Chapter 137

WE HAD LOST!

Alphonse hurled¹ down his sword, unable to speak, as were so many others. Georges threw himself onto the ground, spent and drained. Father Leo did his best to comfort everyone, but his face was as desolate² as any.

You men must not let down your guard, Daniel yelled. Stephen may send his horsemen to finish the job tonight.

His warning, however real, seemed a million miles away. Darkness was falling. Mercifully, as if its black cloak offered some reprieve³. Our soldiers sat down around fires, exhausted⁴, rubbing salve on their burns and other wounds. Some wept for their friends; others thanked God that they were still alive.

Did anyone see Odo? I looked around. I had known Odo since I was a boy. Alois and Georges merely shook their heads.

He's a wily sort, Georges finally said. If anyone could make it back, it's him.

Yes, Alphonse agreed, pretending to be optimistic. He was s-so close in, he probably just d-ducked behind the walls to steal a keg of Stephen's best mead⁶.

Many died today. Daniel sighed, spreading out a map of Bord. We can't spend time on one more.

The chatelain is right. Ox nodded. Thirty of my men are dead, maybe more.

I looked in the Languedocian's eyes. Your men were brave to join us. But this is not your fight. I release you from your pledge. Go, take the rest home.

Ox stared back as if insulted. Who said anything about going home? He cracked a toothy smile through his beard. In Languedoc, we say a good fight doesn't even begin until some blood is on the floor. God gave us all two arms, but hell, one's just for scratching our balls, anyway.

Around the fire, we all started to laugh. Then the din⁵ subsided⁷. Georges shrugged⁸. So, what do we do now?

I looked at the men, face by face.

Continue the fight, Alphonse said. Stephen massacred our town. That's why we came here, no?

You've grown a lot of spunk⁹, lad. Georges sniffed¹⁰. But tomorrow it could be you who's left moaning out there.

Keep pounding the walls, Daniel insisted. By the river, they are not as fortified¹¹. We can hit them with our mangonels all day. Sooner or later, they'll cave.

Father Leo cut in, Maybe soon, word from the King will come?

It is autumn, Daniel pressed. You were in Antioch, Hugh. You've seen that a siege is not determined¹² in one day. Stephen has scorched¹³ his own earth. They couldn't have stockpiled food and water for the entire winter.

I had to ask: Is anyone for meeting Stephen's terms? I looked around, awaiting their reply. There was only silence.

Finally, Georges picked himself up off of the ground. I was raised to grind grain, not to soldier. But we've all made our choice here. We've each lost loved ones. My boy Alo. Your friends, Ox... Odo. What would any of their deaths mean if we turned it in now?

Whosedeath are you speaking of? a voice barked in the darkness.

We looked up. A huge, hulking shape came forward. At first, I thought it was an apparition¹⁴.

Dear God. The miller¹⁵ shook his head.

The big smith limped stiffly toward our fire. Odo's skins were torn and smeared¹⁶ with blood. His bushy brown beard was matted with who knew what.

I met Odo's eyes, which showed the horror that he had faced. I was so exhausted, I could not even get up to give him a hug. What the hell took you so long?

Fucking hard to claw your way out with all those green-and-gold shits piled on top. He sighed with an exhausted grin. So, anything to drink?

I finally got up, wrapped my arms around his shoulders in an adoring hug, and slapped his back. I felt his broad shoulders tense. His arms were covered in burns and one leg was bloody¹⁷ and raw. Someone put a mug in his hand and he drained it in a single swallow. A nod from Odo said, One more.

Then he looked up at us, our incredulous smiles. It was a bad day today, huh?

We stared back.

Well... Odo swung his bloody leg up, the gash¹⁸ in his thigh¹⁹ causing even Ox to cringe. He took the second mug and poured it all over the wound, sucking back pain. No mind. He shrugged at our blank stares. We'll kick their asses²⁰ tomorrow.

1 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 desolate   

adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂

参考例句：

• The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
• We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

3 reprieve   

n.暂缓执行（死刑）；v.缓期执行；给…带来缓解

参考例句：

• He was saved from the gallows by a lastminute reprieve.最后一刻的缓刑令把他从绞架上解救了下来。
• The railway line, due for closure, has been granted a six-month reprieve.本应停运的铁路线获准多运行6 个月。

4 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

5 din   

n.喧闹声，嘈杂声

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• They tried to make themselves heard over the din of the crowd.他们力图让自己的声音盖过人群的喧闹声。

6 mead   

n.蜂蜜酒

参考例句：

• He gave me a cup of mead.他给我倒了杯蜂蜜酒。
• He drank some mead at supper.晚饭时他喝了一些蜂蜜酒。

7 subsided   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• After the heavy rains part of the road subsided. 大雨过后，部分公路塌陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• By evening the storm had subsided and all was quiet again. 傍晚， 暴风雨已经过去，四周开始沉寂下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 spunk   

n.勇气，胆量

参考例句：

• After his death,the soldier was cited for spunk.那位士兵死后因作战勇敢而受到表彰。
• I admired her independence and her spunk.我敬佩她的独立精神和勇气。

10 sniffed   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 fortified   

adj. 加强的

参考例句：

• He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
• The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。

12 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

13 scorched   

烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦

参考例句：

• I scorched my dress when I was ironing it. 我把自己的连衣裙熨焦了。
• The hot iron scorched the tablecloth. 热熨斗把桌布烫焦了。

14 apparition   

n.幽灵，神奇的现象

参考例句：

• He saw the apparition of his dead wife.他看见了他亡妻的幽灵。
• But the terror of this new apparition brought me to a stand.这新出现的幽灵吓得我站在那里一动也不敢动。

15 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

16 smeared   

弄脏； 玷污； 涂抹； 擦上

参考例句：

• The children had smeared mud on the walls. 那几个孩子往墙上抹了泥巴。
• A few words were smeared. 有写字被涂模糊了。

17 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。

18 gash   

v.深切，划开；n.(深长的)切(伤)口；裂缝

参考例句：

• The deep gash in his arm would take weeks to heal over.他胳膊上的割伤很深，需要几个星期的时间才能痊愈。
• After the collision,the body of the ship had a big gash.船被撞后，船身裂开了一个大口子。

19 thigh   

n.大腿；股骨

参考例句：

• He is suffering from a strained thigh muscle.他的大腿肌肉拉伤了，疼得很。
• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。

20 asses   

n. 驴，愚蠢的人，臀部 adv. (常用作后置)用于贬损或骂人

参考例句：

• Sometimes I got to kick asses to make this place run right. 有时我为了把这个地方搞得像个样子，也不得不踢踢别人的屁股。 来自教父部分
• Those were wild asses maybe, or zebras flying around in herds. 那些也许是野驴或斑马在成群地奔跑。