First came a tiny spirit furnace from which, by the aid of an arrangement something like the modern blow-pipe, an intense heat could be obtained. Then a delicate pair of scales, a glass pestle3 and mortar4, and a couple of glass liquid-measures, and lastly, half a dozen little phials filled with variously-coloured liquids, and as many little packets of powders, that looked like herbs ground very finely.
When she had placed these out on the table, after having carefully locked the door of her room, and seen that the windows were completely shuttered and curtained, she drew from the bosom5 of her dress a gold chain, at the end of which was fastened, together with the key of the secret recess6 in the wall of the turret7 chamber8 of the house at Hampstead, a small bag of silk, out of which she took a little roll of parchment,—the slip which she had abstracted from Paul Romanoff’s secret will after she had persuaded Serge, with her false kisses, to leave her alone for a while.
She seated herself at the table, drew the electric reading-lamp which stood on it close to her, laid the slip down in front of her, keeping it unrolled by means of a couple of little[54] weights, and studied it intently for several minutes. Then she made a series of calculations on another sheet of paper, and compared the result carefully with some figures on the slip.
She made them three times over before she was satisfied that they were absolutely correct, and then, with all the care and deliberation of a chemical analyst9 performing a delicate and important experiment, she proceeded to weigh out tiny quantities of the powders, and to mix them very carefully in the little glass mortar. This done, she emptied the mixture into a little platinum11 crucible12, which she placed on the furnace, at the same time applying a gentle heat.
Then she turned her attention to the phials, measuring off quantities of their contents with the most scrupulous13 exactitude, mixing them two and two, and adding this mixture to a third, and so on, in a certain order which was evidently prearranged, as she constantly referred to the slip of parchment and her own calculations as she was mixing them.
By the time she finished this part of her work, she had obtained from the various coloured liquids one perfectly14 colourless and odourless, of a specific gravity apparently15 considerably16 in excess of that of water, although, at the same time, it was extremely mobile and refractive. She held it up to the light, looking at it with her eyelids17 somewhat screwed up, and with a cruel smile on her pretty lips.
“So far, so good,” she said in a voice little higher than a whisper. “The lives of fifty strong men in that couple of ounces of harmless looking fluid! If anyone could see me just now, I fancy they would take me rather for a witch or a poisoner of the fifteenth century than for a girl of the twenty-first.
“Well, my friend Alan, your mysterious power may kill more quickly, but not more surely than this; and this, too, will take a man out of the world so easily that not even he himself will know that he is going,—not even when he sinks into the sleep from which he will awake on the other side of the shadows.
[55]
“So much for the bodies of our enemies, and now for their souls! I don’t want to kill wholesale18, at least, not just yet; and as for you, my Alan, you are far too splendid, too glorious a man to be killed, to say nothing of your being so much more useful alive. No, I have a very much pleasanter fate in store for you.”
Just then a little cloud as of incense19 smoke began to rise from the crucible in which were the mixed powders, and a faint, pleasant perfume began to diffuse20 itself. She stopped her soliloquy, measured off exactly half of the liquid, and patiently poured it, drop by drop, into the crucible, at the same time gradually increasing the heat.
The vapour gradually disappeared, and the perfume died away. When she had poured in the last drop, she began slowly stirring the mixture with a glass rod. It gradually assumed the consistency21 of thick syrup22, and after stirring it for three minutes by her watch, which lay on the table beside her, she extinguished the electric lamp and waited.
In a few seconds a pale, orange-coloured flame appeared hovering23 over the crucible. As its ghostly light fell upon her anxious features, she caught sight of herself in a mirror let into the wall on the opposite side of the table. She started back in her chair with an irrepressible shudder24. For the first time in her life she saw herself as she really was.
The weird25, unearthly light of the flame changed the clear, pale olive of her skin into a sallow red, and cast what looked like a mist of vapour tinged26 with blood across the dark lustre27 of her dusky eyes. It seemed as though the light that she had called forth28 from the darkness had melted the beautiful mask which hid her inner self from the eyes of men, and revealed her naked soul incarnate29 in the evil shape that should have belonged to it.
Suddenly the flame vanished, she turned on the switch of the lamp, placed a platinum cover over the crucible with a pair of light, curved tongs30, and, with a quick half-turn, screwed it hermetically down. Then she turned the heat of the furnace on to the full, rose from her chair, and stretched herself, with[56] her linked hands above her head, till her lithe31, girlish form was drawn32 up to its full height in front of the mirror.
She looked dreamily from under her half-closed lids at the perfect picture presented by the reflection, and then her tightly-closed lips melted into a smile, and she said softly to herself—
“Ah, that is a different sort of picture. I wonder what Alan would have thought if he could have seen that one? I don’t think I should have taken my trip in the air-ship to-morrow if he had done. Well, I have seen myself as I am—what four generations of inherited hate and longing33 for revenge have made me.
“In the light of that horrible flame I might have sat for the portrait of the lost soul of Lucrezia Borghia. Ah, well, if mine is lost, it shall be lost for something worth the exchange. ‘Better to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven,’ as old Milton said, and after all—who knows?
“Bah! that is enough of dreaming, when the time for doing is so near. I must get some sleep to-night, or my eyes will have lost some of their brightness by to-morrow.”
So saying, she busied herself putting away her phials, and powders, and apparatus34. The half of the colourless liquid she had left she carefully decanted35 into a tiny flask36, over the stopper of which she screwed a silver cap that had a little ring on the top, and this she hung on the chain round her neck. She replaced the slip of parchment in its silken bag, and carefully burnt the paper on which she had made her calculations.
By this time the bottom of the crucible was glowing red hot. She noted37 the time that had elapsed since she had screwed the cap down, waited five minutes longer, and then extinguished the furnace, undressed, and got into bed, and in half an hour was sleeping as quietly as a little child. She had set the chime of her repeating watch to sound at six, and hung the watch close above her head.
Calm as her sleep was at first, it was by no means dreamless, and her dreams were well fitted to be those of a guilty soul slumbering38 after a work of death.
[57]
She saw herself standing39 with Alan on the glass-domed deck of the air-ship, beneath the light of a clear, white moon sailing high in the heavens, and a host of brilliant stars glittering out of the deep-blue depths beyond it. Far below them lay an unbroken cloud-sea of dazzling whiteness, which stretched away into the infinite distance on all sides, until it seemed to blend with the moonlight and melt into the sky.
Then the scene changed, and the air-ship swept downwards41 in a wide, spiral curve, and plunged42 through the noiseless billows of the shadowy sea. As she did so, a fearful chorus of sounds rose up from the earth below.
The moonlight and starlight were gone, and in their place the lurid43 glare of burning cities and blazing forests cast a fearful radiance up through the great eddying44 waves of smoke, and reflected itself on the under surface of the clouds; now the air-ship swept hither and thither45 with bewildering rapidity, like the incarnation of some fearful spirit of destruction. Alan had vanished, and she was giving orders rapidly, and men were working the long, slender guns in a grim silence that contrasted weirdly46 with the horrible din2 that rose from the earth.
She saw neither smoke nor flame from the guns, nor heard any sound as they were discharged, but every time she raised her hand, the motion was followed within a few seconds by a shaking of the atmosphere, a dull roar from the earth, and the outburst of vast, dazzling masses of flame, before which the blaze of the conflagration47 paled.
She looked down with fierce exultation48 upon the scene of carnage and destruction; and as she gazed upon it, the fires died away, the roar of the explosions began to sound like echoes in the distance, and when the landscape of her dreamland took definite shape again, the air-ship was hovering over a vast, oval valley, walled in by mighty49 mountain masses, surmounted50 by towering peaks, on some of which crests51 of everlasting52 snow and ice shone undissolved in the rays of the tropical sun.
As she gazed upon it, the Fires died away. Page 57.
The valley itself was of such incomparable and fairy-like beauty, that it seemed to belong rather to the realm of[58] imagination than to the world of reality. A great lake lay in the centre, its emerald shores lined with groves53 of palms and orange-trees, and fringed with verdant54 islets spangled with many coloured flowers.
On the northern shore of the lake lay a splendid city of marble palaces, surrounded by shady gardens, and divided from each other by broad, straight streets, smooth as ivory and spotless as snow, and lined with double rows of wide-spreading trees, which cast a pleasant shade along their sides.
In the midst of a vast square, in the centre of the city, rose an immense building of marble of perfect whiteness, surmounted by a great golden dome40, which in turn was crowned by the silver shape of a woman with great spreading wings, which blazed and scintillated55 in the sunlight as though they had been fashioned of sheets of crystal, pure and translucent56 as diamonds.
All over the valley, villas57 and palaces of marble were scattered58 in cool ravines and on shaded, wooded slopes; and as far as her eye could reach, vast expanses of garden land, emerald pastures, and golden corn fields stretched away over hill and vale, until the most remote were met by the cool, dark forests which clothed the middle slopes of the all-encircling mountains, and themselves gave place higher up to dark, frowning precipices59, vast walls of living rock, rising thousands of feet sheer upwards60, and ending in the mighty peaks which stood like eternal sentinels guarding this enchanted61 realm.
If she had had her will, she would have gazed for ever upon this delightful62 scene; but the spirit of the dream was not to be controlled, and it faded from her sight just as the picture of death and desolation had done. As it faded away, Alan, who had now come back to her side, laid his hand upon her shoulder, and, looking at her with mournful eyes, said wearily—
“That was your first and last glimpse of heaven. Now comes the judgment63!”
As he spoke64, the air-ship soared upwards again, and was instantly enveloped65 in a cloud of impenetrable darkness. She[59] sped on and on in utter silence through the gloom, which was so dense66 that it seemed to cast the rays of the ship’s electric lights back upon her as she floated amidst it. Presently the deathlike silence was broken by a low, weird sound, that seemed like a wail67 of universal agony rising up from the earth beneath.
Then, far ahead and high up in the sky, appeared a faint light, which grew and brightened until the darkness melted away before it; and Olga saw the air-ship floating near enough to the earth for her to see that all its vegetation was withered68 and yellow, and the beds of its streams almost dry, with only little, thin rivulets69 trickling70 sluggishly71 along them.
Millions of people seemed wandering listlessly and aimlessly about the streets of the cities and the parched72 fields of the open country, ever and anon stretching their hands as though in appeal up to the dark, moonless sky, in which the fearful shape of light and fiery73 mist was growing every moment brighter and vaster.
It grew and grew until it arched half the horizon with its tremendous curve; and then out of the midst of it came a huge, dazzling globe of fire, from the rim10 of which shot forth great flames of every colour, some of which seemed to descend74 to the surface of the earth like long fiery tongues that licked up the seething75 lakes in wreathing clouds of steam, which hissed76 and roared as they rose like ascending77 cataracts78.
She looked down between them at the earth. The myriads79 of figures were there still, but now they lay prone80 and lifeless on the ground, as though the last agony of mankind were past. The light of the blazing globe grew more and more dazzling, and the heat more and more intense. The speed of the air-ship slackened visibly, although the wings and propellers81 were working at their utmost speed, and it was falling rapidly, as though there was no longer any air to support it.
She gasped83 for breath in the choking, burning atmosphere of the deck chamber, and then a swift, vivid wave of light seemed to sweep through her brain, and she woke with a choking gasp82 of terror, with the chimes of her watch ringing[60] sweetly in her ears, telling her that the vision had been but a dream of a night that had passed.
Wide awake in an instant, she got out of bed and turned on the electric lamp. As the room had been perfectly warmed all night by the electric conduction-stoves, which were then in almost universal use, she only stopped to throw a fur-lined cloak round her shoulders before she went to remove the cap of the crucible.
She peered anxiously into the vessel84, and saw about two fluid ounces of a dark, glittering liquid, from the surface of which the light of the lamp was reflected as though from a mirror. With hands that trembled slightly, in spite of the great effort she made to keep her nerves in check, she poured the precious fluid into one of the glass measures that she had used the night before.
Seen through the glass, its colour was a deep, brilliant blue, and, like the white liquid first prepared, shone as though with an inherent, light-giving power of its own. She held it up admiringly to the light, and said to herself, with the same cruel smile that had curved her lips when she had contemplated85 the other fluid—
“How beautiful it is! It might be made of sapphires86 dissolved in some potent87 essence. In reality, it is an elixir88 capable of dissolving the souls of men. Ah, my proud Masters of the World, we shall soon see how much your boasted powers avail you against this and a woman’s wit and hatred89!
“And you, my splendid Alan, before to-morrow night you shall be at my feet! Two drops of this, and that proud, strong soul of yours shall melt away like a snowflake under warm rain, and you shall be my slave and do my bidding, and never know that you are not as free as you are now.
“The days have gone by when men sought the Elixir of Life, but Paul Romanoff sought and found the Elixir of Death,—death of the body or of the soul, as the possessor of it shall will; and he is gone, and I, alone of all the children of men, possess it!”[3]
[61]
She set the measure down on the table, and took out of her valise a similar little flask to the one which held the white liquid. In this she carefully poured the contents of the measure, screwed the cap on as before, and hung it with the other on the chain round her neck. Then, woman-like, she turned to the mirror, threw back her cloak a little, and gazed at the reflection of the two flasks90, which shone like two great gems91 upon her white skin.
“There is such a necklace as woman never wore before, since woman first delighted in gems,—a necklace that all the jewels in the world could not buy. How pretty they look!”
So saying, she turned away from the mirror and carefully put away all traces of the work she had been engaged in, then she threw off her cloak and turned the lamp out and got into bed again, to wait until the attendant called her at eight o’clock as she had directed.
She did not go to sleep again, but lay with wide-open eyes looking at the darkness, and conjuring92 out of it visions of love and war, and the world-wide empire which she believed to be now almost within her grasp. In all these visions, two figures stood out prominently—those of Serge and Alan, her lover that had been and the lover that was to be,—if only the elixir did its work as its discoverer had said it would.
As such thoughts as these passed through her brain, a new and perhaps a nobler conception of her mission of revenge took possession of her. In the past, Natasha had won the love of the man whose genius had made possible, nay93, irresistible94, the triumph of that revolution which had subverted95 the throne of her ancestors, and sent the last of the Tsars of Russia to die like a felon96 in chains amidst the snows of Siberia.
What more magnificent vengeance97 could she, the last surviving daughter of the Romanoffs, win than the enslavement of the man descended98 not only from Natasha and[62] Richard Arnold, but also from that Alan Tremayne whose name he bore, and who, as first President of the Anglo-Saxon Federation99, had ensured the victory of the Western races over the Eastern?
The empire of freedom and peace, which Richard Arnold had won for Natasha’s sake, this son of the line of Natas should convert, at her bidding, into an empire such as she longed to rule over,—an empire in which men should be her slaves and women her handmaidens. For her sake the wave of Destiny should flow back again; she would be the Semiramis of a new despotism.
What was the freedom or the happiness of the mass of mankind to her? If she could raise herself above them, and put her foot upon their necks, why should she not do so? By force the leaders of the Terror had overthrown100 the despotisms of the Old World; why should not she employ the self-same force to seat herself, with the man she loved in spite of all her hereditary101 hatred, upon the throne of the world, and reign102 with him in that glorious land whose beauties had been revealed to her in the vision which surely had been something more than a dream?
Thus thinking and dreaming, and illumining the darkness with her own visions of glories to come, she lay in a kind of ecstasy103, until a knock at the door warned her that the time for dreaming had passed and the hour for action had arrived.
A brief half-hour sufficed for her toilet, and she entered the room of the hotel, in which Serge was awaiting her, dressed to perfection in her plain, clinging robe of royal purple, and self-composed as though she had passed the night in the most innocent and dreamless of slumbers104. She submitted to his greeting kiss with as good a grace as possible, and yet with an inward shrinking which almost amounted to loathing105, born of the visions which were still floating in her mind.
She shuddered106 almost invisibly as he released her from his embrace, and then the bright blood rose to her cheeks, and a sudden light shone in her eyes, as the thought possessed107 her, that not many hours would pass before a far nobler lover would[63] take her in his arms, and would press sweeter kisses upon her lips,—the lips which had sworn fealty108 and devotion to the enemies of his race.
Serge, with the true egotism of the lover, took the blush to himself, and said, with a laugh of boyish frankness—
“Travelling and Russian air seem to agree with your Majesty109. Evidently you have slept well your first night on Russian soil. I was half afraid that what happened yesterday, and your conversation with that golden-winged braggart110 from Aeria, would have sufficiently111 disturbed you to give you a more or less sleepless112 night, but you look as fresh and as lovely as though you had slept in the most perfect peace at home.”
The anger that these unthinking words awoke in her soul, brought back the bright flush to Olga’s cheeks and the light into her eyes, and again Serge mistook the sign, as indeed he might well have done; and so he entirely113 mistook the meaning of her words when she replied, with a laugh, of the true significance of which he had not the remotest conception—
“On the contrary, how was it possible that I could have anything but the sweetest sleep and the most pleasant dreams, after such a delightful journey and the making of such pleasant acquaintances? Do you not think the Fates have favoured us beyond our wildest expectations, in thus bringing our enemies so unconsciously across our path at the very outset of our campaign against them?
“But really, these Aerians are delightful fellows. No, don’t frown at me like that, because you know as well as I do, that in that chivalrous114 good-nature of theirs lies our best hope of success.”
As she spoke she went up to him, and laid her two hands upon his shoulder, and went on looking up into his eyes with a seductive softness in hers.
“I am afraid I made you terribly jealous yesterday; but really, Serge, you must remember that in diplomacy115, and diplomacy alone, lies our only chance of advantage in the circumstances which the kindly116 Fates appear to have specially117 created for our benefit.
[64]
“The time for you to act will come later on, and when it comes, I know you will acquit118 yourself like the true Romanoff that you are; but for the present—well, you know these Aerians are men, and where diplomacy alone is in the question, it is better that a woman should deal with them. You will trust me for the present,—won’t you, Serge?”
For all answer, he took her face between his hands, put her head back, and kissed her, saying as he released her—
“Yes, darling; I will trust you not only now, but for ever. You are wiser than I am in these things. Do as you please; I will obey.”
As he spoke, the door opened, and an attendant came in with two little cups of coffee on a silver salver. He placed it on the table, told them that breakfast would be ready for them in the morning-room in ten minutes, and retired119. As they sipped120 their coffee, Olga said to Serge—
“Now, we shall meet our enemies at breakfast, and I want you to be a great deal more cordial and friendly than you were yesterday. Our own feelings concern ourselves alone, but in our outward conduct we owe something to the sacred cause which we both have at heart. You can imagine how great a sacrifice I am making in my relations with those whom I have been taught to hate from my cradle.
“I can see as well as you do, perhaps better, that this future ruler of Aeria admires me in his own boyish way. If I can bring myself to appear complaisant121, surely it is not too much to ask you to look upon it with indifference122, or even with interest,—a brotherly interest, you know; for you must remember that he knows me only as your sister.
“Now, I want you to ask them to come and have breakfast with us at our table, and to exert yourself to appear agreeable to them, even as I shall; and above all things, promise me that you will fall in with any suggestions that I may make as regards our trip in this wonderful air-ship which we are to make to-morrow.
“There is no time now to explain to you what I mean, but I swear to you, by the blood that flows in both our veins123, that[65] if I can only carry through, without any let or hindrance124, the plans that I have already formed—that before forty-eight hours have passed that air-ship shall no longer be under Alan Arnoldson’s command.”
He looked at her for a moment with almost incredulous admiration125. She returned his inquiring glance with a steady, unwavering gaze, which made suspicion impossible. All his life he had grown up to look upon her as sharing with him the one hope that was left of restoring the ancient fortunes of their family. More than this they had been lovers ever since either of them knew the meaning of love.
How then could he have dreamt that behind so fair an appearance lay as dark and treacherous126 a design as the brain of an ambitious woman had ever conceived? Intoxicated127 by her beauty and the memory of his lifelong love, he took a couple of steps towards her, took her unresisting into his arms again, and said passionately—
“Give me another kiss, darling, and on your lips I will swear to trust you always and do your bidding even to the death.”
She returned his kiss with a passion so admirably simulated that his resolve was thrice strengthened by it, and then she released herself gently from his embrace, saying—
“Even so, unto the death if needs be,—as I shall serve our sacred cause to the end, cost what it may! Come, it is time that we went down to breakfast.”
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收听单词发音
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1
unpacked
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| v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的过去式和过去分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等） | |
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din
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| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
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pestle
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| n.杵 | |
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mortar
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| n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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turret
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| n.塔楼，角塔 | |
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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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analyst
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| n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家 | |
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rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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platinum
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| n.白金 | |
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crucible
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| n.坩锅，严酷的考验 | |
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scrupulous
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| adj.审慎的，小心翼翼的，完全的，纯粹的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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wholesale
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| n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售 | |
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incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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diffuse
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| v.扩散；传播；adj.冗长的；四散的，弥漫的 | |
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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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syrup
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| n.糖浆，糖水 | |
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hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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tinged
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| v.（使）发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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lustre
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| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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incarnate
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| adj.化身的，人体化的，肉色的 | |
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tongs
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| n.钳；夹子 | |
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lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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decanted
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| v.将（酒等）自瓶中倒入另一容器( decant的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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flask
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| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
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37
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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38
slumbering
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| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式） | |
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39
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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40
dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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41
downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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42
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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43
lurid
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| adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的 | |
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44
eddying
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| 涡流，涡流的形成 | |
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45
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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46
weirdly
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| 古怪地 | |
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47
conflagration
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| n.建筑物或森林大火 | |
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48
exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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49
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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50
surmounted
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| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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51
crests
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| v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的第三人称单数 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点 | |
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52
everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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53
groves
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| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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54
verdant
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| adj.翠绿的，青翠的，生疏的，不老练的 | |
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55
scintillated
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| v.（言谈举止中）焕发才智( scintillate的过去式和过去分词 )；谈笑洒脱；闪耀；闪烁 | |
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56
translucent
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| adj.半透明的；透明的 | |
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57
villas
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| 别墅，公馆( villa的名词复数 )； （城郊）住宅 | |
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58
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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59
precipices
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| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
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60
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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61
enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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62
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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63
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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64
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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65
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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67
wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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68
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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69
rivulets
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| n.小河，小溪( rivulet的名词复数 ) | |
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70
trickling
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| n.油画底色含油太多而成泡沫状突起v.滴( trickle的现在分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
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71
sluggishly
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| adv.懒惰地；缓慢地 | |
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72
parched
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| adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干 | |
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73
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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74
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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75
seething
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| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
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76
hissed
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| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
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77
ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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78
cataracts
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| n.大瀑布( cataract的名词复数 )；白内障 | |
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79
myriads
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| n.无数，极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
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80
prone
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| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
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81
propellers
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| n.螺旋桨，推进器( propeller的名词复数 ) | |
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82
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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83
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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84
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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85
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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86
sapphires
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| n.蓝宝石，钢玉宝石( sapphire的名词复数 )；蔚蓝色 | |
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87
potent
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| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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88
elixir
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| n.长生不老药，万能药 | |
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89
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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90
flasks
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| n.瓶，长颈瓶， 烧瓶( flask的名词复数 ) | |
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91
gems
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| growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
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92
conjuring
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| n.魔术 | |
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93
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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94
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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95
subverted
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| v.颠覆，破坏（政治制度、宗教信仰等）( subvert的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某人）道德败坏或不忠 | |
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96
felon
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| n.重罪犯；adj.残忍的 | |
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97
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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98
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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99
federation
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| n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会 | |
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100
overthrown
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| adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词 | |
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101
hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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102
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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103
ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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104
slumbers
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| 睡眠，安眠( slumber的名词复数 ) | |
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105
loathing
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| n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢 | |
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106
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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107
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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108
fealty
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| n.忠贞，忠节 | |
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109
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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110
braggart
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| n.吹牛者；adj.吹牛的，自夸的 | |
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111
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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112
sleepless
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| adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的 | |
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113
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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114
chivalrous
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| adj.武士精神的；对女人彬彬有礼的 | |
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115
diplomacy
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| n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕 | |
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116
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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117
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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118
acquit
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| vt.宣判无罪；(oneself)使(自己)表现出 | |
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119
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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120
sipped
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| v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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121
complaisant
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| adj.顺从的，讨好的 | |
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122
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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123
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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124
hindrance
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| n.妨碍，障碍 | |
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125
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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126
treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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127
intoxicated
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| 喝醉的，极其兴奋的 | |
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