Chapter 108

THE MERCHANT WHOSE LIFE I had saved on the road to Treille broke into a hearty¹ smile. He held me by the shoulders, then hugged me, and hustled² Emilie and me through the door. I took off my skullcap and shook out my red hair.

Geoffrey laughed. I said to myself, you look like no Jew I had ever seen before.

We are pork-eating Jews. I grinned.

We hugged each other again, like old friends. I laid down my staff and unfastened my robe. This is Emilie. She's a close friend. This is Geoffrey, who once helped save my life.

And I was only able to, Geoffrey said, because Hugh had once saved mine.Ours.

Isabel and Thomas came in from another room. As I live and breathe, she exclaimed, it is the jester with the lives of a cat.

We were led to a sitting room lined with weavings and old scrolls³ and tracts⁴. Geoffrey offered us his bench.

What is the mood of the city? I asked.

He frowned. Foul⁵. What used to be a thriving city is now just a pigpen that feeds the duke. And it will only get worse. There is talk of an uprising somewhere, an army of peasants in the forest who took up arms, headed here. Farmers, shepherds, woodsmen, led by a fool with some kind of relic⁶ gotten from the Crusade.... A lance with their Savior's blood on it.

You meanthis ? I took out my staff and let his eyes travel over it. I smiled. I have heard of such an uprising.

The merchant's eyes grew wide. This isyou....You are the jester.... Hugh.

I nodded. Then I told Geoffrey my plan.

1 hearty   

adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的

参考例句：

• After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
• We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。

2 hustled   

催促（hustle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He grabbed her arm and hustled her out of the room. 他抓住她的胳膊把她推出房间。
• The secret service agents hustled the speaker out of the amphitheater. 特务机关的代理人把演讲者驱逐出竞技场。

3 scrolls   

n.（常用于录写正式文件的）纸卷( scroll的名词复数 )；卷轴；涡卷形（装饰）；卷形花纹v.（电脑屏幕上）从上到下移动（资料等），卷页( scroll的第三人称单数 )；（似卷轴般）卷起；（像展开卷轴般地）将文字显示于屏幕

参考例句：

• Either turn it off or only pick up selected stuff like wands, rings and scrolls. 把他关掉然后只捡你需要的物品，像是魔杖(wand)，戒指(rings)和滚动条(scrolls)。 来自互联网
• Ancient scrolls were found in caves by the Dead Sea. 死海旁边的山洞里发现了古代的卷轴。 来自辞典例句

4 tracts   

大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文

参考例句：

• vast tracts of forest 大片大片的森林
• There are tracts of desert in Australia. 澳大利亚有大片沙漠。

5 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

6 relic   

n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物

参考例句：

• This stone axe is a relic of ancient times.这石斧是古代的遗物。
• He found himself thinking of the man as a relic from the past.他把这个男人看成是过去时代的人物。