Presently from out of the dusk a figure approached, tiptoeing across the floor.
“He is dying!”
31 The words were whispered in German. The speaker, Grey observed, was of medium height, but broad of shoulder and of erect4 military bearing. The ends of his moustache were trained upward after the fashion affected5 by the German Emperor.
Grey nodded his head in token that he understood.
“Dr. Zagaie is here. He has just administered nitro-glycerine and tincture of aconite. We are hoping that he may regain6 consciousness.”
Objects were now becoming more clearly defined. Grey could see the bed now, though its occupant was hidden by the bulky form of the physician, who had his fingers on the dying man’s pulse, and by the black-clad, slender figure of a woman who was pressing a handkerchief to her eyes. At the foot of the bed stood a white-capped and white-cuffed nurse.
“Let us hope,” Grey responded.
The situation was most trying. He was with those who, it was apparent, knew him extremely well, and yet were to him utter strangers. He was almost afraid to speak lest he betray himself, and32 if the necessity for learning something concerning his associates and associations had not been so urgently important he would have retreated without waiting further developments. He was nervously7 a-tremble, his fingers were twitching8 involuntarily and alternately waves of hot and cold bathed him from head to heel. The atmosphere of the room stifled9 him; the stertorous10 breathing of the invalid11 oppressed him, the gloom and the whispers and the soft tread of the persons present drove him frantic12. He was seized with an almost uncontrollable impulse to shout, to rush about, to pull back the curtains and let in some daylight. He gripped his hat until the brim cracked in his hand, the sound cutting the silence discordantly13.
“Sit down, Herr Arndt. We are expecting the Reverend Father. I sent Lutz for him half an hour ago.”
Lutz! Had the dusk been less deep the surprise that came over Grey’s features must have been observed. Lutz! Could it be possible that his valet was here in Paris with him, he asked himself. And instantly he negatived the answer. Such a supposition was beyond reason. He had misunderstood,33 or it was another Lutz. The name was not uncommon14.
He placed his hat on a table and took a chair near a window, from which he could look into the court below. The man who had addressed him joined the group at the bedside. Johann quietly opened the door and went out, closing it as quietly behind him. The silence became painful. The inhalations and exhalations of the patient grew less strident. The sobs15 of the Fraülein, which had at intervals16 punctured17 the stillness, were suppressed.
Then, of a sudden, there was a commotion18 about the bed. The dying man, who for hours had been gazing fixedly19 at the ceiling, turned his eyes upon his watchers and moved his head feebly. The doctor beckoned20 the nurse.
“Raise his head and shoulders a trifle. Quick, another pillow!”
Promptly21 and deftly22 the nurse obeyed.
“The stimulants23 are acting,” murmured the Herr Captain to the Fraülein: “he has responded, but it will be but temporary.”
She wiped her eyes with her wet handkerchief,34 but said nothing. The invalid’s gaze passed each of the four in turn. Then his lips moved, and the doctor, bending down, placed his ear close to his mouth.
“Monsieur Arndt,” the physician said, in a low tone, as he straightened himself, “it is Monsieur Arndt that he wants.”
The other three turned towards Grey. Captain Lindenwald raised his hand with a beckoning24 gesture.
“He wants you,” he whispered; and as the American approached the bed they made way for him. It was a face very thin and drawn25 that met Grey’s view. Very sallow, too, and parchment-like; the nose long and peaked, and the under lip, where it showed above the snow-white beard, darkly purple. A great shock of hair vied with the pillows in whiteness. In the tired eyes was a look of recognition.
“Lean over,” said Dr. Zagaie; “he wishes to speak to you. His voice is very weak.”
A sensation of repulsion had swept over Grey at sight of the old man, and now, to bring his face close to that of the invalid upon whom death had35 already set its mark was sickeningly repugnant. But with an effort of will he bent26 his head. A withered27, wrinkled hand gripped his wrist and for the hundredth part of a second he recoiled28. The voice that breathed into his ear was little more than a sigh, and he strained to gather the words.
“Take it,” he heard; “it is yours. The key——”
And then the utterances29 sank so low as to be unintelligible30. That the old man had spoken in English was a circumstance over which Grey marvelled31 quite as much as he did over the ambiguous command. He stood erect again and would have stepped back, but the grip of the sufferer was still upon his arm. Then, from the glazing32 eyes came an appeal that was unmistakable, and again Grey bent his ear.
“The throne,” breathed the voice feebly; “it is yours. Take it!” This much the listener heard quite clearly, mentally commenting that the speaker was delirious33. But from the sentences that followed he could only glean34 a word here and there. “Key” was mentioned again, and “box,”36 and he thought he heard “proofs,” and something that sounded like “Gare du Nord.”
At length the fingers on his wrist relaxed and the eyes of Herr Schlippenbach closed. Instantly and with professional celerity Dr. Zagaie plunged35 the needle of a hypodermic syringe into the fainting man’s arm. Simultaneously36 there was a gentle tap on the door, and without waiting to be bidden a florid-faced priest entered, carrying a small black leather case.
Grey resumed his place by the window, his brain teeming37 with problems so enigmatical as to defy even theoretical solution. The dying man was delirious, of course, he argued; therefore his words were unworthy of consideration. And yet, he answered himself, he had made a supreme38 effort to convey a message and he had chosen to phrase it in not his own tongue but his listener’s, to make sure that it would be understood. He felt like a man in a maze39. At every turn there was some new surprise; and he was going on and on, getting farther and farther into the tangle40, without as yet seeing any chance of extricating41 himself.
Meanwhile, unnoticed by him, preparations for37 the Sacrament of Extreme Unction were being hurriedly made. The priest had donned his alb and stole and poured from a cruet the holy oil. The next minute the voice of the cleric, clear and distinct, cleaving42 the hush43 of the room, startled Grey from his meditation44. The droning of the Latin ritual, solemn and awesome45, struck a new chord in his emotional being. He got to his feet and stood with clasped hands and bowed head. Now the priest was anointing the dying man’s eyes. With oily thumb he made the sign of the cross and recited the words: “Through this holy unction, and His most blessed mercy, may the Lord pardon thee whatever sins thou hast committed by thy sight, Amen.” And then his ears, his nose, his mouth, his hands, his feet were each in turn anointed with the same form of supplication46.
The ceremony concluded, Dr. Zagaie again stepped forward, taking the place vacated by the priest. As he did so Herr Schlippenbach, who had been breathing softly, peacefully, with closed lids, opened his eyes wide with a look of sudden horror. There was a quick, convulsive movement38 that stirred the coverlet, a long deep-drawn sigh, and the aged47 man lay motionless.
Fraülein von Altdorf turned away, grief-stricken and horrified48, from the spectacle of death, and Grey for the first time saw her face. It was more than pretty, he thought, with its big, sad blue eyes and its full, red-lipped mouth all a-quiver with emotion. And her hair, which shone even in the dusk of that darkened apartment with a lustre49 of its own imparting, was very abundant and very beautiful. He realised that she was coming towards him and he took a step forward to meet her. She raised her arms and stretched out her hands gropingly until they rested on his shoulders, and instinctively50 he knew that she had grown suddenly faint. He clasped her swaying figure about the waist and supported her to a couch.
“Dr. Zagaie,” he called, impatiently, “Mlle. von Altdorf requires a restorative.”
Captain Lindenwald, who had been speaking to the nurse, turned solicitously51 at the words.
“My dear,” he cried, kneeling beside the prostrate52 girl, “my dear, let me get you some wine; the strain has been too much for you.”
39 But the Fr?ulein motioned him away.
“I shall be quite myself presently,” she said.
Nevertheless Dr. Zagaie insisted on her taking a sedative53.
After a little Grey withdrew, and not without some difficulty found his apartment, which was on the same floor, but in another part of the hotel. In his absence his room had been put in order, and there now lay upon the table a blue envelope, addressed in a distinctly English hand to “M. Max Arndt.” Though it was undoubtedly54 meant for him it was with rather a sense of impropriety that he took it up and tore off the end. Revelation after revelation had followed one another so rapidly that afternoon that he was growing callous55 to discovery, and when he read—
My Dear Max:
I shall be unable to dine with you tonight as I promised, but will meet you later in the Café Américain if you can arrange it—say between eleven and midnight. Jack56.
—it was with scarcely a tremour of surprise. Indeed there was something in the tone of the scrawl—something, perhaps, in the penmanship, that gave him a sense of reassurance57. The dying Herr Schlippenbach had affected him oddly. Nearness40 to him had produced a sort of emotional nausea58, and for some reason which he could not explain he had experienced a violent antipathy59 to Captain Lindenwald. He realized that, surrounding the little company of which he had so strangely found himself one, there was a mystery which baffled his understanding. Then the last words of the old German recurred60 to him, and again he pondered as to whether they bore any significance or were merely the murmurings of dementia. As the clock on the mantel-shelf chimed seven, a knock sounded on the door, and in answer to his “Entrez!” Johann entered.
“Will Herr Arndt dress for dinner?” he asked. “Herr Captain Lindenwald is not dressing61, and thought perhaps Herr Arndt would dine with him in the salle à manger. Fr?ulein von Altdorf is indisposed, and is having some tea and toast in her room.
“No, Johann,” Grey replied, after a moment’s consideration, “I won’t dress. Give my compliments to the Herr Captain, and say that I’m feeling a bit seedy and will dine here alone, if he will be so good as to excuse me.”
41 Johann bowed and was about to go, but stopped with his hand on the doorknob.
“Will Herr Arndt order his dinner now?” he queried62; and Grey named the dishes.
His appetite, he all at once discovered, was excellent, and when the table had been spread and the courses followed one another in leisurely63 succession and with admirable service, he found himself eating with the relish64 that betokens65 good digestion66. It seemed, too, when he had finished and lighted a cigarette that he could think more calmly and coherently. The windows of his room opened upon a narrow balcony, and placing a chair he stepped out and sat there meditative67 above the changeful tide of the boulevard which flowed unceasingly below.
He was no longer exercised over the possible effect of his cables, for he reflected that Carey Grey, so far as all Paris save one man knew, was still dead. A message or a messenger to the H?tel Grammont would find no such person. His changed appearance, his changed name, and his changed associates were a disguise that must prove quite impenetrable. He would therefore42 have ample time, unhampered by either enemies or friends, to delve68 into the perplexing riddle69 that confronted him. It would be policy, he argued, to delay his return to America until he could trace his movements abroad. The difficulties that he must encounter he did not pretend to belittle70. When he strove to lay out a plan of action he was balked71 at the very outset. To ask questions was to betray himself, and yet it must be a very long and tedious, not to say perilous72, procedure to attempt to drift blindly with the current without either chart or compass to warn him of rocks and shoals.
The twilight73 deepened into night, and as the stars sparkled into the darkening canopy74 above the electric lights flashed into a brighter brilliancy along the boulevard below. Grey’s cigarette had been tossed away, and he sat listlessly watching the vari-coloured lamps of the cabs as they passed to and fro—now a green, now a red, now a yellow. He had moved his chair to the space of balcony between the windows to escape an annoying draft, and from where he sat he could neither see into his room nor be seen from it. The scratching of a match inside, however, was plainly audible.43 Someone evidently was lighting75 his candles. And then the sound of voices came to him, and he pricked76 his ears.
“It is indeed a catastrophe,” he heard. The speaker was Johann. The accent was unmistakable.
“You have no idea. It is worse, a thousand times worse than you know——”
Grey, with difficulty, choked back an exclamation77.
“Lutz!” he muttered to himself, in astonishment78. “By all that’s good! Lutz! Here in Paris, and with me.”
“Yes,” the valet continued, “Herr Schlippenbach was necessary to Herr Arndt. Without Herr Schlippenbach, Herr Arndt is another man. He is mad, Johann, and filled with wild notions. He does not know his own people. He fancies he is someone else. Herr Schlippenbach was his balance wheel.”
“So!” murmured Johann. “So!”
“I have a great fear we shall never get him to Kürschdorf at all.”
“But the Herr Captain?”
44 “Oh, yes, the Herr Captain will do his best, I am sure,” Lutz assented79; “but it will be a mad Prince, and not a sane80 one, he will have on his hands.”
The comment that Johann made was not distinguishable. They were going towards the door, which Grey next heard open and then close sharply, forced by the draft from the window.
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1
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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alcove
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| n.凹室 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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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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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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7
nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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8
twitching
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| n.颤搐 | |
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stifled
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| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
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stertorous
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| adj.打鼾的 | |
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invalid
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| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
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frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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discordantly
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| adv.不一致地，不和谐地 | |
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uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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15
sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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16
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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17
punctured
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| v.在（某物）上穿孔( puncture的过去式和过去分词 )；刺穿（某物）；削弱（某人的傲气、信心等）；泄某人的气 | |
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18
commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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fixedly
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| adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地 | |
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beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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deftly
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| adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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23
stimulants
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| n.兴奋剂( stimulant的名词复数 )；含兴奋剂的饮料；刺激物；激励物 | |
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24
beckoning
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| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
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25
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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26
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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27
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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28
recoiled
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| v.畏缩( recoil的过去式和过去分词 )；退缩；报应；返回 | |
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29
utterances
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| n.发声( utterance的名词复数 )；说话方式；语调；言论 | |
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30
unintelligible
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| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
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31
marvelled
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| v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
glazing
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| n.玻璃装配业；玻璃窗；上釉；上光v.装玻璃( glaze的现在分词 )；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神 | |
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33
delirious
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| adj.不省人事的，神智昏迷的 | |
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34
glean
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| v.收集(消息、资料、情报等) | |
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35
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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36
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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37
teeming
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| adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注 | |
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38
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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maze
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| n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑 | |
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40
tangle
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| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
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41
extricating
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| v.使摆脱困难，脱身( extricate的现在分词 ) | |
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42
cleaving
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| v.劈开，剁开，割开( cleave的现在分词 ) | |
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43
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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44
meditation
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| n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录 | |
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45
awesome
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| adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的 | |
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46
supplication
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| n.恳求，祈愿，哀求 | |
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47
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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48
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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49
lustre
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| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
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50
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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51
solicitously
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| adv.热心地，热切地 | |
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52
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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53
sedative
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| adj.使安静的，使镇静的；n. 镇静剂，能使安静的东西 | |
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54
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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55
callous
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| adj.无情的，冷淡的，硬结的，起老茧的 | |
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56
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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57
reassurance
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| n.使放心，使消除疑虑 | |
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58
nausea
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| n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶) | |
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59
antipathy
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| n.憎恶；反感，引起反感的人或事物 | |
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60
recurred
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| 再发生，复发( recur的过去式和过去分词 )； 治愈 | |
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61
dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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62
queried
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| v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问 | |
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63
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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64
relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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65
betokens
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| v.预示，表示( betoken的第三人称单数 ) | |
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66
digestion
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| n.消化，吸收 | |
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67
meditative
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| adj.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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68
delve
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| v.深入探究，钻研 | |
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69
riddle
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| n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜 | |
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70
belittle
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| v.轻视，小看，贬低 | |
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71
balked
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| v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的过去式和过去分词 )；（指马）不肯跑 | |
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72
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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73
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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74
canopy
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| n.天篷，遮篷 | |
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75
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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76
pricked
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| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
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77
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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78
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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79
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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80
sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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