On either side the broad stream humanity shrank from Ra’s seething7 disc. The shaduf workers had abandoned their skin-covered buckets and bamboo poles to seek shelter from the heat beneath a straggling tree or a straw mat elevated on stalks of ripe sugar-cane. The boats of the fishermen lay in little coves8, where the sails were spread as awnings10 to shade their crews. The fellaheen laborers11 had all retired13 to their clay huts to sleep through this fiercest period of the afternoon heat.
On the Nile, however, a small steam dahabeah puffed15 lazily along, stemming with its slow motion the sweep of the mighty16 river toward the sea. The Arab stoker, naked and sweating, stood as far as possible from the little boiler17 and watched it with a look{10} of absolute repulsion upon his swarthy face. The engineer, also an Arab, lay stretched upon the deck half asleep, but with both ears alert to catch any sound that might denote the fact that the straining, rickety engine was failing to perform its full duty. Back of the tiny cabin sat the dusky steersman, as naked and inert18 as his fellows, while under the deck awning9 reclined the one white man of the party, a young Englishman clothed in khaki knickerbockers and a white silk shirt well open at the throat.
There were no tourists in Egypt at this season. If you find a white man on the Nile in April, he is either attached to some exploration party engaged in excavations19 or a government employee from Cairo, Assyut or Luxor, bent20 upon an urgent mission.
The dahabeah was not a government boat, though, so that our Englishman was more likely to be an explorer than an official. It was evident he was no stranger to tropical climes, if we judged by his sun-browned skin and the quiet resignation to existing conditions with which he puffed his black briar and relaxed his muscular frame. He did not sleep, but lay with his head upon a low wicker rest that enabled him to sweep the banks of the Nile with his keen blue eyes.
The three Arabs regarded their master from time to time with stealthy glances, in which wonder was mingled21 with a certain respect. The foreigner was a fool to travel during the heat of the day; no doubt of that at all. The native knows when to work and when{11} to sleep—a lesson the European never learns. Yet this was no casual adventurer exploiting his folly23, but a man who had lived among them for years, who spoke24 Arabic fluently and could even cipher25 those hieroglyphics26 of the dead ages which abound27 throughout modern Egypt. Hassan, Abdallah and Ali knew this well, for they had accompanied Winston Bey on former expeditions, and heard him translate the ugly signs graven upon the ugly stones into excellent Arabic. It was all very wonderful in its way, but quite useless and impractical28, if their opinion were allowed. And the master himself was impractical. He did foolish things at all times, and sacrificed his own comfort and that of his servants in order to accomplish unnecessary objects. Had he not paid well for his whims30, Winston Bey might have sought followers31 in vain; but the Arab will even roast himself upon the Nile on an April afternoon to obtain the much-coveted gold of the European.
At four o’clock a slight breeze arose; but what matter? The journey was nearly done now. They had rounded a curve in the river, and ahead of them, lying close to the east bank, were the low mountains of Gebel Abu Fedah. At the south, where the rocks ended abruptly32, lay a small grove33 of palms. Between the palms and the mountains was the beaten path leading from the Nile to the village of Al-Kusiyeh, a mile or so inland, which was the particular place the master had come so far and so fast to visit.{12}
The breeze, although hardly felt, served to refresh the enervated34 travelers. Winston sat up and knocked the ashes from his pipe, making a careful scrutiny35 at the same time of the lifeless landscape ahead.
The mountains of gray limestone36 looked very uninviting as they lay reeking38 under the terrible heat of the sun. From their base to the river was no sign of vegetation, but only a hardened clay surface. The desert sands had drifted in in places. Even under the palms it lay in heavy drifts, for the land between the Nile and Al-Kusiyeh was abandoned to nature, and the fellaheen had never cared to redeem39 it.
The water was deep by the east bank, for the curve of the river swept the current close to the shore. The little dahabeah puffed noisily up to the bank and deposited the Englishman upon the hard clay. Then it backed across into shallow water, and Hassan shut down the engine while Abdallah dropped the anchor.
Winston now wore his cork40 helmet and carried a brown umbrella lined with green. With all his energy, the transition from the deck of the dahabeah to this oven-like atmosphere of the shore bade fair to overcome his resolution to proceed to the village.
But it would never do to recall his men so soon. They would consider it an acknowledgment that he had erred41 in judgment42, and the only way to manage an Arab is to make him believe you know what you are about. The palm trees were not far away. He would rest in their shade until the sun was lower.{13}
A dozen steps and the perspiration43 started from every pore. But he kept on, doggedly44, until he came to the oblong shadow cast by the first palm, and there he squatted45 in the sand and mopped his face with his handkerchief.
The silence was oppressive. There was no sound of any kind to relieve it. Even the beetles46 were hidden far under the sand, and there was no habitation near enough for a donkey’s bray47 or a camel’s harsh growl48 to be heard. The Nile flows quietly at this point, and the boat had ceased to puff14 and rattle49 its machinery50.
Winston brushed aside the top layer of sand with his hands, for that upon the surface was so hot that contact with it was unbearable51. Then he extended his body to rest, turning slightly this way and that to catch in his face the faint breath of the breeze that passed between the mountains and the Nile. At the best he was doomed52 to an uncomfortable hour or two, and he cast longing53 glances at the other bits of shade to note whether any seemed more inviting37 than the one he had selected.
During this inspection54 his eye caught a patch of white some distance away. It was directly over the shadow of the furthest tree of the group, and aroused his curiosity. After a minute he arose in a leisurely55 fashion and walked over to the spot of white, which on nearer approach proved to be a soiled cotton tunic56 or burnous. It lay half buried in the sand, and at one end were the folds of a dirty turban, with faded{14} red and yellow stripes running across the coarse cloth.
Winston put his foot on the burnous and the thing stirred and emitted a muffled57 growl. At that he kicked the form viciously; but now it neither stirred nor made a sound. Instead, a narrow slit58 appeared between the folds of the turban, and an eye, black and glistening59, looked steadfastly60 upon the intruder.
“Do you take me for a beast, you imbecile, that you dare to disturb my slumbers61?” asked a calm voice, in Arabic.
The heat had made Winston Bey impatient.
“Yes; you are a dog. Get up!” he commanded, kicking the form again.
The turban was removed, disclosing a face, and the man sat up, crossing his bare legs beneath him as he stared fixedly62 at his persecutor63.
Aside from the coarse burnous, sadly discolored in many places, the fellow was unclothed. His skin showed at the breast and below his knees, and did not convey an impression of immaculate cleanliness. Of slender build, with broad shoulders, long hands and feet and sinewy64 arms and legs, the form disclosed was curiously65 like those so often presented in the picture-writing upon the walls of ancient temples. His forehead was high, his chin square, his eyes large and soft, his cheeks full, his mouth wide and sensual, his nose short and rounded. His jaws66 protruded67 slightly and his hair was smooth and fine. In color the tint68 of his{15} skin was not darker than the tanned cuticle69 of the Englishman, but the brown was softer, and resembled coffee that has been plentifully70 diluted71 with cream. A handsome fellow in his way, with an expression rather unconcerned than dignified72, which masked a countenance73 calculated to baffle even a shrewder and more experienced observer than Winston Bey.
Said the Englishman, looking at him closely:
“You are a Copt.”
Inadvertently he had spoken in his mother tongue and the man laughed.
“If you follow the common prejudice and consider every Copt a Christian,” he returned in purest English, “then I am no Copt; but if you mean that I am an Egyptian, and no dog of an Arab, then, indeed, you are correct in your estimate.”
Winston uttered an involuntary exclamation74 of surprise. For a native to speak English is not so unusual; but none that he knew expressed himself with the same ease and confidence indicated in this man’s reply. He brushed away some of the superheated sand and sat down facing his new acquaintance.
“Perhaps,” said he—a touch of sarcasm75 in his voice—“I am speaking with a descendant of the Great Rameses himself.”
“Better than that,” rejoined the other, coolly. “My forefather77 was Ahtka-Rā, of true royal blood, who ruled the second Rameses as cleverly as that foolish monarch78 imagined he ruled the Egyptians.”{16}
Winston seemed amused.
“I regret,” said he, with mock politeness, “that I have never before heard of your great forefather.”
“But why should you?” asked the Egyptian. “You are, I suppose, one of those uneasy investigators79 that prowl through Egypt in a stupid endeavor to decipher the inscriptions80 on the old temples and tombs. You can read a little—yes; but that little puzzles and confuses you. Your most learned scholars—your Mariettes and Petries and Masperos—discover one clue and guess at twenty, and so build up a wonderful history of the ancient kings that is absurd to those who know the true records.”
“Who knows them?” asked Winston, quickly.
The man dropped his eyes.
“No one, perhaps,” he mumbled81. “At the best, but one or two. But you would know more if you first studied the language of the ancient Egyptians, so that when you deciphered the signs and picture writings you could tell with some degree of certainty what they meant.”
Winston sniffed82. “Answer my question!” said he, sternly. “Who knows the true records, and where are they?”
“Ah, I am very ignorant,” said the other, shaking his head with an humble83 expression. “Who am I, the poor Kāra, to dispute with the scholars of Europe?”
The Englishman fanned himself with his helmet and sat silent for a time.{17}
“But this ancestor of yours—the man who ruled the Great Rameses—who was he?” he asked, presently.
“Men called him Ahtka-Rā, as I said. He was descended84 from the famous Queen Hatshepset, and his blood was pure. Indeed, my ancestor should have ruled Egypt as its king, had not the first Rameses overthrown85 the line of Mēnēs and established a dynasty of his own. But Ahtka-Rā, unable to rule in his own name, nevertheless ruled through the weak Rameses, under whom he bore the titles of High Priest of āmen, Lord of the Harvests and Chief Treasurer86. All of the kingdom he controlled and managed, sending Rameses to wars to keep him occupied, and then, when the king returned, setting him to build temples and palaces, and to erect87 monuments to himself, that he might have no excuse to interfere88 with the real business of the government. You, therefore, who read the inscriptions of the vain king wonder at his power and call him great; and, in your ignorance, you know not even the name of Ahtka-Rā, the most wonderful ruler that Egypt has ever known.”
“It is true that we do not know him,” returned Winston, scrutinizing89 the man before him with a puzzled expression. “You seem better informed than the Egyptologists!”
Kāra dipped his hands into the sand beside him and let the grains slip between his fingers, watching them thoughtfully.{18}
“Rameses the Second,” said he, “reigned sixty-five years, and—”
“Sixty-seven years,” corrected Winston. “It is written.”
“In the inscriptions, which are false,” explained the Egyptian. “My ancestor concealed90 the death of Rameses for two years, because Meremptah, who would succeed him, was a deadly enemy. But Meremptah discovered the secret at last, and at once killed Ahtka-Rā, who was very old and unable to oppose him longer. And after that the treasure cities of Pithom and Raamses, which my ancestor had built, were seized by the new king, but no treasures were found in them. Even in death my great ancestor was able to deceive and humble his enemies.”
“Listen, Kāra,” said Winston, his voice trembling with suppressed eagerness; “to know that which you have told to me means that you have discovered some sort of record hitherto unknown to scientists. To us who are striving to unravel91 the mystery of ancient Egyptian history this information will be invaluable92. Let me share your knowledge, and tell me what you require in exchange for your secret. You are poor; I will make you rich. You are unknown; I will make the name of Kāra famous. You are young; you shall enjoy life. Speak, my brother, and believe that I will deal justly by you—on the word of an Englishman.”
The Egyptian did not even look up, but continued{19} playing with the sand. Yet over his grave features a smile slowly spread.
“It is not five minutes,” he murmured softly, “since I was twice kicked and called a dog. Now I am the Englishman’s brother, and he will make me rich and famous.”
Winston frowned, as if he would like to kick the fellow again. But he resisted the temptation.
“What would you?” he asked, indifferently. “The burnous might mean an Arab. It is good for the Arab to be kicked at times.”
Possibly Kāra neither saw the jest nor understood the apology. His unreadable countenance was still turned toward the sand, and he answered nothing.
The Englishman moved uneasily. Then he extracted a cigarette case from his pocket, opened it, and extended it toward the Egyptian.
Kāra looked at the cigarettes and his face bore the first expression of interest it had yet shown. Very deliberately93 he bowed, touched his forehead and then his heart with his right hand, and afterward94 leaned forward and calmly selected a cigarette.
Winston produced a match and lighted it, the Egyptian’s eyes seriously following his every motion. He applied95 the light to his own cigarette first; then to that of Kāra. Another touch of the forehead and breast and the native was luxuriously96 inhaling97 the smoke of the tobacco. His eyes were brighter and he wore a look of great content.{20}
The Englishman silently watched until the other had taken his third whiff; then, the ceremonial being completed, he spoke, choosing his words carefully.
“Seek as we may, my brother, for the records of the dead civilization of your native land, we know full well that the most important documents will be discovered in the future, as in the past, by the modern Egyptians themselves. Your traditions, handed down through many generations, give to you a secret knowledge of where the important papyri and tablets are deposited. If there are hidden tombs in Gebel Abu Fedah, or near the city of Al-Kusiyeh, perhaps you know where to find them; and if so, we will open them together and profit equally by what we secure.”
The Egyptian shook his head and flicked98 the ash from his cigarette with an annoyed gesture.
“You are wrong in estimating the source of my knowledge,” said he, in a tone that was slightly acrimonious99. “Look at my rags,” spreading his arms outward; “would I refuse your bribe100 if I knew how to earn it? I have not smoked a cigarette before in months—not since Tadros the dragoman came to Al Fedah in the winter. I am barefoot, because I fear to wear out my sandals until I know how to replace them. Often I am hungry, and I live like a jackal, shrinking from all intercourse101 with my fellows or with the world. That is Kāra, the son of kings, the royal one!”
Winston was astonished. It is seldom a native complains of his lot or resents his condition, however{21} lowly it may be. Yet here was one absolutely rebellious102.
“Why?” he asked.
“Because my high birth isolates103 me,” was the reply, with an accent of pride. “It is no comfortable thing to be Kāra, the lineal descendant of the great Ahtka-Rā, in the days when Egypt’s power is gone, and her children are scorned by the Arab Muslims and buffeted104 by the English Christians105.”
“Do you live in the village?” asked Winston.
“No; my burrow106 is in a huddle107 of huts behind the mountain, in a place that is called Fedah.”
“With whom do you live?”
“My grandmother, Hatatcha.”
“Ah!”
“You have heard of her?”
“No; I was thinking only of an Egyptian Princess Hatatcha who set fashionable London crazy in my father’s time.”
Kāra leaned forward eagerly, and then cast a half fearful glance around, at the mountains, the desert, and the Nile.
“Tell me about her!” he said, sinking his voice to a whisper.
“About the Princess?” asked Winston, surprised. “Really, I know little of her history. She came in a flash of wonderful oriental magnificence, I have heard, and soon had the nobility of England suing for her favors. Lord Roane especially divorced his wife{22} that he might marry the beautiful Egyptian; and then she refused to wed29 with him. There were scandals in plenty before Hatatcha disappeared from London, which she did as mysteriously as she had come, and without a day’s warning. I remember that certain infatuated admirers spent fortunes in search of her, overrunning all Egypt, but without avail. No one has ever heard of her since.”
Kāra drew a deep breath, sighing softly.
“It was like my grandmother,” he murmured. “She was always a daughter of Set.”
Winston stared at him.
“Do you mean to say—” he began.
“Yes,” whispered Kāra, casting another frightened look around; “it was my grandmother, Hatatcha, who did that. You must not tell, my brother, for she is still in league with the devils and would destroy us both if she came to hate us. Her daughter, who was my mother, was the child of that same Lord Roane you have mentioned; but she never knew her father nor England. I myself have never been a day’s journey from the Nile, for Hatatcha makes me her slave.”
“She must be very old, if she still lives,” said Winston, musingly108.
“She was seventeen when she went to London,” replied Kāra, “and she returned here in three years, with my mother in her arms. Her daughter was thirty-five when I was born, and that is twenty-three years ago. Fifty-eight is not an advanced age, yet{23} Hatatcha was a withered109 hag when first I remember her, and she is the same to-day. By the head of Osiris, my brother, she is likely to live until I am stiff in my tomb.”
“It was she who taught you to speak English?”
“Yes. I knew it when I was a baby, for in our private converse110 she has always used the English tongue. Also I speak the ancient Egyptian language, which you call the Coptic, and I read correctly the hieroglyphics and picture-writings of my ancestors. The Arabic, of course, I know. Hatatcha has been a careful teacher.”
“What of your mother?” asked Winston.
“Why, she ran away when I was a child, to enter the harem of an Arab in Cairo, so that she passed out of our lives, and I have lived with my grandmother always.”
“I am impressed by the fact,” said the Englishman, with a sneer111, “that your royal blood is not so pure after all.”
“And why not?” returned Kāra, composedly. “Is it not from the mother we descend76? Who my grandfather may have been matters little, provided Hatatcha, the royal one, is my granddame. Perhaps my mother never considered who my father might be; it was unimportant. From her I drew the blood of the great Ahtka-Rā, who lives again in me. Robbed of your hollow ceremonial of marriage, you people of Europe can boast no true descent save through your mothers—no purer blood than I, ignoring my fathers, am sure{24} now courses in my veins112; for the father, giving so little to his progeny113, can scarcely contaminate it, whatever he may chance to be.”
The other, paying little heed114 to this discourse115, the platitudes116 of which were all too familiar to his ears, reflected deeply on the strange discovery he had made through this unconventional Egyptian.
“Then,” said he, pursuing his train of thought, “your knowledge of your ancestry117 and the life and works of Ahtka-Rā was obtained through your grandmother?”
“Yes.”
“And she has not disclosed to you how it is that she knows all this?”
“No. She says it is true, and I believe it. Hatatcha is a wonderful woman.”
“I agree with you. Where did she get the money that enabled her to amaze all England with her magnificence and splendor118?”
“I do not know.”
“Is she wealthy now?”
Kāra laughed.
“Did I not say we were half starved, and live like foxes in a hole? For raiment we have each one ragged119 garment. But the outside of man matters little, save to those who have nothing within. Treasures may be kept in a rotten chest.”
“But personally you would prefer a handsome casket?”{25}
“Of course. It is Hatatcha who teaches me philosophy to make me forget my rags.”
The Englishman reflected.
“Do you labor12 in the fields?” he asked.
“She will not let me,” said Kāra. “If my wrongs were righted, she holds, I would even now be king of Egypt. The certainty that they will never be righted does not alter the morale120 of the case.”
“Does Hatatcha earn money herself?”
“She sits in her hut morning and night, muttering curses upon her enemies.”
“Then how do you live at all?”
Kāra seemed surprised by the question, and considered carefully his reply.
“At times,” said he, “when our needs are greatest, my grandmother will produce an ancient coin of the reign22 of Hystaspes, which the sheik at Al-Kusiyeh readily changes into piasters, because they will give him a good premium121 on it at the museum in Cairo. Once, years ago, the sheik threatened Hatatcha unless she confessed where she had found these coins; but my grandmother called Set to her aid, and cast a spell upon the sheik, so that his camels died of rot and his children became blind. After that he let Hatatcha alone, but he was still glad to get her coins.”
“Where does she keep them?”
“It is her secret. When she was ill, a month ago, and lay like one dead, I searched everywhere for treasure and found it not. Perhaps she has exhausted122 her store.”{26}
“Had she anything besides the coins?”
“Once a jewel, which she sent by Tadros, the dragoman, to exchange for English books in Cairo.”
“What became of the books?”
“After we had both read them they disappeared. I do not know what became of them.”
They had shifted their seats twice, because the shadow cast by the palms moved as the sun drew nearer to the horizon. Now the patches were long and narrow, and there was a cooler breath in the air.
The Englishman sat long silent, thinking intently. Kāra was placidly123 smoking his third cigarette.
The rivalry124 among excavators and Egyptologists generally is intense. All are eager to be recognized as discoverers. Since the lucky find of the plucky125 American, Davis, the explorers among the ancient ruins of Egypt had been on the qui vive to unearth126 some farther record of antiquity127 to startle and interest the scholars of the world. Much of value has been found along the Nile banks, it is true; but it is generally believed that much more remains128 to be discovered.
Gerald Winston, with a fortune at his command and a passion for Egyptology, was an indefatigable129 prospector130 in this fascinating field, and it was because of a rumor131 that ancient coins and jewels had come from the Sheik of Al-Kusiyeh that he had resolved to visit that village in person and endeavor to learn the secret source of this wealth before someone else forestalled132 him.{27}
The story that he had just heard from the lips of the voluble Kāra rendered his visit to Al-Kusiyeh unnecessary; but that he was now on the trail of an important discovery was quite clear to him. How best to master the delicate conditions confronting him must be a subject of careful consideration, for any mistake on his part would ruin all his hopes.
“If my brother obtains any further valuable knowledge,” said he, finally, “he will wish to sell it to good advantage. And it is evident to both of us that old Hatatcha has visited some secret tomb, from whence she has taken the treasure that enabled her to astound133 London for a brief period. When her wealth was exhausted she was forced to return to her squalid surroundings, and by dint134 of strict economy has lived upon the few coins that remained to her until now. Knowing part of your grandmother’s story, it is easy to guess the remainder. The coins of Darius Hystaspes date about five hundred years before Christ, so that they would not account for Hatatcha’s ample knowledge of a period two thousand years earlier. But mark me, Kāra, the tomb from which your grandmother extracted such treasure must of necessity contain much else—not such things as the old woman could dispose of without suspicion, but records and relics135 which in my hands would be invaluable, and for which I would gladly pay you thousands of piasters. See what you can do to aid me to bring about this desirable result. If you can manage to win the secret from your grandmother, you need be{28} her slave no longer. You may go to Cairo and see the dancing girls and spend your money freely; or you can buy donkeys and a camel, and set up for a sheik. Meantime I will keep my dahabeah in this vicinity, and every day I will pass this spot at sundown and await for you to signal me. Is it all clear to you, my brother?”
“It is as crystal,” answered the Egyptian gravely.
He took another cigarette, lighted it with graceful136 composure, and rose to his feet. Winston also stood up.
The sun had dropped behind the far corner of Gebel Abu Fedah, and with the grateful shade the breeze had freshened and slightly cooled the tepid137 atmosphere.
Wrapping his burnous around his tall figure, Kāra made dignified obeisance138.
“Osiris guard thee, my brother,” said he.
“May Horus grant thee peace,” answered Winston, humoring this disciple139 of the most ancient religion. Then he watched the Egyptian stalk proudly away over the hot sands, his figure erect, his step slow and methodical, his bearing absurdly dignified when contrasted with his dirty tunic and unwashed skin.
“I am in luck,” he thought, turning toward the bank to summon Hassan and Abdallah; “for I have aroused the rascal’s cupidity140, and he will soon turn up something or other, I’ll be bound. Ugh! the dirty beast.”{29}
At the foot of the mountains Kāra paused abruptly and stood motionless, staring moodily141 at the sands before him.
“It was worth the bother to get the cigarettes,” he muttered. Then he added, with sudden fierceness: “Twice he spurned142 me with his foot, and called me ‘dog’!”
And he spat143 in the sand and continued on his way.
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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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vibrant
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| adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的 | |
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penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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lurid
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| adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的 | |
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relegates
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| v.使降级( relegate的第三人称单数 )；使降职；转移；把…归类 | |
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domain
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| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
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seething
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| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
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coves
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| n.小海湾( cove的名词复数 )；家伙 | |
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awning
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| n.遮阳篷；雨篷 | |
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awnings
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| 篷帐布 | |
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laborers
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| n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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puff
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| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
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puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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boiler
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| n.锅炉；煮器(壶，锅等) | |
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inert
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| adj.无活动能力的，惰性的；迟钝的 | |
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excavations
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| n.挖掘( excavation的名词复数 )；开凿；开凿的洞穴（或山路等）；（发掘出来的）古迹 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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23
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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24
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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25
cipher
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| n.零；无影响力的人；密码 | |
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26
hieroglyphics
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| n.pl.象形文字 | |
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27
abound
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| vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于 | |
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impractical
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| adj.不现实的，不实用的，不切实际的 | |
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29
wed
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| v.娶，嫁，与…结婚 | |
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30
WHIMS
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| 虚妄，禅病 | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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32
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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33
grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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34
enervated
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| adj.衰弱的，无力的v.使衰弱，使失去活力( enervate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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35
scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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36
limestone
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| n.石灰石 | |
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37
inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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38
reeking
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| v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的现在分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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39
redeem
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| v.买回，赎回，挽回，恢复，履行（诺言等） | |
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40
cork
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| n.软木，软木塞 | |
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41
erred
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| 犯错误，做错事( err的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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43
perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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44
doggedly
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| adv.顽强地，固执地 | |
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squatted
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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46
beetles
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| n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 ) | |
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47
bray
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| n.驴叫声, 喇叭声；v.驴叫 | |
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48
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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49
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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50
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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51
unbearable
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| adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的 | |
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52
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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53
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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54
inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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55
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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56
tunic
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| n.束腰外衣 | |
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57
muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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58
slit
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| n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂 | |
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59
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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steadfastly
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| adv.踏实地，不变地；岿然；坚定不渝 | |
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61
slumbers
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| 睡眠，安眠( slumber的名词复数 ) | |
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62
fixedly
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| adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地 | |
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63
persecutor
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| n. 迫害者 | |
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64
sinewy
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| adj.多腱的，强壮有力的 | |
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65
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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66
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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67
protruded
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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68
tint
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| n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色 | |
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69
cuticle
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| n.表皮 | |
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70
plentifully
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| adv. 许多地，丰饶地 | |
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71
diluted
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| 无力的，冲淡的 | |
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72
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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73
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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74
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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75
sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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76
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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77
forefather
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| n.祖先；前辈 | |
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78
monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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79
investigators
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| n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 ) | |
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80
inscriptions
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| （作者）题词( inscription的名词复数 )； 献词； 碑文； 证劵持有人的登记 | |
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81
mumbled
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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82
sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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83
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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84
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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85
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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86
treasurer
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| n.司库，财务主管 | |
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87
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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88
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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89
scrutinizing
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| v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的现在分词 ) | |
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90
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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91
unravel
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| v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开 | |
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92
invaluable
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| adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的 | |
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93
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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94
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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95
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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96
luxuriously
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| adv.奢侈地，豪华地 | |
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97
inhaling
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| v.吸入( inhale的现在分词 ) | |
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98
flicked
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| （尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等） | |
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99
acrimonious
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| adj.严厉的，辛辣的，刻毒的 | |
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100
bribe
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| n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通 | |
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101
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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102
rebellious
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| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
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103
isolates
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| v.使隔离( isolate的第三人称单数 )；将…剔出（以便看清和单独处理）；使（某物质、细胞等）分离；使离析 | |
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104
buffeted
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| 反复敲打( buffet的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续猛击； 打来打去； 推来搡去 | |
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105
Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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106
burrow
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| vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞 | |
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107
huddle
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| vi.挤作一团；蜷缩；vt.聚集；n.挤在一起的人 | |
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108
musingly
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| adv.沉思地，冥想地 | |
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109
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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110
converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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111
sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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112
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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113
progeny
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| n.后代，子孙；结果 | |
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114
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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115
discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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116
platitudes
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| n.平常的话，老生常谈，陈词滥调( platitude的名词复数 )；滥套子 | |
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117
ancestry
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| n.祖先，家世 | |
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118
splendor
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| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
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119
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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120
morale
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| n.道德准则，士气，斗志 | |
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121
premium
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| n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的 | |
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122
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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123
placidly
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| adv.平稳地，平静地 | |
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124
rivalry
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| n.竞争，竞赛，对抗 | |
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125
plucky
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| adj.勇敢的 | |
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126
unearth
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| v.发掘，掘出，从洞中赶出 | |
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127
antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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128
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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129
indefatigable
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| adj.不知疲倦的，不屈不挠的 | |
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130
prospector
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| n.探矿者 | |
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131
rumor
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| n.谣言，谣传，传说 | |
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132
forestalled
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| v.先发制人，预先阻止( forestall的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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133
astound
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| v.使震惊，使大吃一惊 | |
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134
dint
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| n.由于，靠；凹坑 | |
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135
relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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136
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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137
tepid
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| adj.微温的，温热的，不太热心的 | |
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138
obeisance
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| n.鞠躬，敬礼 | |
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139
disciple
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| n.信徒，门徒，追随者 | |
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140
cupidity
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| n.贪心，贪财 | |
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141
moodily
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| adv.喜怒无常地；情绪多变地；心情不稳地；易生气地 | |
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142
spurned
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| v.一脚踢开，拒绝接受( spurn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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143
spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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