IN Merlin's Cave -- Clarence and I and fifty-two fresh, bright, well-educated, clean-minded young British boys. At dawn I sent an order to the factories and to all our great works to stop operations and remove all life to a safe distance, as everything was going to be blown up by secret mines, "AND NO TELLING AT WHAT MOMENT -- THEREFORE, VACATE AT ONCE." These people knew me, and had confidence in my word. They would clear out without waiting to part their hair, and I could take my own time about dating the explosion. You couldn't hire one of them to go back during the century, if the explosion was still impending1.
We had a week of waiting. It was not dull for me, because I was writing all the time. During the first three days, I finished turning my old diary into this narrative2 form; it only required a chapter or so to bring it down to date. The rest of the week I took up in writing letters to my wife. It was always my habit to write to Sandy every day, whenever we were separate, and now I kept up the habit for love of it, and of her, though I couldn't do anything with the letters, of course, after I had written them. But it put in the time, you see, and was almost like talking; it was almost as if I was saying, "Sandy, if you and Hello-Central were here in the cave, instead of only your photographs, what good times we could have!" And then, you know, I could imagine the baby googooing something out in reply, with its fists in its mouth and itself stretched across its mother's lap on its back, and she a-laughing and admiring and worshiping, and now and then tickling3 under the baby's chin to set it cackling, and then maybe throwing in a word of answer to me herself -- and so on and so on -- well, don't you know, I could sit there in the cave with my pen, and keep it up, that way, by the hour with them. Why, it was almost like having us all together again.
I had spies out every night, of course, to get news. Every report made things look more and more impressive. The hosts were gathering4, gathering; down all the roads and paths of England the knights6 were riding, and priests rode with them, to hearten these original Crusaders, this being the Church's war. All the nobilities, big and little, were on their way, and all the gentry7. This was all as was expected. We should thin out this sort of folk to such a degree that the people would have nothing to do but just step to the front with their republic and -
Ah, what a donkey I was! Toward the end of the week I began to get this large and disenchanting fact through my head: that the mass of the nation had swung their caps and shouted for the republic for about one day, and there an end! The Church, the nobles, and the gentry then turned one grand, alldisapproving frown upon them and shriveled them into sheep! From that moment the sheep had begun to gather to the fold -- that is to say, the camps -- and offer their valueless lives and their valuable wool to the "righteous cause." Why, even the very men who had lately been slaves were in the "righteous cause," and glorifying8 it, praying for it, sentimentally9 slabbering over it, just like all the other commoners. Imagine such human muck as this; conceive of this folly10!
Yes, it was now "Death to the Republic!" everywhere -- not a dissenting11 voice. All England was marching against us! Truly, this was more than I had bargained for.
I watched my fifty-two boys narrowly; watched their faces, their walk, their unconscious attitudes: for all these are a language -- a language given us purposely that it may betray us in times of emergency, when we have secrets which we want to keep. I knew that that thought would keep saying itself over and over again in their minds and hearts, ALL ENGLAND IS MARCHING AGAINST US! and ever more strenuously13 imploring14 attention with each repetition, ever more sharply realizing itself to their imaginations, until even in their sleep they would find no rest from it, but hear the vague and flitting creatures of the dreams say, ALL ENGLAND -- ALL ENGLAND! -- IS MARCHING AGAINST YOU! I knew all this would happen; I knew that ultimately the pressure would become so great that it would compel utterance15; therefore, I must be ready with an answer at that time -- an answer well chosen and tranquilizing.
I was right. The time came. They HAD to speak. Poor lads, it was pitiful to see, they were so pale, so worn, so troubled. At first their spokesman could hardly find voice or words; but he presently got both. This is what he said -- and he put it in the neat modern English taught him in my schools:
"We have tried to forget what we are -- English boys! We have tried to put reason before sentiment, duty before love; our minds approve, but our hearts reproach us. While apparently16 it was only the nobility, only the gentry, only the twenty-five or thirty thousand knights left alive out of the late wars, we were of one mind, and undisturbed by any troubling doubt; each and every one of these fifty-two lads who stand here before you, said, 'They have chosen -- it is their affair.' But think! -- the matter is altered -- ALL ENGLAND IS MARCHING AGAINST US! Oh, sir, consider! -reflect! -- these people are our people, they are bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh, we love them -- do not ask us to destroy our nation!"
Well, it shows the value of looking ahead, and being ready for a thing when it happens. If I hadn't foreseen this thing and been fixed17, that boy would have had me! -- I couldn't have said a word. But I was fixed. I said:
"My boys, your hearts are in the right place, you have thought the worthy18 thought, you have done the worthy thing. You are English boys, you will remain English boys, and you will keep that name unsmirched. Give yourselves no further concern, let your minds be at peace. Consider this: while all England is marching against us, who is in the van? Who, by the commonest rules of war, will march in the front? Answer me."
"The mounted host of mailed knights."
"True. They are 30,000 strong. Acres deep they will march. Now, observe: none but THEY will ever strike the sand-belt! Then there will be an episode! Immediately after, the civilian19 multitude in the rear will retire, to meet business engagements elsewhere. None but nobles and gentry are knights, and NONE BUT THESE will remain to dance to our music after that episode. It is absolutely true that we shall have to fight nobody but these thirty thousand knights. Now speak, and it shall be as you decide. Shall we avoid the battle, retire from the field?"
"NO!!!"
The shout was unanimous and hearty20.
"Are you -- are you -- well, afraid of these thirty thousand knights?"
That joke brought out a good laugh, the boys' troubles vanished away, and they went gaily21 to their posts. Ah, they were a darling fifty-two! As pretty as girls, too.
I was ready for the enemy now. Let the approaching big day come along -- it would find us on deck.
The big day arrived on time. At dawn the sentry22 on watch in the corral came into the cave and reported a moving black mass under the horizon, and a faint sound which he thought to be military music. Breakfast was just ready; we sat down and ate it.
This over, I made the boys a little speech, and then sent out a detail to man the battery, with Clarence in command of it.
The sun rose presently and sent its unobstructed splendors23 over the land, and we saw a prodigious24 host moving slowly toward us, with the steady drift and aligned25 front of a wave of the sea. Nearer and nearer it came, and more and more sublimely26 imposing27 became its aspect; yes, all England was there, apparently. Soon we could see the innumerable banners fluttering, and then the sun struck the sea of armor and set it all aflash. Yes, it was a fine sight; I hadn't ever seen anything to beat it.
At last we could make out details. All the front ranks, no telling how many acres deep, were horsemen -- plumed28 knights in armor. Suddenly we heard the blare of trumpets29; the slow walk burst into a gallop30, and then -- well, it was wonderful to see! Down swept that vast horse-shoe wave -- it approached the sand-belt -- my breath stood still; nearer, nearer -the strip of green turf beyond the yellow belt grew narrow -- narrower still -- became a mere31 ribbon in front of the horses -- then disappeared under their hoofs32. Great Scott! Why, the whole front of that host shot into the sky with a thunder-crash, and became a whirling tempest of rags and fragments; and along the ground lay a thick wall of smoke that hid what was left of the multitude from our sight.
Time for the second step in the plan of campaign! I touched a button, and shook the bones of England loose from her spine33!
In that explosion all our noble civilization-factories went up in the air and disappeared from the earth. It was a pity, but it was necessary. We could not afford to let the enemy turn our own weapons against us.
Now ensued one of the dullest quarter-hours I had ever endured. We waited in a silent solitude34 enclosed by our circles of wire, and by a circle of heavy smoke outside of these. We couldn't see over the wall of smoke, and we couldn't see through it. But at last it began to shred35 away lazily, and by the end of another quarter-hour the land was clear and our curiosity was enabled to satisfy itself. No living creature was in sight! We now perceived that additions had been made to our defenses. The dynamite36 had dug a ditch more than a hundred feet wide, all around us, and cast up an embankment some twenty-five feet high on both borders of it. As to destruction of life, it was amazing. Moreover, it was beyond estimate. Of course, we could not COUNT the dead, because they did not exist as individuals, but merely as homogeneous protoplasm, with alloys37 of iron and buttons.
No life was in sight, but necessarily there must have been some wounded in the rear ranks, who were carried off the field under cover of the wall of smoke; there would be sickness among the others -- there always is, after an episode like that. But there would be no reinforcements; this was the last stand of the chivalry38 of England; it was all that was left of the order, after the recent annihilating39 wars. So I felt quite safe in believing that the utmost force that could for the future be brought against us would be but small; that is, of knights. I therefore issued a congratulatory proclamation to my army in these words:
SOLDIERS, CHAMPIONS OF HUMAN LIBERTY AND EQUALITY: Your General congratulates you! In the pride of his strength and the vanity of his renown40, an arrogant41 enemy came against you. You were ready. The conflict was brief; on your side, glorious. This mighty42 victory, having been achieved utterly43 without loss, stands without example in history. So long as the planets shall continue to move in their orbits, the BATTLE OF THE SAND-BELT will not perish out of the memories of men.
THE BOSS.
I read it well, and the applause I got was very gratifying to me. I then wound up with these remarks:
"The war with the English nation, as a nation, is at an end. The nation has retired44 from the field and the war. Before it can be persuaded to return, war will have ceased. This campaign is the only one that is going to be fought. It will be brief -- the briefest in history. Also the most destructive to life, considered from the standpoint of proportion of casualties to numbers engaged. We are done with the nation; henceforth we deal only with the knights. English knights can be killed, but they cannot be conquered. We know what is before us. While one of these men remains45 alive, our task is not finished, the war is not ended. We will kill them all." [Loud and long continued applause.]
I picketed46 the great embankments thrown up around our lines by the dynamite explosion -- merely a lookout47 of a couple of boys to announce the enemy when he should appear again.
Next, I sent an engineer and forty men to a point just beyond our lines on the south, to turn a mountain brook48 that was there, and bring it within our lines and under our command, arranging it in such a way that I could make instant use of it in an emergency. The forty men were divided into two shifts of twenty each, and were to relieve each other every two hours. In ten hours the work was accomplished49.
It was nightfall now, and I withdrew my pickets50. The one who had had the northern outlook reported a camp in sight, but visible with the glass only. He also reported that a few knights had been feeling their way toward us, and had driven some cattle across our lines, but that the knights themselves had not come very near. That was what I had been expecting. They were feeling us, you see; they wanted to know if we were going to play that red terror on them again. They would grow bolder in the night, perhaps. I believed I knew what project they would attempt, because it was plainly the thing I would attempt myself if I were in their places and as ignorant as they were. I mentioned it to Clarence.
"I think you are right," said he; "it is the obvious thing for them to try."
"Well, then," I said, "if they do it they are doomed51.
"Certainly."
They won't have the slightest show in the world."
"Of course they won't."
"It's dreadful, Clarence. It seems an awful pity."
The thing disturbed me so that I couldn't get any peace of mind.for thinking of it and worrying over it. So, at last, to quiet my conscience, I framed this message to the knights:
TO THE HONORABLE THE COMMANDER OF THE INSURGENT52
CHIVALRY OF ENGLAND: YOU fight in vain. We know
your strength -- if one may call it by that name.
We know that at the utmost you cannot bring
against us above five and twenty thousand knights.
Therefore, you have no chance -- none whatever.
Reflect: we are well equipped, well fortified53, we
number 54. Fifty-four what? Men? No, MINDS -- the
capablest in the world; a force against which
mere animal might may no more hope to prevail than
may the idle waves of the sea hope to prevail
against the granite54 barriers of England. Be advised.
We offer you your lives; for the sake of your
families, do not reject the gift. We offer you
this chance, and it is the last: throw down your
arms; surrender unconditionally55 to the Republic,
and all will be forgiven.
(Signed) THE BOSS.
I read it to Clarence, and said I proposed to send it by a flag of truce56. He laughed the sarcastic57 laugh he was born with, and said:
"Somehow it seems impossible for you to ever fully58 realize what these nobilities are. Now let us save a little time and trouble. Consider me the commander of the knights yonder. Now, then, you are the flag of truce; approach and deliver me your message, and I will give you your answer."
I humored the idea. I came forward under an imaginary guard of the enemy's soldiers, produced my paper, and read it through. For answer, Clarence struck the paper out of my hand, pursed up a scornful lip and said with lofty disdain59:
"Dismember me this animal, and return him in a basket to the base-born knave60 who sent him; other answer have I none!"
How empty is theory in presence of fact! And this was just fact, and nothing else. It was the thing that would have happened, there was no getting around that. I tore up the paper and granted my mistimed sentimentalities a permanent rest.
Then, to business. I tested the electric signals from the gatling platform to the cave, and made sure that they were all right; I tested and retested those which commanded the fences -- these were signals whereby I could break and renew the electric current in each fence independently of the others at will. I placed the brook-connection under the guard and authority of three of my best boys, who would alternate in twohour watches all night and promptly61 obey my signal, if I should have occasion to give it -- three revolvershots in quick succession. Sentry-duty was discarded for the night, and the corral left empty of life; I ordered that quiet be maintained in the cave, and the electric lights turned down to a glimmer62.
As soon as it was good and dark, I shut off the current from all the fences, and then groped my way out to the embankment bordering our side of the great dynamite ditch. I crept to the top of it and lay there on the slant63 of the muck to watch. But it was too dark to see anything. As for sounds, there were none. The stillness was deathlike. True, there were the usual night-sounds of the country -- the whir of nightbirds, the buzzing of insects, the barking of distant dogs, the mellow64 lowing of far-off kine -- but these didn't seem to break the stillness, they only intensified65 it, and added a grewsome melancholy66 to it into the bargain.
I presently gave up looking, the night shut down so black, but I kept my ears strained to catch the least suspicious sound, for I judged I had only to wait, and I shouldn't be disappointed. However, I had to wait a long time. At last I caught what you may call in distinct glimpses of sound裠ulled metallic67 sound. I pricked68 up my ears, then, and held my breath, for this was the sort of thing I had been waiting for. This sound thickened, and approached -- from toward the north. Presently, I heard it at my own level -- the ridge69-top of the opposite embankment, a hundred feet or more away. Then I seemed to see a row of black dots appear along that ridge -- human heads? I couldn't tell; it mightn't be anything at all; you can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. However, the question was soon settled. I heard that metallic noise descending70 into the great ditch. It augmented71 fast, it spread all along, and it unmistakably furnished me this fact: an armed host was taking up its quarters in the ditch. Yes, these people were arranging a little surprise party for us. We could expect entertainment about dawn, possibly earlier.
I groped my way back to the corral now; I had seen enough. I went to the platform and signaled to turn the current on to the two inner fences. Then I went into the cave, and found everything satisfactory there -- nobody awake but the working-watch. I woke Clarence and told him the great ditch was filling up with men, and that I believed all the knights were coming for us in a body. It was my notion that as soon as dawn approached we could expect the ditch's ambuscaded thousands to swarm72 up over the embankment and make an assault, and be followed immediately by the rest of their army.
Clarence said:
"They will be wanting to send a scout73 or two in the dark to make preliminary observations. Why not take the lightning off the outer fences, and give them a chance?"
"I've already done it, Clarence. Did you ever know me to be inhospitable?"
"No, you are a good heart. I want to go and --"
"Be a reception committee? I will go, too."
We crossed the corral and lay down together between the two inside fences. Even the dim light of the cave had disordered our eyesight somewhat, but the focus straightway began to regulate itself and soon it was adjusted for present circumstances. We had had to feel our way before, but we could make out to see the fence posts now. We started a whispered conversation, but suddenly Clarence broke off and said:
"What is that?"
"What is what?"
"That thing yonder."
"What thing -- where?"
"There beyond you a little piece -- dark something -- a dull shape of some kind -- against the second fence."
I gazed and he gazed. I said:
"Could it be a man, Clarence?"
"No, I think not. If you notice, it looks a lit -why, it IS a man! -- leaning on the fence."
"I certainly believe it is; let us go and see."
We crept along on our hands and knees until we were pretty close, and then looked up. Yes, it was a man -- a dim great figure in armor, standing74 erect75, with both hands on the upper wire -- and, of course, there was a smell of burning flesh. Poor fellow, dead as a door-nail, and never knew what hurt him. He stood there like a statue -- no motion about him, except that his plumes76 swished about a little in the night wind. We rose up and looked in through the bars of his visor, but couldn't make out whether we knew him or not -- features too dim and shadowed.
We heard muffled77 sounds approaching, and we sank down to the ground where we were. We made out another knight5 vaguely78; he was coming very stealthily, and feeling his way. He was near enough now for us to see him put out a hand, find an upper wire, then bend and step under it and over the lower one. Now he arrived at the first knight -- and started slightly when he discovered him. He stood a moment -- no doubt wondering why the other one didn't move on; then he said, in a low voice, "Why dreamest thou here, good Sir Mar12 --" then he laid his hand on the corpse's shoulder -- and just uttered a little soft moan and sunk down dead. Killed by a dead man, you see -- killed by a dead friend, in fact. There was something awful about it.
These early birds came scattering79 along after each other, about one every five minutes in our vicinity, during half an hour. They brought no armor of offense80 but their swords; as a rule, they carried the sword ready in the hand, and put it forward and found the wires with it. We would now and then see a blue spark when the knight that caused it was so far away as to be invisible to us; but we knew what had happened, all the same; poor fellow, he had touched a charged wire with his sword and been elected. We had brief intervals81 of grim stillness, interrupted with piteous regularity82 by the clash made by the falling of an iron-clad; and this sort of thing was going on, right along, and was very creepy there in the dark and lonesomeness.
We concluded to make a tour between the inner fences. We elected to walk upright, for convenience's sake; we argued that if discerned, we should be taken for friends rather than enemies, and in any case we should be out of reach of swords, and these gentry did not seem to have any spears along. Well, it was a curious trip. Everywhere dead men were lying outside the second fence -- not plainly visible, but still visible; and we counted fifteen of those pathetic statues -- dead knights standing with their hands on the upper wire.
One thing seemed to be sufficiently83 demonstrated: our current was so tremendous that it killed before the victim could cry out. Pretty soon we detected a muffled and heavy sound, and next moment we guessed what it was. It was a surprise in force coming! whispered Clarence to go and wake the army, and notify it to wait in silence in the cave for further orders. He was soon back, and we stood by the inner fence and watched the silent lightning do its awful work upon that swarming84 host. One could make out but little of detail; but he could note that a black mass was piling itself up beyond the second fence. That swelling85 bulk was dead men! Our camp was enclosed with a solid wall of the dead -- a bulwark86, a breastwork, of corpses87, you may say. One terrible thing about this thing was the absence of human voices; there were no cheers, no war cries; being intent upon a surprise, these men moved as noiselessly as they could; and always when the front rank was near enough to their goal to make it proper for them to begin to get a shout ready, of course they struck the fatal line and went down without testifying.
I sent a current through the third fence now; and almost immediately through the fourth and fifth, so quickly were the gaps filled up. I believed the time was come now for my climax88; I believed that that whole army was in our trap. Anyway, it was high time to find out. So I touched a button and set fifty electric suns aflame on the top of our precipice89.
Land, what a sight! We were enclosed in three walls of dead men! All the other fences were pretty nearly filled with the living, who were stealthily working their way forward through the wires. The sudden glare paralyzed this host, petrified90 them, you may say, with astonishment91; there was just one instant for me to utilize92 their immobility in, and I didn't lose the chance. You see, in another instant they would have recovered their faculties93, then they'd have burst into a cheer and made a rush, and my wires would have gone down before it; but that lost instant lost them their opportunity forever; while even that slight fragment of time was still unspent, I shot the current through all the fences and struck the whole host dead in their tracks! THERE was a groan94 you could HEAR! It voiced the death-pang of eleven thousand men. It swelled95 out on the night with awful pathos96.
A glance showed that the rest of the enemy -- perhaps ten thousand strong -- were between us and the encircling ditch, and pressing forward to the assault. Consequently we had them ALL! and had them past help. Time for the last act of the tragedy. I fired the three appointed revolver shots -- which meant:
"Turn on the water!"
There was a sudden rush and roar, and in a minute the mountain brook was raging through the big ditch and creating a river a hundred feet wide and twentyfive deep.
"Stand to your guns, men! Open fire!"
The thirteen gatlings began to vomit97 death into the fated ten thousand. They halted, they stood their ground a moment against that withering98 deluge99 of fire, then they broke, faced about and swept toward the ditch like chaff100 before a gale101. A full fourth part of their force never reached the top of the lofty embankment; the three-fourths reached it and plunged102 over -to death by drowning.
Within ten short minutes after we had opened fire, armed resistance was totally annihilated103, the campaign was ended, we fifty-four were masters of England. Twenty-five thousand men lay dead around us.
But how treacherous104 is fortune! In a little while -say an hour -- happened a thing, by my own fault, which -- but I have no heart to write that. Let the record end here.
收听单词发音 |
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impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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tickling
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| 反馈，回授，自旋挠痒法 | |
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4
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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6
knights
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| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
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gentry
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| n.绅士阶级，上层阶级 | |
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8
glorifying
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| 赞美( glorify的现在分词 )； 颂扬； 美化； 使光荣 | |
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sentimentally
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| adv.富情感地 | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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11
dissenting
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| adj.不同意的 | |
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mar
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| vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟 | |
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13
strenuously
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| adv.奋发地，费力地 | |
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14
imploring
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| 恳求的，哀求的 | |
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15
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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16
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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civilian
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| adj.平民的，民用的，民众的 | |
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hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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sentry
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| n.哨兵，警卫 | |
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splendors
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| n.华丽( splendor的名词复数 )；壮丽；光辉；显赫 | |
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prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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aligned
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| adj.对齐的，均衡的 | |
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sublimely
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| 高尚地，卓越地 | |
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imposing
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plumed
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| 饰有羽毛的 | |
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trumpets
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| 喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 )； 小号； 喇叭形物； （尤指）绽开的水仙花 | |
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gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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spine
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| n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊 | |
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solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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shred
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| v.撕成碎片，变成碎片；n.碎布条，细片，些少 | |
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36
dynamite
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| n./vt.(用)炸药(爆破) | |
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alloys
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| n.合金( alloy的名词复数 ) | |
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chivalry
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| n.骑士气概，侠义；（男人）对女人彬彬有礼，献殷勤 | |
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annihilating
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| v.（彻底）消灭( annihilate的现在分词 )；使无效；废止；彻底击溃 | |
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renown
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| n.声誉，名望 | |
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arrogant
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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45
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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picketed
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| 用尖桩围住（picket的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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lookout
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| n.注意，前途，瞭望台 | |
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brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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pickets
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| 罢工纠察员( picket的名词复数 ) | |
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51
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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52
insurgent
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| adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子 | |
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fortified
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| adj. 加强的 | |
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granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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unconditionally
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| adv.无条件地 | |
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truce
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| n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束 | |
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sarcastic
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| adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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knave
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| n.流氓；（纸牌中的）杰克 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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glimmer
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| v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光 | |
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slant
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| v.倾斜，倾向性地编写或报道；n.斜面，倾向 | |
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mellow
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| adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟 | |
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intensified
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| v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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metallic
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| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
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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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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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Augmented
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| adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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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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plumes
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| 羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物 | |
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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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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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79
scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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offense
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| n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪 | |
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81
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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82
regularity
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| n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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84
swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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85
swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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86
bulwark
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| n.堡垒，保障，防御 | |
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87
corpses
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| n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 ) | |
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88
climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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89
precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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petrified
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| adj.惊呆的；目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆，使惊呆；变僵硬；使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词) | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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92
utilize
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| vt.使用，利用 | |
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93
faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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95
swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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96
pathos
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| n.哀婉，悲怆 | |
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97
vomit
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| v.呕吐，作呕；n.呕吐物，吐出物 | |
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98
withering
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| 使人畏缩的，使人害羞的，使人难堪的 | |
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99
deluge
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| n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥 | |
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100
chaff
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| v.取笑，嘲笑；n.谷壳 | |
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101
gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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102
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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103
annihilated
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| v.（彻底）消灭( annihilate的过去式和过去分词 )；使无效；废止；彻底击溃 | |
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104
treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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