Chapter 130

LOOK.Men began to point.Up on the hill. There it is. Bord!

Above the rolling hills of vineyards and farms, its limestone¹ towers rose with roofs of blue, like lapis etched into the sky. There was the facade² of the famous cathedral, gleaming white; and the castle that I had stayed in, its donjons reaching to the sky-where Emilie was.

As we neared, the exhilaration spread: I'm gonna take Stephen in one arm and his largest hen in the other, and squeeze them till they both lay a fucking egg, a boastful farmer yelled.

Behind me, my new army stretched for nearly a mile. In every row, men marched in different clothing: tailors, woodsmen, and farmers in their own garb³, but with thrown-together mail and helmets they had swiped from Baldwin. They carried pennants⁴ from their towns, pikes and clubs and bows on their backs. Some even spoke⁵ different dialects.

The vast line included men and horses, carts drawn⁶ by heavy oxen, and catapults, mangonels, and trebuchets with their loads of heavy stone. All beat a cloud of dust that seemed to smother⁷ the sky.

But the giddy boasts and dares began to fade the closer we got to Bord. This was no ant's nest in the middle of nowhere with a pompous⁸ duke who did not want to dirty his hands with combat. This was a city, the largest many of us had ever seen. We had to take this place! It was protected by rings of walls, each manned with archers⁹ and artillery¹⁰. Its reserve of knights¹¹ was twice our number, many of them emboldened¹² by bloody¹³ victories in the Crusade. The closer we got, the higher the walls loomed¹⁴ over us. I knew the same reality drummed through every soul: Many of us would die here.

All around, farms close to the city were shuttered and abandoned, livestock¹⁵ nowhere to be seen. Plumes¹⁶ of smoke trickled¹⁷ into the sky, from bales of hay and grain carts set afire. Stephen was giving us no sustenance¹⁸ or quarter. He was preparing for a siege.

People we passed did not cheer us as at Treille. They spat¹⁹ at us or averted²⁰ their eyes. Go home, rebels, heretics. You're God's curse!

Look at what you've brought on us, a woman wailed²¹, scavenging for food. Go on, your welcoming committee lies just ahead.

Welcoming committee...? What did she mean by that?

As we neared the city, men at the front pointed²² to what seemed a row of crosses lining²³ the road. A few ran ahead.

As they did, their faces lost some color. A silence came over the ranks, which only moments before had been boasting of what they would do when they reached Bord.

The welcoming committee.

These were not crosses but bodies, some still alive, muttering, moving their limbs feebly, impaled²⁴ on long shafts²⁵ that split their torsos.

Some through the anus. Others, even worse, upside down. Men, young and old, farmers, tradesmen in common garb. Women too, stripped naked like whores, moaning, choking for breath, eyes glazed²⁶ over in agony. There was a row of thirty of them.

Get them down, I shouted. My heart sank as at Civetot, or riding into the damned village of St. C俢ile. What had these poor people done? I rode by, barely able to look.

Then I stopped at one of the bodies. My blood came to a halt. My eyes actually rolled back in my head.

It was Elena ,Emilie's maidservant.

I jumped off my horse and with my sword started to hack²⁷ at the stake until it sheared²⁸, then I gently eased her down.

I lifted Elena's head in my hands and stared at her chafed²⁹ white face, peeking³⁰ through tufts of bloodied³¹ hair. She was in torn, soiled rags, desecrated³² like some shameless murderess. All the poor soul had done was serve her lady.

Anger dug into my ribs³³, sharp as a knife. If this was Elena, what had happened to Emilie?

What kind of warning was this monster giving me?

My breath stuck in my chest. I turned to the man behind me. Bury her as well.

1 limestone   

n.石灰石

参考例句：

• Limestone is often used in building construction.石灰岩常用于建筑。
• Cement is made from limestone.水泥是由石灰石制成的。

2 facade   

n.(建筑物的)正面，临街正面；外表

参考例句：

• The entrance facade consists of a large full height glass door.入口正面有一大型全高度玻璃门。
• If you look carefully,you can see through Bob's facade.如果你仔细观察，你就能看穿鲍勃的外表。

3 garb   

n.服装，装束

参考例句：

• He wore the garb of a general.他身着将军的制服。
• Certain political,social,and legal forms reappear in seemingly different garb.一些政治、社会和法律的形式在表面不同的外衣下重复出现。

4 pennants   

n.校旗( pennant的名词复数 )；锦标旗；长三角旗；信号旗

参考例句：

• Their manes streamed like stiff black pennants in the wind. 它们的鬃毛直立起来，在风中就像一面面硬硬的黑色三角旗。 来自互联网
• Bud ashtrays, bar towels, coasters, football pennants, and similar items were offered for sale. 同时它还制作烟灰缸、酒吧餐巾、杯垫子、杯托子、足球赛用的三角旗以及诸如此类的物品用于销售。 来自互联网

5 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 smother   

vt./vi.使窒息；抑制；闷死；n.浓烟；窒息

参考例句：

• They tried to smother the flames with a damp blanket.他们试图用一条湿毯子去灭火。
• We tried to smother our laughter.我们强忍住笑。

8 pompous   

adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities.他有点自大，自视甚高。
• He is a good man underneath his pompous appearance. 他的外表虽傲慢，其实是个好人。

9 archers   

n.弓箭手，射箭运动员( archer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The next evening old Mr. Sillerton Jackson came to dine with the Archers. 第二天晚上，西勒顿？杰克逊老先生来和阿切尔家人一起吃饭。 来自辞典例句
• Week of Archer: Double growth for Archers and Marksmen. 射手周：弓箭手与弩手（人类）产量加倍。 来自互联网

10 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

11 knights   

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

参考例句：

• stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
• He wove a fascinating tale of knights in shining armour. 他编了一个穿着明亮盔甲的骑士的迷人故事。

12 emboldened   

v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine, he went over to introduce himself to her. 他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• His success emboldened him to expand his business. 他有了成就因而激发他进一步扩展业务。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

14 loomed   

v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• A dark shape loomed up ahead of us. 一个黑糊糊的影子隐隐出现在我们的前面。
• The prospect of war loomed large in everyone's mind. 战事将起的庞大阴影占据每个人的心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

16 plumes   

羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物

参考例句：

• The dancer wore a headdress of pink ostrich plumes. 那位舞蹈演员戴着粉色鸵鸟毛制作的头饰。
• The plumes on her bonnet barely moved as she nodded. 她点点头，那帽子的羽毛在一个劲儿颤动。

17 trickled   

v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动

参考例句：

• Blood trickled down his face. 血从他脸上一滴滴流下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The tears trickled down her cheeks. 热泪一滴滴从她脸颊上滚下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 sustenance   

n.食物，粮食；生活资料；生计

参考例句：

• We derive our sustenance from the land.我们从土地获取食物。
• The urban homeless are often in desperate need of sustenance.城市里无家可归的人极其需要食物来维持生命。

19 spat   

n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声

参考例句：

• Her parents always have spats.她的父母经常有些小的口角。
• There is only a spat between the brother and sister.那只是兄妹间的小吵小闹。

20 averted   

防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移

参考例句：

• A disaster was narrowly averted. 及时防止了一场灾难。
• Thanks to her skilful handling of the affair, the problem was averted. 多亏她对事情处理得巧妙，才避免了麻烦。

21 wailed   

v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She wailed over her father's remains. 她对着父亲的遗体嚎啕大哭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The women of the town wailed over the war victims. 城里的妇女为战争的死难者们痛哭。 来自辞典例句

22 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

23 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

24 impaled   

钉在尖桩上( impale的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She impaled a lump of meat on her fork. 她用叉子戳起一块肉。
• He fell out of the window and was impaled on the iron railings. 他从窗口跌下去，身体被铁栏杆刺穿了。

25 shafts   

n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等）

参考例句：

• He deliberately jerked the shafts to rock him a bit. 他故意的上下颠动车把，摇这个老猴子几下。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• Shafts were sunk, with tunnels dug laterally. 竖井已经打下，并且挖有横向矿道。 来自辞典例句

26 glazed   

adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神

参考例句：

• eyes glazed with boredom 厌倦无神的眼睛
• His eyes glazed over at the sight of her. 看到她时，他的目光就变得呆滞。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

28 sheared   

v.剪羊毛( shear的过去式和过去分词 )；切断；剪切

参考例句：

• A jet plane sheared the blue sky. 一架喷气式飞机划破蓝空。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The pedal had sheared off at the pivot. 踏板在枢轴处断裂了。 来自辞典例句

29 chafed   

v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的过去式 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒

参考例句：

• Her wrists chafed where the rope had been. 她的手腕上绳子勒过的地方都磨红了。
• She chafed her cold hands. 她揉搓冰冷的双手使之暖和。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

30 peeking   

v.很快地看( peek的现在分词 )；偷看；窥视；微露出

参考例句：

• I couldn't resist peeking in the drawer. 我不由得偷看了一下抽屉里面。
• They caught him peeking in through the keyhole. 他们发现他从钥匙孔里向里窥视。 来自辞典例句

31 bloodied   

v.血污的( bloody的过去式和过去分词 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的

参考例句：

• his bruised and bloodied nose 他沾满血的青肿的鼻子
• His pants leg was torn and bloodied when he fell. 他跌交时裤腿破了，还染上了血。 来自辞典例句

32 desecrated   

毁坏或亵渎( desecrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army desecrated this holy place when they camped here. 侵略军在这块圣地上扎营就是对这块圣地的亵渎。
• She shouldn't have desecrated the picture of a religious leader. 她不该亵渎宗教领袖的画像。

33 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。