To-day the year of probation4 imposed by the Council upon Alan Arnoldson and his companion in misfortune, in exile, and in victory, was to expire, and the long-lost wanderers were to return to their home and kindred.
Very soon after it became light hundreds of aerial boats and yachts of every variety of design and ornamentation that the taste and skill of the most highly-cultivated race of people the world had ever seen could devise, came floating in towards the vast city of Aeria from the marble palaces and villas7 which were scattered9 throughout the length and breadth of the central African Paradise.
Along the broad, smooth white roads, too, which led from[227] the southern portions of the valley, round the lake to the northern shore on which the city stood, groups of people, with here and there husbands and wives and pairs of yet unwedded lovers, were gliding11 in long, swift, easy curves on noiseless wheel-skates over the polished marble of the pavements.
Bright with the gayest and yet most perfectly12-harmonised colours, blazing with jewels and precious metals, from their gold or crystal-winged coronets to the burnished13 silver framework of their skates, splendid in stature15, and glowing with perfect health—if some man of the present day could have beheld16 these dwellers17 in Aeria on their way to hold high festival in their capital, he would have thought that he had strayed into some other and higher sphere, inhabited by some glorified18 race of beings who had left the toils19 and cares and pollutions of earth far behind them on some lower plane of existence.
Doubtless, indeed, from some such sphere the reincarnated20 spirits of those who, a hundred and thirty-three years before, had passed through the tremendous ordeal21 of the Terror, and in their hour of well-won triumph had made such a splendid future possible for their descendants, looked down with approving eyes, not undarkened by a shade of sorrow for woes22 to come, upon this glorious scene of the fruition of the harvest that they had sown, this realisation of the long-sought ideal of human brotherhood23, where there was no evil because men had learnt at last that good was better than evil.
Vast as was the stately city, which was at once the capital and the only town of Aeria, it was soon comfortably filled by the brilliant throngs24 of visitors that came pouring into it by road and through the air. The broad white streets, lined with their double groves25 of palms and tree-ferns, soon blazed with colour, and became vocal26 with greetings and laughter, and all the houses which lined them were thrown open to all visitors who chose to come and claim hospitality for the day of rejoicing.
On the terrace in front of her father’s villa8, on the slopes that rose to the west of the city, Alma stood with Isma watching[228] the brilliant scene below and around them, and speculating on the coming events of the day which for them had a supreme27 interest, such as no other inhabitant of the valley could feel.
“It will be a right royal home-coming for our two heroes, won’t it, Alma?” said Isma, slipping her little hand through her friend’s arm; “almost worthy28 of the great deeds that they have done to regain29 what will be given back to them to-day—and yet, alas30! there is to be a spot on the sun of happiness for all that. Alma, are you still quite sure that poor Alan will have to come back and not find that which above all other things he comes to seek?”
A faint flush rose to Alma’s cheeks as she replied, in a low, steady tone—
“Yes, Isma, alas! as you say, I am still sure of that, supposing always that he really does come to seek what you mean. I know that no man ever lived more worthy the love of woman than he is. Yet, God help me, I cannot give mine.
“I know, too, that he will come back to-day crowned with more honour than any Aerian, save Alexis, ever won before him since the days of our ancestors—and yet whenever I permit myself even to dream of him as a lover, a dark, beautiful, cruel face looks with black, burning eyes into mine, and two sweet, scornfully-smiling lips say in a whisper that sounds almost like a serpent’s hiss—‘You may take him now, for I have done with him. Take him and ask him to tell you how well he and I loved when my spell was strong upon him and he forgot both you and all his kindred for sake of me.’
“It is horrible, horrible beyond all thought or speech, but it is so, Isma, and I, of all the thousands of Aeria who will make merry to-day, shall be sad at heart and praying for the night to come.”
“I don’t believe it, Alma, however sincerely you may do so—as, of course, you do,” replied Isma impatiently. “It is not your true and loving self that is speaking. It is the woman who has been brooding over a shattered idol31 that never really was a man of flesh and blood.
“I tell you again—and before that sun has set you will confess[229] in your own heart that I am right—that you have never known the Alan who is coming home to-day any more than I have known the Alexis who is coming home with him. Neither you nor I have ever seen two such men as they will be—men who have passed through such experiences as no other Aerians ever had, who have suffered and conquered, dared and done, like them.
“You must put away those morbid32 fancies of yours, dearest; they are not worthy of you any more than Olga Romanoff is worthy to cause you an hour’s unhappiness. Never mind thinking about Alan as a lover now. I tell you you have never seen him, therefore it will be time enough for you to begin to do that when you do see him.
“For my own part, I don’t mind telling you—of course, strictly33 between ourselves—that though I can hardly say that I love Alexis as he is now, since I do not know what he is like, I am quite prepared to fall in love with him all over again on the slightest provocation34. And now, after that confession35, I think we had better close the discussion and get ready to go over to the city.”
This frank avowal36, uttered as it was with a delightful37 candour quite irresistible38 in its charm, brought a smile to Alma’s lips in spite of her own sombre thoughts. She slipped her arm round Isma’s waist, and led her towards one of the long windows which opened out on to the terrace under the pillared portico39 which ran the whole length of the front of the villa.
“I quite agree with you,” she said. “If that tell-tale face of yours is no better masked than it is now, when you meet your Alexis I don’t think you will have long to wait for the provocation. Ah, well, I suppose—in fact, I am sure—that you take by far the wiser view, and I would give anything to be able to look upon Alan as you are ready to do on Alexis.
“But no, it’s no use; do what I will I cannot think of him apart from that Syren who has held him in the bondage40 of her spells all these years. I know it is unreasonable41, and yet[230] he seems, even now that he has regained42 his freedom, to belong to her more than he ever did to me.”
“That, my dear Alma,” replied Isma, half seriously and half in jest, “is as nearly absurd as anything that such a serious and cultivated person as yourself could say. If I could give you a share of my more trivial temperament43 you would just say that you are still so desperately44 jealous of Olga Romanoff that you cannot bring yourself to think of Alan as a possible lover until you feel quite sure that he hates her as intensely as you do. That may not be a very heroic way of putting it, but I think we shall find it pretty near the truth before you have known the new Alan very long.”
Alma laughed more musically than mirthfully at this sally, but made no reply to it in words. There was, perhaps, more truth in the half-bantering, half-reproachful words than she would have cared to admit, even to her best-beloved and most confidential45 friend, and so she took a wise refuge in silence, from which Isma, in the gladness of her own heart, drew her own conclusions.
It might have been that there were depths in Alma’s nature which not even their life-long friendship and their common sorrow had enabled her to fathom46, but for the present she was quite satisfied that jealousy47 of Olga and anger at the advantage which Alma believed her to have taken of her power were the sole reasons that prevented her from regarding Alan as she had confessed herself ready and willing to regard Alexis.
When they left the terrace the two girls had breakfast together in Alma’s own room in a privacy which the other members of the family tacitly respected, knowing as they did that the events of the day would bear a totally different significance for them to that which they would have for all the other inhabitants of the valley.
By the time the sun began to show his disc above the ridges48 of the eastern mountains they were on their way to the city with Alma’s mother and father in one of the aerial boats that were used for transit49 about the interior of the valley.
[231]
They alighted on the flat roof of the President’s official residence, a splendid palace of the purest white marble, which stood on the northern side of the great square, from the centre of which rose the golden-domed building which served the Aerians as a meeting-place on all public occasions. It was here that the decrees of the Council were promulgated51, and here, too, on every seventh day were held the simply impressive religious services prescribed by the Aerian form of worship.
Soon after they had arrived at the President’s house a great mellow-toned bell sounded the hour of six from the cupola above the dome50, and, as the last stroke died away, a chorus of silvery chimes rose up from a hundred towers in different parts of the city, and went floating across the lake and down the valley to the southward, caught up and echoed as it went by peals52 from the thousand palaces and villas scattered about the lower slopes of the mountains.
This was the signal for the commencement of the first ceremony of the day, and the gaily53-dressed, smiling throngs of visitors to the city began to file in orderly, leisurely54 fashion into the eight wide-open doors which led to the interior of the vast temple in the middle of the central square.
In the midst of the immense open area under the dome was a space about twenty feet square, enclosed by low railings of massive gold, and in this stood three tall pillars of marble without a single flaw or vein55 to mar6 their perfect whiteness from base to capital. On each of them stood an urn5 of exquisite56 shape, each carved out of a solid block of crystal, and each containing a small quantity of ashes.
Each pillar bore an inscription57 in letters of gold let into the marble. The centre one was slightly higher than the other two, and its inscription consisted of the single word
“Natas.”
The urns58 on the other two pillars contained a larger quantity of ashes. On the pillar to the right hand, facing the main entrance to the temple, were the words—
[232]
Richard Arnold,
First Conqueror59 of the Air.
Natasha,
The Angel of the Revolution.
And on that to the left—
Alan Tremayne,
First President of the Anglo-Saxon Federation60.
Muriel Tremayne,
His Wife.
The square in which these pillars stood was the most sacred spot on all the earth in the eyes of the Aerians, sanctified as it was by the ashes of those who had made possible the Great Deliverance, and brought peace on earth after countless61 ages of strife62. Every tongue was silent, and every head was bowed in reverence63 as those who entered the temple first caught sight of the pillars and their priceless burdens.
Then the vast and ever-swelling congregation ranged itself in orderly files, all fronting towards an elevated rostrum which stood at one of the angles of the great square under the dome, formed by the junction64 of the four naves65, with their long pillared aisles66 which ran towards the four points of the compass.
Suddenly all the carillons that were still ringing out over the city ceased, and in the midst of the perfect silence the President ascended67 the rostrum to address the expectant assembly. Although he spoke68 but a little above his ordinary tone, every word could be heard with perfect distinctness throughout the immense interior of the building, for a system of electric transmitters, a development of the modern telephone, carried his voice simultaneously69 to a hundred parts of the walls, so that those who were standing70 farthest from him heard quite as distinctly as those who were close to the rostrum.
He began by a brief narration71 of all that had happened to Aeria and the world since the fatal day on which Olga[233] Romanoff had set foot on the deck of the Ithuriel to the present moment, and made no attempt to conceal72 or to minimise the tremendous and disastrous73 consequences that had flowed from that fatal and yet innocent mistake on the part of his son.
He confessed that the empire of the air, that priceless legacy74 which they had received from its first conqueror, had been lost, and that, not only the outside nations of the earth, but even Aeria itself stood upon the eve of a conflict in comparison with which even the War of the Terror itself would prove almost insignificant75. All that had been won then had now to be fought for over again, and fought for with weapons the destructiveness of which made impossible any estimate of the carnage and desolation that were about to burst upon the world.
Then he described how Alan and Alexis, acting76 under the orders of the Council, had, after vainly trying to arouse the rulers and senates of Anglo-Saxondom to a sense of their danger and responsibility, proclaimed martial77 law throughout the whole area of the Federation, reasserted the supremacy78 which the Council had resigned nearly seven years before, and taken the direct conduct of affairs into their own hands.
He told how the manhood of Europe, America, Southern Africa, and Australia had, under the influence of their appeals, roused itself from the sloth79 of prosperity and the vain dreams of democracy, and under their leadership had mustered80 millions upon millions strong to oppose those who determined81 to rivet82 the chains of despotism once more upon the limbs of free men.
The energy and devotion of the two men whose exile was to end that day had accomplished83 this miracle in less than a twelvemonth. All the mechanical resources of the Federation had been simultaneously devoted84 to the building of an aerial navy, which already numbered nearly a thousand vessels85, and more than a hundred dockyards had achieved the construction of a navy of over a thousand submarine warships87, while millions of small-arms had been sent out from Aeria, or[234] manufactured in the arsenals88 of the Federation for the equipment of the newly-created armies.
What the issue would be of the mighty89 struggle which would begin in six days, no man could tell, but all that could be done to give the victory to Aeria and the Federation had been done, and the rest lay in the hands of the God of Battles, who had given their ancestors the victory in the days of the Terror. The President concluded his address by saying—
“Those through whom, if not by whom, this calamity90 has undoubtedly91 fallen upon the world, have been recalled to Aeria by the Council, after nearly seven years of exile, to receive reinstatement in their long-forfeited rights of citizenship92, but even now they will not reassume those rights unless their welcome home is unanimous. Therefore, while their ships are still outside our mountains, if any citizen of Aeria has, even at this eleventh hour, any reason to give why they should not be permitted to recross the barriers which separate us from the rest of the world, let him or her come forward now and state it.”
He ceased, and for a few moments there was perfect silence throughout the vast congregation. Not a man or woman moved or spoke, and all eyes were turned on the President, waiting for him to speak again. In a voice whose now unrestrained emotion contrasted strongly with the former impassiveness of his tones he said—
“Then their welcome shall be unmarred by any voice of dissent93! As the father of one of the exiles I thank you for endorsing94 the sanction which, as President of the Council, I have believed it my duty to give to the return of my son Alan and his friend and companion, Alexis Masarov, who fell with him and with him has risen again.”
Hardly had the last word left his lips when salvo after salvo of aerial artillery95 roared out from mid-air all round the mountains, and came echoing down the upper gorges96 and ravines to tell the people of Aeria that the fleet which had been sent out to escort the returning exiles was already in sight.
[235]
So spacious97 were the approaches to the vast building that in less than ten minutes from the time the President had left the rostrum on hearing the salutes99 from the sky not a soul remained within its precincts.
Outside the Council Hall the scene was such as to baffle all attempts at adequate description. Hundreds of aerial craft, fashioned in every conceivable variety of design that the educated fancy of their owners could suggest, soared up from various parts of the city and its environs, and made towards the Ridge to the north of the valley.
The summit was about four thousand feet above the slope on which the city stood, and it was quite within the capacity of the pleasure-craft to scale this height. So their glittering wings beat the cool, fresh air of the morning with rapid strokes, and the whole flotilla of them soared upwards100 until their occupants were able to see over the mighty rock-wall, and the illimitable landscape beyond opened out before their expectant gaze.
The President, the Vice-President, and the twelve members of the Council with their families had embarked101 on one of the new aerial battleships, two hundred and fifty of which had been constructed during the past year. The Avenger102, as she had been named, in view of the fact that she was henceforth to be placed under Alan’s immediate103 command as flagship of the combined Aerian and Federation fleets, was the largest aerial cruiser then in existence, and embodied104 the highest structural105 skill to which the engineers of Aeria had attained106.
From the stern to the point of her ram14 she was two hundred and seventy-five feet in length, with a midships beam of thirty feet. She was sustained in the air on two pairs of wings, one working under the other. Of these, the lower and larger pair measured two hundred feet from point to point and fifty feet in their greatest breadth, while the upper pair, working nearly flush with the deck, were two-thirds of their size.
She carried ten guns on each broadside, and two bow and two stern chasers of a range limited only by the possibility of taking aim at the object to be destroyed, and her propellers[236] were capable of driving her through the air at the hitherto unheard-of speed of six hundred miles an hour.[4]
The Avenger, attended by an escort of fifty cruisers of somewhat smaller dimensions than her own, rapidly out-distanced the flotilla of pleasure-craft, and passing over the Ridge at a speed of sixty miles an hour, stopped at an elevation107 of a thousand feet above it.
From here those on her deck could see the vast oval of the valley encircled by the sentinel ships which now constantly patrolled the mountain bulwarks108 of Aeria, and which were launching hundreds of time-shells up into the air from their outer broadsides and producing a continuous roar of explosions which formed such a greeting salute98 as had never been heard on earth or in the air before.
Presently an answering roll of thunder was heard far away to the north, growing every moment louder and louder.
“There they come at last!” cried Isma, who was standing with Alma in the bow of the Avenger, eagerly scanning the northern heavens through a pair of field-glasses. “I can see the flashes of the shells quite distinctly.”
As she spoke she handed the glasses to Alma, and noticed, not without a little smile of satisfaction, that her hands trembled slightly as she raised them to her eyes.
“Yes, they are coming,” said Alma, in a tone that might have been a good deal steadier than it was. “I can see the sun shining upon the hulls109 of the ships. They are coming up very fast, evidently.”
[237]
“Of course they are!” laughed Isma. “After the poor fellows have been shut out all this time from the delights of Aeria, it is only natural that they should hasten their home-coming. Look, look! you can see them without the glasses now. What a swarm111 of them there seems to be!”
As she spoke an immense fleet, numbering nearly five hundred vessels spread out in the form of a vast crescent, the arc of which was turned towards Aeria, swept up out of the blue distance, their polished hulls glittering in the bright sunlight. In the centre of the arc and slightly elevated above the rest, shone the blue hull110 and the white glistening112 wings of the Ithuriel, and close in her wake followed the Isma.
When the advancing fleet was within five miles of the mountains it slowed down from four hundred to about fifty miles an hour. At the same instant the other fleet ran up the Aerian and Federation flags and the simply eloquent113 signal, “Welcome Home!” flew from the lofty foremast of the Avenger. It was instantly acknowledged by the Ithuriel, and then on all the five hundred vessels the Aerian and Federation flags were run to the mastheads and dipped three times in greeting.
Then the two points of the vast crescent that they formed swung slowly and regularly forward until the arc was inverted114 and the Ithuriel and the Isma came along side by side midway between the two horns.
When the two fleets were within half a mile of each other the Avenger, with twenty-five of her consorts115 on each side, swung round into line with their prows116 pointing towards the mountains, and in this order, at fifty miles an hour and an elevation of a thousand feet above the Ridge, the combined squadrons swept across the mountain barrier, and Alan and Alexis, each steering117 his own vessel86 in the conning-tower, saw for the first time, after nearly seven years of exile, the incomparable beauties of the Aerian landscape opening out before their eyes.
The combined Squadrons swept across the Mountain Barrier. Page 237.
Following the movements of the leading squadron, they dipped as soon as they had passed over the Ridge, and were[238] met on their downward flight by the hundreds of pleasure-craft which were waiting for them in mid-air.
Thousands of gaily-coloured handkerchiefs were waved in welcome to them, and many a greeting in the sign-language passed from the crews of the warships to the occupants of the pleasure-craft and back again, for some of the former had been on foreign service for nearly a year, and there were many pleasant relationships to be renewed which had been interrupted by the calls of duty.
Far below the home-comers could see the spacious streets of the great city, brilliant with the gaily attired118 throngs who had come to welcome them, and heard the greeting chorus of thousands of bells chiming in gladsome peals from hundreds of towers and minarets119 scattered over the city and its environs.
Signals were now flown from the Avenger directing the whole of Alan’s fleet, excepting the Ithuriel and the Isma, to alight on a great sloping plain to the northward120 of the city, where their crews were to disembark and then proceed to the central hall of the Temple. Acting on previous orders, the consorts of the Avenger did the same. The pleasure-craft fluttered downwards121 on to the housetops, and so the three battleships were left alone in the air, the Ithuriel now floating on the right of the Avenger and the Isma on the left.
Amid the welcoming cheers of the throngs which now filled the great square they sank slowly down, and at length alighted on the roof of the President’s palace. Then the doors of the deck-chambers opened and a last and loudest cheer of all rose up as, in full view of the assembled thousands in the square, the President and Maurice Masarov once more clasped hands with their long-exiled sons.
Then they descended123 into the interior of the palace, followed by the Council and the other guests on board the Avenger.
In the President’s room, the same in which he had received Olga Romanoff’s challenge from the skies, Alan and Alexis were welcomed home again by those who were nearest and dearest to them. Only their immediate kindred were present,[239] for, in the nature of the case, the occasion could have been nothing but a private one. Nor could mere124 words of description do justice to the tender pathos125 of the scene that was enacted126 in that inner chamber122, for but few words were spoken even by the actors in it. The emotions of such a moment were too intense and overpowering for speech, and so heart spoke to heart almost in silence.
Alma, who had, of course, remained outside in the reception-room of the palace with the Council and her parents, felt even more keenly than she had expected the truth of the prophecy that she had uttered to Isma an hour or so before. Amidst all the thousands of Aeria she was the only one whose heart was heavy on that day of universal rejoicing.
Once, and once only, her eyes had met Alan’s, but the single swift glance had been more than enough to tell her how far they now stood apart. She had seen the light of pleasure and triumph suddenly die out of his eyes and the bright flush on his cheek pale as he looked at her.
There had not even been a greeting smile on his lips as he bowed his cold, grave salutation to her and then turned away to look down upon the city and the splendid prospect127 of the valley that was opening before him. This had happened up in mid-air, just as the ships had crossed the Ridge in close order, and she had not been able to trust herself to look at him again even when they had disembarked on the roof of the palace.
The swift telegraphy of that one glance had been enough to tell her that it was not the fond, light-hearted lover of her girlhood that had come back, but a strong, stern, and prematurely128 grave man, who knew all and more than she knew of the new relation between them, and who knew also that they could not meet as they had parted, and so accepted the changed conditions with a proud reserve that drew a sharp dividing line between them which, for all she knew, might never be crossed.
Though outwardly she was calm and perfectly self-possessed, she waited in a suspense129 that almost amounted to mental agony[240] for the moment when the greetings in the President’s room would be over and Alan and Alexis would be brought out to be formally presented to the Council. Then their hands would have to meet and words would have to pass between them.
Meet as strangers they could not, for everyone knew—even he knew—why she had refused all these years to wed10 with any other man, nor yet could they meet as lovers, as Isma and Alexis had perhaps done by this time, for between them the shadow had fallen, and even if there was love in their hearts there could be none upon their lips.
If Olga Romanoff could have looked into Alma’s soul at that moment, she would have seen something very like a fulfilment of a prophecy she had made on board the old Ithuriel six years and a half before to Alan, when she first heard of her rival—“By your hand I will wring130 her heart dry, and cast it aside to wither131 like an apple shaken from the tree!” In those moments of suspense it seemed to Alma that even now her heart was withering132 under the blight133 of this great sorrow that had fallen upon her life after all her years of loving and patient waiting.
At last she heard footsteps and voices in the corridor that led from the private apartments of the palace. They were coming, and almost mechanically she turned her eyes towards the curtains which screened the doorway134 through which they would enter. They parted, and Alan came in walking by his father’s side and with Isma hanging laughing on his arm.
She shrank back a little as she saw Isma look at her for a moment and then say something to Alan. But he appeared to take no notice, and walked forward with his father to where the members of the Council were waiting to receive him. She heard the President say the formal words of presentation, and saw the rulers of Aeria one after another grasp his hands, and then those of Alexis, greeting them heartily135 as they did so.
Then the little group opened, and she saw, as in a waking dream, Alan’s tall form striding towards her with both hands outstretched, and heard a voice that was his, and yet not his, so deep a ring of unwonted gravity was there in it, say—
[241]
“Are you going to be the only one who has no greeting for the prodigal136, Alma? Have you forgotten that we were sweethearts once, and therefore surely may be friends now?”
There was an emphasis on the word “friends” that was perhaps imperceptible to all ears but hers, but she caught it, and took her cue from it instantly. With admirable tact137 he had, in that one word, shown her the only basis on which it would be possible for them to take part together in the society of the valley.
As man and woman they must be to one another as friends whose friendship was sweetened by the recollection that long ago, as boy and girl, they had been lovers. She accepted the situation with a sense of thankfulness and infinite relief, and, frankly138 placing her hands in his and summoning all her self-command to her aid, she looked steadily139 up into his bronzed, bearded face, and said gravely and sweetly—
“You know that that is not so, Alan, and if my welcome is a little tardy140 it is none the less sincere for that reason. There were others who had a prior claim, and so I waited, for it is only right that friends should come after kindred. Welcome home! I suppose we are going to the Council Hall now, to see what we are all longing141 so much to see—the Golden Wings once more upon your brows.”
“Yes,” replied Alan colouring slightly, as he noticed her upward glance at his sable142 head-gear, “we are going there immediately, I believe, but,” he continued in a lower tone and still holding her hand in his, “long and anxiously as I have looked forward to to-day and its promise, half of that promise will be betrayed unless you tell me first that you believe I have fairly won the right to wear the Golden Wings again. Tell me, now, do you in your heart think so?”
“If you have not done so,” she replied, only keeping her voice steady by a supreme effort, “then it would be hopeless for any man to look for forgiveness on earth. You have fallen and you have risen again, and to-day there are no two men in Aeria more worthy of honour than you and Alexis are.”
[242]
He looked down into the clear depths of her soft grey eyes as she spoke, and in another instant he might have forgotten that which sealed his lips to all words of love, and all the reserve to which he had been schooling143 himself for so long, but at that moment Alma’s mother came towards them saying that the President was ready to take Alan to the Council Hall, and—this with a smile—that thousands should not be kept waiting for the sake of one. Her words recalled him to himself, and, with an inclination144 of his black-plumed head, he said—
“That is enough, for now I know that I have heard the truth from the lips of my severest judge, and I am well content with it. I have not lost everything if you believe that I have regained my honour.”
“We all believe that, Alan,” said Alma’s mother before her daughter could reply; “and, more than that, I know of no one in Aeria who thinks that you ever really lost it. Now go to your father. He is thinking of the thousands who are waiting anxiously for you in the Council Hall. You can finish this conversation later on.”
He accepted the dismissal with a smile, and as he went back he saw Isma slip away from Alexis’ side with a tell-tale blush on her lovely face, and, giving him a saucy145, laughing glance as she passed him, run lightly across the room to Alma’s side.
“Well,” she said, reading too swiftly and not very correctly the altered expression of her friend’s face, “have you made friends, then, after all? I thought you would, and—oh, Alma, I am so happy!”
“Yes,” replied Alma gravely, though she could not repress a smile at the radiant face that looked up at hers, “we have made friends. But you seem to have done something more than that. Your explanations”—
“There were no explanations at all,” interrupted Isma, rosy146 red from neck to brow. “When we met in the room he picked me up in his arms before everybody and kissed me—and after that of course there was nothing to be said.”
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
Christian
|
|
| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
momentous
|
|
| adj.重要的，重大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
ridge
|
|
| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
probation
|
|
| n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
urn
|
|
| n.（有座脚的）瓮；坟墓；骨灰瓮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
mar
|
|
| vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
villas
|
|
| 别墅，公馆( villa的名词复数 )； （城郊）住宅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
villa
|
|
| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
scattered
|
|
| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
wed
|
|
| v.娶，嫁，与…结婚 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
gliding
|
|
| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
burnished
|
|
| adj.抛光的，光亮的v.擦亮（金属等），磨光( burnish的过去式和过去分词 )；被擦亮，磨光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
ram
|
|
| (random access memory)随机存取存储器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
stature
|
|
| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
beheld
|
|
| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
dwellers
|
|
| n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
glorified
|
|
| 美其名的，变荣耀的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
toils
|
|
| 网 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
reincarnated
|
|
| v.赋予新形体，使转世化身( reincarnate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
ordeal
|
|
| n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
woes
|
|
| 困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
brotherhood
|
|
| n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
throngs
|
|
| n.人群( throng的名词复数 )v.成群，挤满( throng的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
groves
|
|
| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
vocal
|
|
| adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
supreme
|
|
| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
worthy
|
|
| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
regain
|
|
| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
alas
|
|
| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
idol
|
|
| n.偶像，红人，宠儿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
morbid
|
|
| adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
strictly
|
|
| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
provocation
|
|
| n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
confession
|
|
| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
avowal
|
|
| n.公开宣称，坦白承认 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
delightful
|
|
| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
irresistible
|
|
| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
portico
|
|
| n.柱廊，门廊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
bondage
|
|
| n.奴役，束缚 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
unreasonable
|
|
| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
regained
|
|
| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
temperament
|
|
| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
desperately
|
|
| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
confidential
|
|
| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
fathom
|
|
| v.领悟，彻底了解 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
jealousy
|
|
| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
ridges
|
|
| n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
transit
|
|
| n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
dome
|
|
| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
promulgated
|
|
| v.宣扬（某事物）( promulgate的过去式和过去分词 )；传播；公布；颁布（法令、新法律等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
peals
|
|
| n.（声音大而持续或重复的）洪亮的响声( peal的名词复数 )；隆隆声；洪亮的钟声；钟乐v.（使）（钟等）鸣响，（雷等）发出隆隆声( peal的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
gaily
|
|
| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
leisurely
|
|
| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
vein
|
|
| n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
exquisite
|
|
| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
inscription
|
|
| n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
urns
|
|
| n.壶( urn的名词复数 )；瓮；缸；骨灰瓮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
conqueror
|
|
| n.征服者，胜利者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
federation
|
|
| n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
countless
|
|
| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
strife
|
|
| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
reverence
|
|
| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
junction
|
|
| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
naves
|
|
| n.教堂正厅( nave的名词复数 )；本堂；中央部；车轮的中心部 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
aisles
|
|
| n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
ascended
|
|
| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
spoke
|
|
| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
simultaneously
|
|
| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
narration
|
|
| n.讲述，叙述；故事；记叙体 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
conceal
|
|
| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
disastrous
|
|
| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
legacy
|
|
| n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
insignificant
|
|
| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
acting
|
|
| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
martial
|
|
| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
supremacy
|
|
| n.至上；至高权力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
sloth
|
|
| n.[动]树懒；懒惰，懒散 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
mustered
|
|
| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
rivet
|
|
| n.铆钉；vt.铆接，铆牢；集中(目光或注意力) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
accomplished
|
|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
devoted
|
|
| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
vessels
|
|
| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
vessel
|
|
| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
warships
|
|
| 军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
arsenals
|
|
| n.兵工厂，军火库( arsenal的名词复数 )；任何事物的集成 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
calamity
|
|
| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
undoubtedly
|
|
| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
citizenship
|
|
| n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
dissent
|
|
| n./v.不同意，持异议 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
endorsing
|
|
| v.赞同( endorse的现在分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
artillery
|
|
| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
gorges
|
|
| n.山峡，峡谷( gorge的名词复数 )；咽喉v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的第三人称单数 )；作呕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
spacious
|
|
| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
salute
|
|
| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
salutes
|
|
| n.致敬，欢迎，敬礼( salute的名词复数 )v.欢迎，致敬( salute的第三人称单数 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
upwards
|
|
| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
embarked
|
|
| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
avenger
|
|
| n. 复仇者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
immediate
|
|
| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
embodied
|
|
| v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
structural
|
|
| adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
attained
|
|
| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
elevation
|
|
| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
bulwarks
|
|
| n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
hulls
|
|
| 船体( hull的名词复数 )； 船身； 外壳； 豆荚 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
hull
|
|
| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
swarm
|
|
| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
glistening
|
|
| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
eloquent
|
|
| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
inverted
|
|
| adj.反向的，倒转的v.使倒置，使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
consorts
|
|
| n.配偶( consort的名词复数 )；（演奏古典音乐的）一组乐师；一组古典乐器；一起v.结伴( consort的第三人称单数 )；交往；相称；调和 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
prows
|
|
| n.船首( prow的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
steering
|
|
| n.操舵装置 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
attired
|
|
| adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服，使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
minarets
|
|
| n.（清真寺旁由报告祈祷时刻的人使用的）光塔( minaret的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
northward
|
|
| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
downwards
|
|
| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
chamber
|
|
| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
descended
|
|
| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
pathos
|
|
| n.哀婉，悲怆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
enacted
|
|
| 制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
prospect
|
|
| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
prematurely
|
|
| adv.过早地，贸然地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
suspense
|
|
| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
wring
|
|
| n.扭绞；v.拧，绞出，扭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
wither
|
|
| vt.使凋谢，使衰退，(用眼神气势等)使畏缩；vi.枯萎，衰退，消亡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
withering
|
|
| 使人畏缩的，使人害羞的，使人难堪的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
blight
|
|
| n.枯萎病；造成破坏的因素；vt.破坏，摧残 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
135
heartily
|
|
| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
136
prodigal
|
|
| adj.浪费的，挥霍的，放荡的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
137
tact
|
|
| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
138
frankly
|
|
| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
139
steadily
|
|
| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
140
tardy
|
|
| adj.缓慢的，迟缓的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
141
longing
|
|
| n.（for）渴望 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
142
sable
|
|
| n.黑貂；adj.黑色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
143
schooling
|
|
| n.教育；正规学校教育 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
144
inclination
|
|
| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
145
saucy
|
|
| adj.无礼的；俊俏的；活泼的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
146
rosy
|
|
| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |