"It was not so, it is not so, and, indeed, God forbid it should be so."
I
At the foot of a hill, about five miles from Great Wymering, Doctor Allingham suddenly jammed down the brake of his car, got out, and began pacing the dusty road. Gregg remained seated in the car with his arms folded.
"No, I'm not," grumbled2 the Doctor, "I've had enough of this wild-goose chase. And besides, it's nearly dinner time."
"But just now you were inclined to think differently," said Gregg, reproachfully.
"Well, I admit I was rather mystified by that hat and wig3. But when you come to rationalise the thing, what is there in it?" The Doctor was taking long strides and flourishing his leather gloves in the air. "How could such a thing be? How can anybody in his right senses entertain the notion that Dunn Brothers are still in existence two thousand years hence? And the Clarkson business. It's absurd on the face of it."
[Pg 106]
"Even an absurdity," said Gregg, quietly, "may contain the positive truth. I admit it's ludicrous, but we both agree that it's inexplicable5. We have to fall back on conjecture6. To my mind there is something suggestive about that persistency7 in the future of things familiar to us. Suppose they have found a way of keeping things going, just as they are? Hasn't the aim of man always been the permanence of his institutions? And wouldn't it be characteristic of man, as we know him to-day, that he should hold on to purely8 utilitarian9 things, conveniences? In this age we sacrifice everything to utility. That's because we're getting somewhere in a hurry. Modern life is the last lap in man's race against Time."
He paused, as though to adjust the matter in his mind. "But suppose Time stopped. Or, rather, suppose man caught up with Time, raced the universal enemy, tracked him to his lair10? That would account for the names being the same. Dunn still breathes and Clarkson endures, or their descendants. At any rate, the idea of them persists. Perhaps this clock that they wear abolished death and successive generations. Of course, it seems like a joke to us, but we've got to drop our sense of humour for the time being."
"But how could it be?" exclaimed[Pg 107] Allingham, kicking a loose stone in his walk. "This clock, I mean. It's—" He fumbled11 hopelessly for words with which to express new doubts. "What is this clock?"
"It's an instrument," rejoined Gregg, leaning over the side of the car. "Evidently it has some sort of effect upon the fundamental processes of the human organism. That's clear, to me. Probably it replaces some of the ordinary functions and alters others. One gets a sort of glimmer—of an immense speeding up of the entire organism, and the brain of man developing new senses and powers of apprehension12. They would have all sorts of second sights and subsidiary senses. They would feel their way about in a larger universe, creep into all sorts of niches13 and corners unknown to us, because of their different construction."
"Yes, yes, I can follow all that," said Allingham, biting his moustache, "but let's talk sense."
"In a matter like this," put in Gregg, "sense is at a premium14. What we have to do is to consult our intuitions."
Allingham frowned. His intuitions, nowadays, were few and far between.
"When you get to my age, Gregg, you'll have something else to do besides consult your intuitions. The fact is, you want all these[Pg 108] wonderful things to happen. You have a flair15 for the unexpected, like all children and adolescents. But I tell you, the Clockwork man is a myth, and I think you ought to respect my opinion."
"Even if he's a myth," interrupted Gregg, "he is still worth investigating. What annoys me is your positive antagonism16 to the idea that he might be possible. You seem to want to go out of your way to prove me in the wrong. I may add, that once a man has ceased to believe in the impossible he is damned."
Allingham shot a look of veiled anger at the other, and prepared to re-enter the car.
"Well, you prove yourself in the right," he muttered, "and then I'll apologise. I'm going to let the Clockwork man drop. I've got other things to think about. And I don't mind telling you that if the Clockwork man turns out to be all that you claim for him, I shall still wish him at the other end of the earth."
"Well, let him stop there," growled19 Allingham, restarting the car with a vicious jerk, "let someone else bother their heads about him. I don't want him. I tell you I don't care a brass20 farthing about the future of[Pg 109] the human race. I'm quite content to take the good and bad in life, and I want it to go on in the same damned old way."
Gregg beat his fist into his open palm. "But that's just what has happened," he exclaimed, "they've found a way of keeping on just the same. That explains the Clarkson business. If the clock is what I think it is, that precisely21 is its function."
Allingham shouted out some impatient rejoinder, but it was drowned in the rising roar of the engine as they sped along the road.
II
So the argument had waged since the telling of Tom Driver's story. Gregg's chief difficulty was to get Allingham to see that there really might be something in this theory of a world in which merely trivial things had become permanent, whilst the cosmos23 itself, the hitherto unchanging outer environment of man's existence, might have opened up in many new directions. Man might have tired of waiting for a so long heralded24 eternity25, and made one out of his own material tools. The Clockwork man, now crystallised in Gregg's mind as an unforgetable figure, seemed to him to stand for a sort of rigidity26 of personal being as opposed to the fickleness27 of mere22[Pg 110] flesh and blood; but the world in which he lived probably had widely different laws, if indeed it had humanly comprehensible laws at all.
The clock, perhaps, was the index of a new and enlarged order of things. Man had altered the very shape of the universe in order to be able to pursue his aims without frustration28. That was an old dream of Gregg's. Time and Space were the obstacles to man's aspirations29, and therefore he had invented this cunning device, which would adjust his faculties30 to some mightier31 rhythm of universal forces. It was a logical step forward in the path of material progress.
That was Gregg's dimly conceived theory about the mystery, although, of course, he read into the interpretation32 a good deal of his own speculations33. His imagination seized upon the clock as the possible symbol of a new counterpoint in human affairs. In his mind he saw man growing through the ages, until at last, by the aid of this mechanism34, he was able to roll back the skies and reveal the vast other worlds that lay beyond, the unthinkable mysteries that lurked35 between the stars, all that had been sealed up in the limited brain of man since creation. From that extreme postulate36 it would be necessary to work backward, until some reasonable hypothesis could be found to explain the working[Pg 111] of the clock mechanism. That difficulty, even, might be overcome if only an opportunity occurred to examine this strange being from the future, or if he could be prevailed upon to explain matters himself.
As the car sped swiftly along, Gregg sat back with folded arms and gazed upwards37 at the now crystalline skies, wondering, as he had never wondered before, about that incomprehensible immensity which for centuries of successive generations man had silently respected. No authoritative38 voice had ever claimed to penetrate39 that supreme40 mystery. Priests had evoked41 the gods from that starry42 depth, poets had sung of the swinging hemispheres, scientists had traced comets and knew the quality of each solar earth; but still that vast arch spanned all the movements of crawling mankind, and closed him in like a basin placed over a colony of ants.
True, it was an illusion, and man had always known that. For generations he had known that the universe contained more than his limited faculties could perceive. And beauty. There had always been the consoling fact of beauty, lulling43 the race of man to content, while every now and again a great mind arose and made one more effort to sweep aside the bejewelled splendour that hung between man and his final destiny—to know.
[Pg 112]
And yet, a slight alteration44 in man's perceptive45 organs and that wide blue shell might shatter and disclose a thousand new forms, like fantastic cities shaped in the clouds at sunset. Physiologists46 claimed that the addition of a single lobe47 to the human brain might mean that man would know the future as well as the past. What if that miracle had been performed? By such means man might have come to know not only the future, but other dimensions as yet unnamed or merely sketched48 out by the mathematician49 in brief, arbitrary terms.
Until that time came, man's deepest speculations about ultimate reality brought him no nearer to the truth than the child worrying himself to sleep over the problem of what happened before God made the universe. Man remained, in that sense, as innocent as a child, from birth to death. Until the actual structure of the cells in his brain suffered a change man could not actually know.
Einstein could say that we were probably wrong in our basic conceptions. But could he say how we were to get right? The Clockwork man might be the beginning.
And then, when that change had been wrought50, that physical reconstruction51, what else might follow in its train? The Truth at last, an end to all suffering and pain, a solution[Pg 113] of the problems of civilisation52, such as overpopulation and land distribution, the beginning of human sovereignty in the universe.
But Gregg had the sense to admit to himself that his generalisation was no more than a faint aurora53 hovering54 around the rumoured55 dawn of the future. It was necessary, in the first place, to posit4 an imperfect thinking apparatus56. After all, the Clockwork man was still a mystery to be solved, and even if he failed to justify57 a single theory born of merely human conjecture, there still remained the exhilarating task of finding out what actually he was and how he had come to earth.
III
Leaving Gregg at his rooms in the upper part of the town, the Doctor drove slowly along the High Street in the direction of his own house. Everything was quiet now, and there was no sign of further disturbance58, no indication that a miracle had taken place in the prosaic59 town of Great Wymering. The Doctor noted60 the fact with quiet satisfaction; it helped him to simmer down, and it was necessary, for the sake of his digestion61, that he should feel soothed62 and comforted.
Still, if Gregg's conjectures63 were anywhere near the mark, in a very few hours it would be[Pg 114] known all over England that the jaws64 of the future had opened and disclosed this monstrosity to the eyes of the present. There would be a great stir of excitement; the newspapers would be full of the event. Indeed, the whole course of the world might be altered as a result of this astounding65 revelation.
He would be dragged into the affair. In spite of himself, he would be obliged to go into some sort of witness box and declare that from the first he had thought the Clockwork man phenomenal, when, as a matter of fact, he had merely thought him a nuisance. But, as one of those who had first seen the strange figure on the hill, and as a medical man, he would be expected to make an intelligent statement. One had to be consistent about such things.
And the real truth was that he had no desire to interest himself in the matter. It disturbed his mental equilibrium66, and threatened the validity of that carefully considered world of assumptions which enabled him to make light, easy jests at its inconsistencies and incongruities67.
Besides, it was distressing68 to discover that, in middle life, he was no longer in the vanguard of human hopes and fears; but a miserable69 backslider, dating back to the time when thought and serious living had become[Pg 115] too difficult for comfort. Regarded in this way, nothing could ever compensate70 for the wasted years, the ideals extinguished, the rich hopes bargained for cheap doubts—unless, indeed, it was the reflection that such was the common lot of mankind. The comfortable old world rolled on from generation to generation, and nothing extraordinary happened to startle people out of their complacent71 preoccupation with passions, desires and ambitions. Miracles were supposed to have happened at certain stages in world-history, but they were immediately obliterated73 by a mass of controversial comment, or hushed up by those whose axes were ground in a world that could be relied upon to go on repeating itself.
A comfortable world! Of course, there were malcontents. When the shoe pinched, anybody would cry out for fire from heaven. But if a plebiscite were to be taken, it would be found that an overwhelming majority would be in favour of a world without miracles. If, for example, it could be demonstrated that this Clockwork man was a being in many ways superior to the rest of mankind, he would be hounded out of existence by a jealous and conservative humanity.
But the Clockwork man was not. He never had been, and, indeed, God forbid he ever should be.
[Pg 116]
With that reflection illuminating74 his mind, the Doctor ran his car into the garage, and with some return of his usual debonair75 manner, with something of that abiding76 confidence in a solid earth which is a necessary prelude77 to the marshalling of digestive juices, opened the front door of his house.
IV
Mrs. Masters was standing78 in the sitting room awaiting him. The Doctor strode in without stopping to remove his hat or place his gloves aside, a peculiar79 mannerism80 of his upon which Mrs. Masters was wont81 occasionally to admonish82 him; for the good lady was not slow to give banter18 for banter when the opportunity arose, and she objected to these relics83 of the Doctor's earlier bohemian ways. But for the moment her mood seemed to be rather one of blandishment.
"A young lady called to see you this evening," she announced, smilingly.
The Doctor removed his hat as though in honour of the mere mention of his visitor. "Did you give her my love?" was his light rejoinder, hat still poised84 at an elegant angle.
"Indeed, no," retorted Mrs. Masters, "it wouldn't be my place to give such messages. Not as though she weren't inquisitive85 enough[Pg 117]—with asking questions about this and that. As though it were any business of 'ers 'ow you choose to arrange your house'old."
"On the contrary, I am flattered," said the Doctor, inwardly chafing86 at this new example of Lilian's originality87. "But tell me, Mrs. Masters, am I not becoming more successful with the ladies?" As he spoke88, he flicked89 with his gloves the reflection of himself in the mirror.
"You don't need to be reminded of that fact, I'm sure," sighed Mrs. Masters, "life sits lightly enough on you. I fear, too lightly. If I might venture to say so, a man in your position ought to take life more seriously."
"My patients would disagree with you."
"Ah, well, I grant you that. They say you cure more with your tongue than with your physic."
"I certainly value my wit more than my prescriptions," laughingly agreed the Doctor, "But, tell me, what was the lady's impression of my menagé? And that reminds me, you have not told me her name yet. Did she carry a red parasol, or was it a white one?"
"I'm sure I never noticed," frowned Mrs. Masters, "such things don't interest me. But her name was Miss Lilian Payne—"
The Doctor interrupted with a guffah. "Come, Mrs. Masters, we need not beat about[Pg 118] the bush. I rather fancy you are aware of our relationship. Did you find her agreeable?"
"Pretty middling," said Mrs. Masters, reluctantly, "although at first I was put out by her manners. Such airs these modern young women give themselves. But she got round me in the end with her pretty ways, and I found myself taking 'er all round the 'ouse, which of course I ought not to 'ave done without your permission."
"Tell me," said the Doctor, without moving a muscle in his face, "was she satisfied with her tour of my premises90?"
"There now!" exclaimed Mrs. Masters, hastily arranging an antimacassar on the back of a chair, "I won't tell you that, because, of course, I don't know."
She retreated towards the door.
"But did she leave any message?" enquired the Doctor, fixing her with his eye-glass.
"Botheration!" ejaculated Mrs. Masters, in aggrieved91 tones, "now you've asked me and I've got to tell you. I wanted to keep it back. Oh, I do hope you're not going to be disappointed. I'm sure she didn't really mean it."
"She says to me, she says, 'Tell him there's nothing doing.'"
There was a pause. Mrs. Masters drew in[Pg 119] her lip and folded her arms stiffly. The Doctor stared hard at her for a moment, and almost betrayed himself. Then he threw back his head and laughed with the air of a man to whom all issues of life, great and small, had become the object of a graduated hilarity93. "Then upon some other lady will fall the supreme honour," he observed.
"You mean—" began Mrs. Masters, and then eyed him with the meaning expression of a woman scenting94 danger or happiness for some other woman. "That young lady is not suited to you, at all events," she continued, shaking her head.
"Evidently not," replied the Doctor, carelessly, "but it is not of the slightest importance. As I have said, the honour—"
"Ah," broke in Mrs. Masters, "there's only one woman for you, and you have yet to find her."
"There's only one woman for me, and that is the woman who will marry me. Nay95, don't lecture me, Mrs. Masters. I perceive the admonishment96 leaping to your eye. I am determined97 to approach this question of matrimony in the spirit of levity98 which you admit is my good or evil genius. Life is a comedy, and in order to shine in it one must assume the r?le of the buffoon99 who rollicks through the scenes, poking100 fun at those sober-[Pg 120]minded folk upon whose earnestness the very comedy depends. I will marry in jest and repent101 in laughter."
"Incorrigible102 man," said Mrs. Masters. But the Doctor had turned his back upon her, unwilling103 to reveal the sudden change in his features. Even as he spoke those light words, there came to him the reflection that he did not really mean them, and his pose seemed to crumble104 to dust. He had lived up to these nothings for years, but now he knew that they were nothings. As though to crown the irritations105 of a trying day, there came to him the conviction that his whole life had been an affair of studied gestures, of meticulous106 gesticulations.
V
Over an unsatisfactory meal he tried to think things out, conscious all the time that he was missing gastronomical107 opportunities through sheer inattention.
Of course, Lilian's impression of his menagé would have been unsatisfactory, even though he had escorted her over the house himself; but it was highly significant that she should have preferred to come alone. Holding advanced opinions about the simplification of the house, and of the woman's duties therein,[Pg 121] she would regard his establishment as unwieldy, overcrowded, old-fashioned, even musty. It would represent to her unnecessary responsibilities, labour without reward, meaningless ostentation108. The Doctor's own tastes lay in the direction of massive, ornate furniture, rich carpets and hangings, a multiplicity of ornaments109. He liked a house filled to the brim with expensive things. He was a born collector and accumulator of odds110 and ends, of things that had become necessary to his varying moods. He was proud of his house, with its seventeen rooms, including two magnificent reception rooms, four spare bedrooms in a state of constant readiness, like fire-stations, for old friends who always said they were coming and never did; its elaborate kitchen arrangements and servants' quarters. Then there were cosy111 little rooms which a woman of taste would be able to decorate according to her whim112, workrooms, snuggeries, halls and landings. There was much in the place that ought to appeal to a woman with right instincts.
Was Lilian going to destroy their happiness for the sake of these modern heresies113? Surely she would not throw him over now; and yet her message left that impression. Nowadays women were so led by their sensibilities. Lilian's hypersensitive nature might revolt at[Pg 122] the prospect114 of living with him in the surroundings of his own choice.
He would look such a fool if the match did not come off. He had made so many sacrifices for her sake, sacrifices that were undignified, but necessary in a country town where every detail of daily life speedily becomes common knowledge. That was why he would appear so ridiculous if the marriage did not take place. It had been necessary, in the first place, to establish himself in the particular clique115 favoured by Lilian's parents, and although this man?uvre had involved a further lapse116 from his already partly disestablished principles, and an almost palpable insincerity, the Doctor had adopted it without much scruple117. He had resigned his position as Vicar's churchwarden at the rather eucharistic parish church, and become a mere worshipper in a back pew at the Baptist chapel118; for Lilian's father favoured the humble119 religion of self-made men. He had subscribed120 to the local temperance society, and contributed medical articles to the local paper on the harmful effects of alcohol and the training of midwives. In the winter evenings he gave lantern lectures on "The Wonders of Science." He organised a P.S.A., delivered addresses to Young Men Only, and generally did all he could to advance the Baptist cause, which, in[Pg 123] Great Wymering, stood not only for simplicity121 of religious belief, but also for the simplification of daily life aided by scientific knowledge and common sense. All that had been necessary in order to become legitimately122 intimate with the Payne family; for they enjoyed the most aggravating123 good health, and the Doctor had grown tired of awaiting an opportunity to dispense124 anti-toxins in exchange for tea.
But the class to which the Paynes belonged were not really humble. They were urban in origin, and the semi-aristocratic tradition of Great Wymering was opposed to them. They had come down from the London suburbs in response to advertisements of factory sites, and their enterprise had been amazing. Within a few years Great Wymering had ceased to be a pleasing country town, with historic associations dating back to the first Roman occupation; it was merely known to travellers on the South-Eastern and Chatham railway as the place where Payne's Dog Biscuits were manufactured.
The Doctor, in establishing himself in the right quarter, had forgotten to allow for the fact that the force that had lifted the Paynes out of their urban obscurity had descended125 to their daughter. Lilian had been expensively educated, and although the Doctor denied it[Pg 124] to himself a hundred times a week, there was no evading126 the fact that an acute brain slumbered127 behind her rather immobile beauty. True, the fruits of her learning languished128 a little in Great Wymering, and that beyond a slight permanent frown and a disposition129 to argue about modern problems, she betrayed no revolt against the narrowness of her existence, but appeared, graceful130 and willowy, at garden parties or whist drives. It was the development of her mind that the Doctor feared, especially as, all unconsciously at first, he had acted as its chief stimulant131. During their talks together he had spoken too many a true word in jest; and his witticisms132 had revealed to Lilian a whole world about which to think and theorise.
He glanced up at her photograph on the mantelpiece. If there was a flaw in the composition of her fair, Saxon beauty, it was that the mouth was a little too large and opened rather too easily, disclosing teeth that were not as regular as they should be. But nature's blunder often sets the seal on man's choice, and to the Doctor this trifling133 fault gave warmth and vivacity134 to a face that might easily have been cold and impassive, especially as her eyes were steel blue and she had no great art in the use of them. Her voice, too, often startled the listener by its occasional note that[Pg 125] suggested an excitability of temperament135 barely under control.
In vain the Doctor tried to throw off his heavy reflections and assume the air of gaiety usual to him when drinking his coffee and thinking of Lilian. Such an oppression could hardly be ascribed to the malady136 of love. It was not Romeo's "heavy lightness, serious vanity." It was a deep perplexity, a grave foreboding that something had gone hideously137 wrong with him, something that he was unable to diagnose. It could not be that he was growing old. As a medical man he knew his age to an artery138. And yet, in spite of his physical culture and rather deliberate chastity, he felt suddenly that he was not a fit companion for this young girl with her resilient mind. He had always been fastidious about morals, without being exactly moral, but there was something within him that he did not care to contemplate139. It almost seemed as though the sins of the mind were more deadly than those of the flesh, for the latter expressed themselves in action and re-action, while the former remained in the mind, there to poison and corrupt140 the very source of all activity.
What was it then—this feeling of a fixation of himself—of a slowing down of his faculties? Was it some strange new malady of the modern world, a state of mind as yet not[Pg 126] crystallised by the poet or thinker? It was difficult to get a clear image to express his condition; yet that was his need. There was no phrase or word in his memory that could symbolise his feeling.
And then there was the Clockwork man—something else to think about, to be wondered at.
At this point in the Doctor's reflections the door opened suddenly and Mrs. Masters ushered141 in the Curate, very dishevelled and obviously in need of immediate72 medical attention. His collar was all awry142, and the look upon his face was that of a man who has looked long and fixedly143 at some object utterly144 frightful145 and could not rid himself of the image. "I've had a shock," he began, trying pathetically to smile recognition. "Sorry disturb you—meal time—" He sank into a saddle-bag chair and waved limp arms expressively146. "There was a man—" he got out.
The Doctor wiped his mouth and produced a stethoscope. His manner became soothingly147 professional. He murmured sympathetic phrases and pulled a chair closer to his patient.
"There was a man," continued the Curate, in ancient-mariner-like tones, "at the Templars' Hall. I thought he was the conjurer, but he wasn't—at least, I don't think so. He did things—impossible things—"
[Pg 127]
"What sort of things," enquired the Doctor, slowly, as he listened to the Curate's heart. "You must make an effort to steady yourself."
But the Curate shook his head. Fortunately, in his professional character there was no need for the Doctor to exhibit surprise. On the contrary, it was necessary, for his patient's sake, to exercise control. He leaned against the mantelpiece and listened attentively150 to the Curate's hurried account of his encounter with the Clockwork man, and shook his head gravely.
"Well, now," he prescribed, "complete rest for a few days, in a sitting posture151. I'll give you something to quieten you down. Evidently you've had a shock."
"It's very hard," the Curate complained, "that my infirmity should have prevented me from seeing more. The spirit was willing but the flesh was weak."
"Very likely," the Doctor suggested, "someone has played a trick upon you. Perhaps your own nerves are partly to blame. Men with highly strung nerves like you are very liable to—er—hallucinations."
[Pg 128]
"I wonder," said the Curate, grasping the edge of his chair, "I wonder, now, if Moses felt like this when he saw the burning bush."
"Ah, very likely," rejoined the Doctor, glad of the opportunity to enforce his analogy. "There's not the least doubt that many so-called miracles in the past had their origin in some pathological condition improperly152 understood at the time. Moses probably suffered from some sort of hysteria—a sort of hypnosis. Even in those days there was the problem of nervous breakdown153."
His voice died away. The Curate was not actually shaking his head, but there was upon his features an expression of incredulity, the like of which the Doctor had not seen before upon a human face, for it was the incredulity of a man to whom all arguments against the incredible are in themselves unbelievable. It was a grotesque154 expression, and with it there went a pathetic fluttering of the Curate's eyelids155, a twitching156 of his lips, a clasping of small white hands.
"I'm afraid your explanation won't hold water," he rejoined. "I can't bring myself not to believe in what I saw. You see, all my life I have been trying to believe in miracles, in manifestations158. I have always said that if only we could bring ourselves to accept what is not obvious. My best sermons have been upon[Pg 129] that subject: of the desirability of getting ourselves into the receptive state. Sometimes the Vicar has objected. He seemed to think I was piling it on deliberately159. But I assure you, Doctor Allingham, that I have always wanted to believe—and, in this case, it was only my infirmity and my unfortunate nervousness that led me to lose such an opportunity."
The Doctor drew himself up stiffly, and just perceptibly indicated the door. "I think you need a holiday," he remarked, "and a change from theological pursuits. And don't forget. Rest, for a few days, in a sitting posture."
"Thank you," the Curate beamed, "I'm afraid the Vicar will be very annoyed, but it can't be helped."
They were in the hall now, and the Doctor was holding the street door open.
"But it happened," the Curate whispered. "It really did happen—and we shall hear and see more. I only hope I shall be well enough to stand it. We are living in great days."
He hovered160 on the doorstep, rubbing his hands together and looking timidly up at the stars as though half expecting to see a sign. "It distressed161 me at first," he resumed, "because he was such an odd-looking person, and the whole experience was really on the humorous side. I wanted to laugh at him,[Pg 130] and it made me feel so disgraceful. But I'm quite sure he was a manifestation157 of something, perhaps an apotheosis162."
"Don't hurry home," warned the Doctor. "Take things quietly."
"Oh, yes, of course. The body is a frail163 instrument. One forgets that. So good of you. But the spirit endures. Good night."
He glided164 along the deserted165 High Street. The Doctor held the door ajar for a long while and watched that frail figure, nursing a tremendous conviction and hurrying along, in spite of instructions to the contrary.
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enquired
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| 打听( enquire的过去式和过去分词 )； 询问； 问问题； 查问 | |
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grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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wig
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posit
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| v.假定，认为 | |
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inexplicable
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| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
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conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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persistency
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| n. 坚持(余辉, 时间常数) | |
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purely
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utilitarian
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lair
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| n.野兽的巢穴；躲藏处 | |
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fumbled
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| （笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下 | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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niches
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| 壁龛( niche的名词复数 )； 合适的位置[工作等]； （产品的）商机； 生态位（一个生物所占据的生境的最小单位） | |
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premium
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| n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的 | |
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15
flair
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| n.天赋，本领，才华；洞察力 | |
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16
antagonism
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| n.对抗，敌对，对立 | |
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17
bantering
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| adj.嘲弄的v.开玩笑，说笑，逗乐( banter的现在分词 )；（善意地）取笑，逗弄 | |
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18
banter
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| n.嘲弄，戏谑；v.取笑，逗弄，开玩笑 | |
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19
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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20
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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21
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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22
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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23
cosmos
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| n.宇宙；秩序，和谐 | |
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24
heralded
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| v.预示( herald的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布（好或重要） | |
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25
eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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26
rigidity
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| adj.钢性，坚硬 | |
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27
fickleness
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| n.易变；无常；浮躁；变化无常 | |
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28
frustration
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| n.挫折，失败，失效，落空 | |
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29
aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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30
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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31
mightier
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| adj. 强有力的，强大的，巨大的 adv. 很，极其 | |
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32
interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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33
speculations
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| n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断 | |
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34
mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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35
lurked
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| vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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36
postulate
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| n.假定，基本条件；vt.要求，假定 | |
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37
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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38
authoritative
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| adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的 | |
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39
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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40
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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41
evoked
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| [医]诱发的 | |
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42
starry
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| adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的 | |
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43
lulling
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| vt.使镇静，使安静（lull的现在分词形式） | |
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44
alteration
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| n.变更，改变；蚀变 | |
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45
perceptive
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|
| adj.知觉的，有洞察力的，感知的 | |
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46
physiologists
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|
| n.生理学者( physiologist的名词复数 )；生理学( physiology的名词复数 )；生理机能 | |
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47
lobe
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| n.耳垂，（肺，肝等的）叶 | |
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48
sketched
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| v.草拟（sketch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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49
mathematician
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| n.数学家 | |
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50
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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51
reconstruction
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| n.重建，再现，复原 | |
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52
civilisation
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| n.文明，文化，开化，教化 | |
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53
aurora
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| n.极光 | |
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54
hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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55
rumoured
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| adj.谣传的；传说的；风 | |
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56
apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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57
justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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58
disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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59
prosaic
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| adj.单调的，无趣的 | |
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60
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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61
digestion
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| n.消化，吸收 | |
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62
soothed
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| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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63
conjectures
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| 推测，猜想( conjecture的名词复数 ) | |
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64
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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65
astounding
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| adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
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66
equilibrium
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| n.平衡，均衡，相称，均势，平静 | |
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67
incongruities
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| n.不协调( incongruity的名词复数 )；不一致；不适合；不协调的东西 | |
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68
distressing
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| a.使人痛苦的 | |
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69
miserable
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|
| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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70
compensate
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|
| vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消 | |
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71
complacent
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|
| adj.自满的；自鸣得意的 | |
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72
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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73
obliterated
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| v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭 | |
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74
illuminating
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| a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的 | |
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75
debonair
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| adj.殷勤的，快乐的 | |
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76
abiding
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| adj.永久的，持久的，不变的 | |
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77
prelude
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| n.序言，前兆，序曲 | |
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78
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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79
peculiar
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|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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80
mannerism
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| n.特殊习惯，怪癖 | |
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81
wont
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|
| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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82
admonish
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| v.训戒；警告；劝告 | |
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83
relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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84
poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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85
inquisitive
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|
| adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的 | |
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86
chafing
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|
| n.皮肤发炎v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的现在分词 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒 | |
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87
originality
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| n.创造力，独创性；新颖 | |
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88
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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89
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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90
premises
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|
| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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91
aggrieved
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|
| adj.愤愤不平的，受委屈的；悲痛的；（在合法权利方面）受侵害的v.令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式)；令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式和过去分词) | |
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92
irritably
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| ad.易生气地 | |
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93
hilarity
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| n.欢乐；热闹 | |
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94
scenting
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| vt.闻到（scent的现在分词形式） | |
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95
nay
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|
| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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96
admonishment
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| n.警告 | |
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97
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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98
levity
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| n.轻率，轻浮，不稳定，多变 | |
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99
buffoon
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| n.演出时的丑角 | |
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100
poking
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|
| n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢 | |
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101
repent
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| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 | |
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102
incorrigible
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| adj.难以纠正的，屡教不改的 | |
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103
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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104
crumble
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|
| vi.碎裂，崩溃；vt.弄碎，摧毁 | |
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105
irritations
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|
| n.激怒( irritation的名词复数 )；恼怒；生气；令人恼火的事 | |
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106
meticulous
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| adj.极其仔细的，一丝不苟的 | |
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107
gastronomical
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| adj.美食法的，美食学的 | |
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108
ostentation
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| n.夸耀，卖弄 | |
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109
ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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110
odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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111
cosy
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| adj.温暖而舒适的，安逸的 | |
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112
whim
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| n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想 | |
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113
heresies
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| n.异端邪说，异教( heresy的名词复数 ) | |
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114
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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115
clique
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| n.朋党派系，小集团 | |
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116
lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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117
scruple
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| n./v.顾忌，迟疑 | |
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118
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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119
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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120
subscribed
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| v.捐助( subscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；签署，题词；订阅；同意 | |
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121
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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122
legitimately
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| ad.合法地；正当地，合理地 | |
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123
aggravating
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| adj.恼人的，讨厌的 | |
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124
dispense
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| vt.分配，分发；配(药)，发(药)；实施 | |
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125
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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126
evading
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| 逃避( evade的现在分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出 | |
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127
slumbered
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| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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128
languished
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|
| 长期受苦( languish的过去式和过去分词 )； 受折磨； 变得（越来越）衰弱； 因渴望而变得憔悴或闷闷不乐 | |
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129
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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130
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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131
stimulant
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| n.刺激物，兴奋剂 | |
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132
witticisms
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| n.妙语，俏皮话( witticism的名词复数 ) | |
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133
trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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134
vivacity
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| n.快活，活泼，精神充沛 | |
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135
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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136
malady
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|
| n.病，疾病(通常做比喻) | |
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137
hideously
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| adv.可怕地，非常讨厌地 | |
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138
artery
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| n.干线，要道；动脉 | |
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139
contemplate
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|
| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
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140
corrupt
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|
| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
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141
ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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142
awry
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| adj.扭曲的，错的 | |
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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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144
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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expressively
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| ad.表示(某事物)地；表达地 | |
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soothingly
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| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
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148
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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blandly
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| adv.温和地，殷勤地 | |
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attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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151
posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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152
improperly
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| 不正确地，不适当地 | |
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153
breakdown
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| n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌 | |
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154
grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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155
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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twitching
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| n.颤搐 | |
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157
manifestation
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| n.表现形式；表明；现象 | |
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158
manifestations
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| n.表示，显示（manifestation的复数形式） | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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hovered
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| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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apotheosis
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| n.神圣之理想；美化；颂扬 | |
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163
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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