污损的 | |
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53
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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54
plethoric
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| adj.过多的，多血症的 | |
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55
champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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56
swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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57
furtively
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| adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地 | |
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58
wig
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| n.假发 | |
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59
limousine
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| n.豪华轿车 | |
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60
limousines
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| n.豪华轿车( limousine的名词复数 )；（往返机场接送旅客的）中型客车，小型公共汽车 | |
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61
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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62
plodded
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| v.沉重缓慢地走（路）( plod的过去式和过去分词 )；努力从事；沉闷地苦干；缓慢进行（尤指艰难枯燥的工作） | |
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63
Soviet
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| adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃 | |
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64
spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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65
squeak
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| n.吱吱声，逃脱；v.（发出）吱吱叫，侥幸通过；（俚）告密 | |
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66
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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67
privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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68
bleakly
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| 无望地，阴郁地，苍凉地 | |
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69
ashtray
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| n.烟灰缸 | |
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70
butts
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| 笑柄( butt的名词复数 )； （武器或工具的）粗大的一端； 屁股； 烟蒂 | |
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71
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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72
sagged
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| 下垂的 | |
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73
bulged
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| 凸出( bulge的过去式和过去分词 )； 充满； 塞满（某物） | |
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74
protocol
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| n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节 | |
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75
ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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76
inflict
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| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
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77
lining
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| n.衬里，衬料 | |
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78
wrench
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| v.猛拧；挣脱；使扭伤；n.扳手；痛苦，难受 | |
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79
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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80
slashing
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|
| adj.尖锐的；苛刻的；鲜明的；乱砍的v.挥砍( slash的现在分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减 | |
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81
lashing
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| n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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82
puffed
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|
| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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83
fragrant
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|
| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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84
meditative
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| adj.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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85
auto
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| n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车 | |
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86
automobiles
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| n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 ) | |
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87
automobile
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| n.汽车，机动车 | |
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88
luxurious
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|
| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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89
lighters
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| n.打火机，点火器( lighter的名词复数 ) | |
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90
sketches
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| n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概 | |
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91
fortified
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| adj. 加强的 | |
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92
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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93
margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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94
interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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95
primitive
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|
| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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96
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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97
fangs
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| n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座 | |
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98
genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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99
eyewitness
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| n.目击者，见证人 | |
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100
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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101
opaque
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| adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的 | |
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102
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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103
sagging
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| 下垂[沉，陷]，松垂，垂度 | |
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104
adviser
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| n.劝告者，顾问 | |
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105
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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106
diplomat
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| n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人 | |
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107
quails
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| 鹌鹑( quail的名词复数 )； 鹌鹑肉 | |
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108
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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109
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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110
sector
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| n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形 | |
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111
hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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112
glorified
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| 美其名的，变荣耀的 | |
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113
scotch
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|
| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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114
curbs
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| v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的第三人称单数 ) | |
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115
squint
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| v. 使变斜视眼, 斜视, 眯眼看, 偏移, 窥视; n. 斜视, 斜孔小窗; adj. 斜视的, 斜的 | |
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116
brewed
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| 调制( brew的过去式和过去分词 )； 酝酿； 沏（茶）； 煮（咖啡） | |
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117
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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118
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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119
hood
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| n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖 | |
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120
tact
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| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
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121
entirely
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|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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122
suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
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123
refreshment
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| n.恢复，精神爽快，提神之事物；（复数）refreshments:点心，茶点 | |
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124
swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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125
swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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126
briefcase
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| n.手提箱，公事皮包 | |
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127
ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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128
clearance
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| n.净空；许可(证)；清算；清除，清理 | |
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129
chunk
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| n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量） | |
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130
morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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131
cane
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|
| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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132
exhausted
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|
| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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133
pouch
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|
| n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件 | |
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134
rosy
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|
| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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135
collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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136
accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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137
offhand
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|
| adj.临时，无准备的；随便，马虎的 | |
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138
qualified
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| adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的 | |
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139
almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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140
creased
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| （使…）起折痕，弄皱( crease的过去式和过去分词 )； （皮肤）皱起，使起皱纹； 皱皱巴巴 | |
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141
tricky
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| adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的 | |
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142
mantling
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| 覆巾 | |
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143
hemmed
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| 缝…的褶边( hem的过去式和过去分词 )； 包围 | |
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144
harassed
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| adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词 | |
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145
giggling
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| v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 ) | |
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146
withdrawn
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|
| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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147
socialist
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| n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的 | |
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148
brandishing
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| v.挥舞( brandish的现在分词 )；炫耀 | |
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149
hyenas
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| n.鬣狗( hyena的名词复数 ) | |
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150
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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151
battalions
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| n.（陆军的）一营（大约有一千兵士）( battalion的名词复数 )；协同作战的部队；军队；（组织在一起工作的）队伍 | |
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152
raggedly
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| 破烂地，粗糙地 | |
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153
crammed
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|
| adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式) | |
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154
sodden
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| adj.浑身湿透的；v.使浸透；使呆头呆脑 | |
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155
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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156
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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157
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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158
camouflaged
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| v.隐蔽( camouflage的过去式和过去分词 )；掩盖；伪装，掩饰 | |
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159
airfield
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| n.飞机场 | |
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160
Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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161
cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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162
footpath
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| n.小路，人行道 | |
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163
grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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164
mound
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| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
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165
thumped
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| v.重击， （指心脏）急速跳动( thump的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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166
lull
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| v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇 | |
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167
shafted
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| 有箭杆的，有柄的，有羽轴的 | |
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168
theatrically
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| adv.戏剧化地 | |
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169
tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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171
gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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172
apprehensive
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| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
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173
scurry
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| vi.急匆匆地走；使急赶；催促；n.快步急跑，疾走；仓皇奔跑声；骤雨，骤雪；短距离赛马 | |
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174
frantically
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| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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175
myriads
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| n.无数，极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
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176
defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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177
tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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178
evergreen
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| n.常青树；adj.四季常青的 | |
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179
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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180
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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181
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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182
flickering
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|
| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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183
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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184
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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185
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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186
stony
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| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
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187
kindle
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| v.点燃，着火 | |
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188
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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189
sockets
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|
| n.套接字，使应用程序能够读写与收发通讯协定(protocol)与资料的程序( Socket的名词复数 )；孔( socket的名词复数 )；（电器上的）插口；托座；凹穴 | |
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190
stunt
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| n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长 | |
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191
apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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192
sects
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| n.宗派，教派( sect的名词复数 ) | |
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193
Nazis
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| n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义 | |
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194
doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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195
smeared
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| 弄脏； 玷污； 涂抹； 擦上 | |
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196
turnips
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| 芜青( turnip的名词复数 )； 芜菁块根； 芜菁甘蓝块根； 怀表 | |
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197
overestimated
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| 对（数量）估计过高，对…作过高的评价( overestimate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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198
inaccurate
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| adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的 | |
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199
brutally
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| adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地 | |
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200
flirtatious
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| adj.爱调情的，调情的，卖俏的 | |
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201
perfidy
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| n.背信弃义，不忠贞 | |
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202
esteemed
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| adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为 | |
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203
maneuvers
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| n.策略，谋略，花招( maneuver的名词复数 ) | |
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204
tunics
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| n.（动植物的）膜皮( tunic的名词复数 )；束腰宽松外衣；一套制服的短上衣；（天主教主教等穿的）短祭袍 | |
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205
colloquy
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| n.谈话，自由讨论 | |
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206
bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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207
jumbled
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| adj.混乱的；杂乱的 | |
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208
screeching
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| v.发出尖叫声( screech的现在分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫 | |
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209
dangling
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| 悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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210
ragtime
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| n.拉格泰姆音乐 | |
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211
grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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212
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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213
tunes
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| n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调 | |
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214
quaffed
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| v.痛饮( quaff的过去式和过去分词 )；畅饮；大口大口将…喝干；一饮而尽 | |
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215
bravura
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| n.华美的乐曲；勇敢大胆的表现；adj.壮勇华丽的 | |
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216
squatting
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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217
lumbered
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| 砍伐（lumber的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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218
squatted
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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221
reeked
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| v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的过去式和过去分词 )；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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222
carnation
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| n.康乃馨（一种花） | |
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223
perspiring
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| v.出汗，流汗( perspire的现在分词 ) | |
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224
skidded
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| v.（通常指车辆） 侧滑( skid的过去式和过去分词 )；打滑；滑行；（住在）贫民区 | |
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225
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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226
lipstick
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| n.口红，唇膏 | |
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227
makeup
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| n.组织；性格；化装品 | |
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228
stewing
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| 炖 | |
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229
stew
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| n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑 | |
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230
chauffeur
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| n.(受雇于私人或公司的)司机；v.为…开车 | |
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231
mounds
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| 土堆，土丘( mound的名词复数 )； 一大堆 | |
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232
hiss
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| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
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233
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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234
swerved
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| v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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235
turret
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| n.塔楼，角塔 | |
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236
poked
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| v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
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237
bogged
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| adj.陷于泥沼的v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的过去式和过去分词 )；妨碍，阻碍 | |
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238
severed
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| v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂 | |
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239
creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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240
gouge
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| v.凿；挖出；n.半圆凿；凿孔；欺诈 | |
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241
caterpillar
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| n.毛虫，蝴蝶的幼虫 | |
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242
gash
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| v.深切，划开；n.(深长的)切(伤)口；裂缝 | |
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243
squinting
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| 斜视( squint的现在分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看 | |
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244
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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245
shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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246
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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247
plank
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| n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目 | |
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248
sentry
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| n.哨兵，警卫 | |
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249
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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250
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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251
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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252
chunks
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| 厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分 | |
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253
lugged
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| vt.用力拖拉（lug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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254
munching
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| v.用力咀嚼（某物），大嚼( munch的现在分词 ) | |
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255
placidly
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| adv.平稳地，平静地 | |
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256
trenches
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| 深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕 | |
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257
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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