Within the Fortnight, they are join'd by a Delegation1 of Indians, sent by Sir William Johnson, most of them Mohawk fighters, who will remain with the Party till the end of October, when, reaching a certain Warrior2 Path, they will inform the Astronomers3 that their own Commissions from the Six Nations allow them to go no further,— with its implied Corollary, that this Path is as far West as the Party, the Visto, and the Line, may proceed.
This will not come as an unforeseen blow, for Hugh Crawfford, accom?panying the Indians, informs the Surveyors of it first thing. "Sort of like Death,— you know it's out there ahead, tho' not when, so you'll ever be hoping for one more Day, at least.
"We'll be crossing Indian trails with some regularity,— these don't trouble the Mohawks in particular. But ahead of us now, there's a Track, running athwart the Visto, north and south, known as the Great Warrior Path. This is not merely an important road for them,— but indeed one of the major High-ways of all inland America. So must it also stand as a boundary line,— for when we come to it, we shall not be allow'd to cross it, and go on."
"It'll take us a quarter of an hour. We'll clean up ev'ry trace of our Pas?sage,— what are they worried about, the running surface? their deerskin shoes? we'll re-surface it for them, we'll give 'em Moccasin Vouchers,—
"Mr. Mason, they treat this Trail as they would a River,— they settle both sides of it, so as to have it secure,— they need the unimpeded Flow. Cutting it with your Visto would be like putting an earthen Dam across a River."
"And how far from Ohio?" with a slight break upon the word.
"Some thirty, forty miles," Crawfford as kindly4 as he can, having himself a history of disappointments out here, again and again, "yet the Path is over Monongahela," silently adding, "Socko Stoombray," as he's heard the Western Spanish say,— one gets used to it. His is a face, how?ever, difficult for Mason, or for many, to read much Sentiment in, so written upon is it, by so many years of hard Sunrises, Elements outside and in, left to rage as they might. "It's a fine road, I've had to use it now and then, if the wind and moon are right, you can fly along— Some?times they chas'd me, sometimes it was me after them,— we've chased
these d——'d mountains through and through, canoeing for our lives
down these mean little rivers,— made some respectable Fortunes, lost 'em in the space of a rifle-shot, as many of us taken or destroy'd over the years as got back safe. Ups and downs steeper'n the Alleghenies, Gents,— I've been captur'd, I've escap'd. We've been friends and ene?mies. They owe me years out of my life, parts of me not working so good,— you'd have to ask them what they think I owe back.— But I know 'em,— not in any deep or magickal way,— rather as you may know those that you've shar'd matters of life and death with,— and although on paper it may look like only a few short steps from the War?path to the River Ohio, I beg you both, be most careful,— for Distance is not the same here, nor is Time."
"At least they told us beforehand...?" Dixon supposes.
Watching an Indian slip back into the forest is like seeing a bird take wing,— each moves vertiginously5 into an Element Mason, all dead weight, cannot enter. The first time he saw it, it made him dizzy. The spot in the Brush where the Indian had vanish'd vibrated, as an eddying6 of no color at all. Contrariwise, watching an Indian emerge, is to see a mean?ingless Darkness eddy7 at length into a Face, and a Face, moreover, that Mason remembers.
He grows apprehensive9 and soon kickish. "I respect them, and their unhappy history. But they put me in a State of Anxiety unnatural," he com?plains to the Revd, "out of all Measure. Unto the Apparition10 of Phantoms11.”
"How's that?"
"I see and even touch things that cannot possibly be there. Yet there they are."
"Can you give me examples?"
"There may lie a Problem, for I am closely sworn not to."
"Makes advising you difficult, of course."
"Yes, and some of them are Pips, too. Shame, really."
"Whilst you so amiably12 quiz with me," says the Revd, "Mr. Dixon seems quite content in their company."
"Who, Young Jollification? drinks with priests, roisters with Pyg?mies,— aye, I've seen that. What cares has he, as long as the Tobacco and Spirits hold out? And withal, throughout, from first Sip13 to empty Bot?tle, he is troubl'd by no least Inkling of Sin, nor question of Fear,— he is far too innocent for any of that. No,— 'tis I who am anxious before the advent14 of these Visitors how Strange, who belong so without separation, to this Country cryptick and perilous15,...passing, tho' never close, as shadowy and serene16 as Deities17 of Forest or River.... So!" cries Mason, turning desperately18 to the Visitors, "- - You're Indians!"
"Mason, that may not be quite—
As Hugh Crawfford is translating,— they hope that's what he's doing,— the Mohawk Chiefs Hendricks, Daniel, and Peter, the Onondaga Chiefs Tanadoras, Sachehaandicks, and Tondeghho,— the Warriors19 Nicholas, Thomas, Abraham, Hanenhereyowagh, John, Sawat-tiss, Jemmy, and John Sturgeon,— the Women Soceena and Hanna,— all are examining Mason and Dixon, and the Instruments,— having earlier observ'd the Sector20 arriving in its pillow'd Waggon21, mindfully borne by the five-shilling Hands, impressive in its assembl'd Size. Learning that 'tis us'd only late at Night, some, presently, are there each time to watch, as the Astronomers lie beneath the Snout, the Brass22 elon?gating into the Heavens, the great curv'd Blade, the Sweeps of Stars con8?verging23 at the Eye, so easily harm'd even at play, hostage, like this, beneath the Instrument pois'd upon it—
The first time they see the Sector brought into the Meridian24, the Indi?ans explain, that for as long as anyone can remember, the Iroquois Nations as well, have observ'd Meridian Lines as Boundaries to separate them one from another.
"Not Rivers, nor Crest-Lines?" Capt. Zhang is amaz'd. "What did the Jesuits think of that?"
"We learn'd it of them."
"One Story," Hendricks adds. "Others believe 'twas not the Jesuits, but powerful Strangers, much earlier."
"Who?"
"The same," declares Zhang, "whose Interests we have continu'd to run across Evidence of,...who for the Term of their Absence are repre?sented by Jesuits, Encyclopedists, and the Royal Society, who see to these particular Routings of Sha upon the Surface of the Planet by way of segments of Great or Lesser26 Circles."
"Shall we resign our Commissions? Is that what you're saying?"
"Then somebody else does the same thing," the Geomancer shrugs27.
"Then tha'll go to work on them, for thy Commission is to stop it, not so? All thah' about Zarpazo was Snuff. He than' would hang, after all, his Dog first gives out that he is mad."
"Excuse me," Mason says, "I think that's 'He who would hang his Dog, first gives out that he is mad.''
"Why would anyone hang his Dog? No, 'tis he who wishes to hang, sends his Dog to run 'round acting28 peculiar29, perhaps wearing Signs about its neck, or strangely costum'd, so that whenever its owner does hang, people can say, 'Yese see, 'twas Madness, for the Dog gave out he was mad.' "
"Yes that would all no doubt be true if that were how it goes, but 'tis not how it goes at all. It goes..."
And so on (records the Revd). This actually very interesting Discus?sion extended till well past Midnight, that Night. If I did lose full Con?sciousness now and then, 'twas less from their issueless Bickering30, than from the Demands of the Day, as part of the Tribute we must pay, merely to inhabit it.
That night I dream'd,— I pray 'twas Dream,— that I flew, some fifty to an hundred feet above the Surface, down the Visto, straight West. First dream I had that ever smell'd of anything,— cut wood, sap, woodsmoke, cook-tent cooking, horses and stock,— I could see below the glow of the coal we cut from outcrops so shining black they must be the outer walls of Hell, almost like writing upon the long unscrolling of the land, useful
about the waggoners' Forge, a curiosity beneath Mr. McClean's Oven, and to Mr. Dixon, who knows his way 'round a bit of Coal, a quotidian31 delight. His brother George learn'd years ago how to make Coal yield a Vapor32 that burns with a blue flame,— and with a bit of ingenuity33 with kettles and reeds, and clay to seal the Joints34, why it may even be done in the midst of this wilderness35, as Mr. Dixon promptly36 demonstrated. And that is how I verify 'tis no Dream, but a form of Transport,— that unearthly blue glow in the otherwise lightless Desert night. The Indians come to look, but they never comment. They have seen it before, and they have never seen it before.
The Line makes itself felt,— thro' some Energy unknown, ever are we haunted by that Edge so precise, so near. In the Dark, one never knows. Of course I am seeking the Warrior Path, imagining myself an heroick Scout37. We all feel it Looming38, even when we're awake, out there ahead some?place, the way you come to feel a River or Creek39 ahead, before anything else,— sound, sky, vegetation,— may have announced it. Perhaps 'tis the very deep sub-audible Hum of its Traffic that we feel with an equally undiscover'd part of the Sensorium,— does it lie but over the next Ridge40? the one after that? We have Mileage41 Estimates from Rangers25 and Run?ners, yet for as long as its Distance from the Post Mark'd West remains42 unmeasur'd, nor is yet recorded as Fact, may it remain, a-shimmer, among the few final Pages of its Life as Fiction.
Were the Visto to've cross'd the Warrior Path and simply proceeded West, then upon that Cross cut and beaten into the Wilderness, would have sprung into being not only the metaphysickal Encounter of Ancient Savagery43 with Modern Science, but withal a civic44 Entity45, four Corners, each with its own distinguishable Aims. Sure as Polaris, the first struc?ture to go up would be a Tavern46,— the second, another Tavern. Setting up Businesses upon the approaches, for miles along each great Conduit, there would presently arrive waggon-smiths, stock auctioneers, gun-makers, feed and seed merchants, women who dance in uncommon47 Attire48, Lanthorns that burn all night, pavements of strange metaling brought from afar, along with all the other heavy cargo49 that now streams in both directions, the Fleets of Conestoga Waggons50, ceaseless as the
fabl'd Herds51 of Buffalo52, further west,— sunlit canopies53 a-billow like choir-sung promises of Flight, their unspar'd Wheels rumbling54 into the soft dairy night-falls of shadows without edges, tho' black as city soot55.
Festive56 Lanthorns, by contrast, shine thro' the Glass of the swifter passenger conveyances57 that go streaking58 by above the Fields, one after another, all hours of the day and night— Aloft, these carry their wheels with them, barely scuff'd by Roadway, to be attached whenever needed. Singing and Gaiety may be heard passing thro' the Airy Gulfs above. Newcomers to the Ley-borne Life are advis'd not to look up, lest, seiz'd by its proper Vertigo59, they fall into the Sky.— For' t has happen'd more than once,— drovers and Army officers swear to it,— as if Gravity along the Visto, is become locally less important than Rapture60.
One night, yet east of Laurel Hill, Mason asks, "Where is your Spirit Vil?lage?" The Indians all gesture, straight out the Line, West. "God dwells there? At the Horizon?" They nod.
"And where is yours?" asks Hendricks. Mason rather uncertainly indicates Up.
Dixon cocks a merry eye. "What's this,— only at the Zenith...? Not something a little more.. .all-encompassing?" waving an arm to illustrate61.
Surveyors and Indians have been out looking at the Stars, discussing the possibility of Life upon other Worlds, whether and how much our Awareness62 of such Life might figure in our Awareness of God, God, then, vis-a-vis Gods, and other Topicks, of such interest to my Profession that I felt oblig'd to listen in.
"What puzzles us about Star-gazing," says Daniel, "is that you are ever attending them, and never they you."
"Have They attended you?" Mason unprepar'd to believe it.
"Many times. Never all at once, usually but one at a time,— yet, they do come to us."
"Sounds like Fishing," supposes Dixon.
The Indians like that. "Sky-fishing," says Hanenhereyowagh.
"Shouldn't someone explain about the Bait?" young Jemmy whispers, loud enough to receive a number of Looks from his Party, ranging from amus'd to annoy'd.
"Eeh," Dixon encourages him. "Tell me and I'll give thee the secrets of my Amazing Bread Lure63, famous the length of the Wear and beyond, for bringing them in."
"You spoke64 of it first," Hendricks reminds the Lad.
" Tis the Safety of your Soul," says Jemmy. He has lately been out upon his Trial of Passage from child to adult, having found his Protector,— a Bear, who walk'd toward him on her back feet, with her Arm extended in the precise Six-Nations Gesture for Peace. Now, however perilous the Trails may grow, She can be summon'd in an Instant. "Yet I had to risk all,— to bring her in, I had to fasten all that I was, upon a Line I could not break,— and wait, sleepless65, starving not only with my Body but with—
("Parsonickal interpolation!" shouts Uncle Lomax.
- my Spirit.' - - What, Lomax, may not a Mohawk youth possess a needful Spirit?
" 'Thank thee, Jemmy,' at any rate, Dixon now replied. 'My Bread Lure's a bit safer than thah', and here's how it's done,— ' Whereupon they withdrew out of my hearing, so that regretfully I quite miss'd the Information."
"Oh, Coz, what Stuff."
"I have witness'd this Bait in action, Madam. I saw Dixon bring in fish not even native to the Region, let alone the Creek. Fish never seen before in those parts, Salmon-Trout66 out of farm-ponds you'd think couldn't hide a Frog, Chesapeake Rock-Fish well over the Allegheny Ridge,— the rarely encounter'd Inland Tuna...?— all with that miracu?lous Compound of his. I have personally taken with it Sea-Bass of weight unknown, but that it requir'd two of us to carry one back to the Cook-Tent,— withal, Trout innumerable, even as, close by, other Anglers drows'd at their Rods, hoping at best to intercept67 some unwary Perch68. Believe me, if I knew the Secrets, I should be producing this Receipt from a Mill, by the Hogshead, and wallowing in Revenue.")
"See that group of stars over there?" Daniel points to the Big Dipper.
"We call it the Great Bear," Mason instructs them.
"So do we." Betraying no surprise. "And that bent69 Line of Stars by it?"
"The Bear's Tail."
The Indians are merry for some Moments. "Bears in your country have long Tails.”
"That is a very long-tail'd Bear."
"Are you sure it's not something else?"
"Those Stars you call a 'Tail', are the Hunters who come after the Bear. Where are your Hunters?"
Mason indicates Bootes, and the Hunting Dogs. "So styl'd officially, tho' in practice we call 'em the Hounds."
Mason remembers from his youth a Market-Night, all of them in the bed of the Waggon, lumbering70 home late from Stroud. The Sun went down, and the Stars came out, and Charlie went on about the Stars. "The school-Master calls it Ursa Major, The Bigger of two Bears, and that's the Little one, there."
"My Father call'd it 'the Baker's Peel,' " his father told him.
"Mine always said 'Charles's Wain,' " recall'd his mother. "Charles was the Name of a great king, over in France."
"Hurrah71!" cried Hester, ' - here we all are, riding in Charles's Wain!" and it was one of the few times he could remember his Father laughing too.
Mason look'd up at his Parents' Faces, turn'd aside, under a great seeded Sky without a moon, under the unthinkable leagues of their Iso?lation. He would remember them all together like that, as if they liv'd at the edge of some great lighted Sky-Structure, with numberless Lanthorns hung and Shadows falling ev'rywhere, and pathways in, upon which once having ventur'd, he might account his life penetrated72, and the rest of it claim'd.
He thought he knew ev'ry step he had taken, between then and today, yet can still not see, tho' the dotting of ev'ry last i in it be known, how he has come to the present Moment, alone in a wilderness surrounded by men who may desire him dead, his Kindred the whole Ocean away, with Dixon his only sure Ally. "Are we in danger?" he sees little point in not asking.
"Oh, sure and ask the Mohawk," cries Daniel, "— if the Topick be Danger, he knows all,— and let's not omit Violence, Terror, Weaponry, am I leaving anything out?"
"Sorry...I'm sorry," Mason mumbles73.
Daniel sniffs74 and shakes his head. "Scalp but one White man, ev'ry-one starts assuming things. Yes, of course you are in Danger. Your Heart beats? You live here?" gesturing all 'round. "Danger in ev'ry moment.”
"May I ask about Vegetables, at least? Esculents notable for their Size,— that won't offend anyone?"
"I am not one of your Vegetable-wise Mohawks. You need to talk with Nicholas." All the way back to the Tents, Mason catches Daniel casting him glances, no longer of Curiosity, but of Judgment75 render'd.
In Camp, they find Nicholas conducting a Discussion upon the very Topick. He is amiable76 in responding to Mason's Inquiries77, even when these carry an anxious under-surge. "Far, far to the North and West," Hugh Crawfford translates, "lies a Valley, not big, not small.. .a place of Magick. Smoke comes out of the Mountains...the Earth rumbles78... Springs of Fire run ev'rywhere."
"Volcanickal Activity," Mason helpfully.
"In this Valley, plants,— Vegetables,— grow big,— very big. Big Corn. Each Kernel's more than a Man can lift. Big Turnip79. Six-man crew to dig out but one. Big Squash. Big enough for many families to eat their way into, and then live inside all the Winter. Very big, BIG,— Hemp-Plant." The Mohawk is upon his feet, pretending to look in Astonishment80 at something nearly straight overhead.
Dixon, as if suddenly waking, inquires, "Well how big's that, Nicholas...?
"Late in the Season, to climb to the top of a Female Plant is a Journey of many Days, Red Coat."
They beam mischievously81 at one another, a Look that Mason in his Excitement does not pick up, babbling82, "Because of the Volcanick Soil, obviously. A Marvel83! Crawfford, ask him about Carrots."
"Big," the Indian replies directly, smiling and nodding. Mason notices that ev'ryone is nodding.
"Hemp-Plant," Dixon reminds Nicholas.
Many people, he explains, even from far away, make the Journey and Ascent84. In earlier times, they climb'd to a Limb wide enough not to roll off of, and camp'd there overnight. But 'twas a fix'd season, and a grow?ing Demand,— soon the great Limbs grew crowded. Some Travelers were not careful with their campfires, starting larger fires soon put out, tho' not before producing lots of Smoak. Big smoak. Depending upon the Winds, often climbers were delay'd for days.
The first long-houses began to appear upon the sturdier Branches, each season's Pilgrims sleeping in them overnight, then traveling on upward, others remaining to wait for them, smoking meanwhile Resin86 broken from some Bud nearby, and wrapp'd in a piece of Leaf, the whole being twisted into a great Cigar. Soon sheds were added to the Limb-side Inns, serving as Depots87 for the Jobbers88 who buy direct from the Bud. Bands of Renega-does arrive to attack and rob the Enterprizers, who accordingly must band together in arm'd Convoy90. Yet desperate men will assault even these verti?cal Caravans91. Tis a lively time out there upon the Stalks.
"This Valley,— how far away is it?" Dixon with a dark breathlessness, as if, upon the right answer, he will immediately rush off into the night.
Gesturing toward gentle Alioth, "Too far. You would not go, Red Coat."
"Perhaps I might."
Nicholas is laughing now. " 'Perhaps' no need to." Patiently, he tells the story of the Giant Hemp-Plant again, making his Voice loud on words such as Jobber89, and Resin.
Mason gets a Glimmer92. "He's trying to sell us something."
Frantic93 now, the Mohawk is making wild smoking gestures, puffing94 imaginary Smoak right in their Faces. "Smoak?" says Dixon. "Thee mean, Smoak? 0 sublime95 Succedaneum!"
"He thinks he's back at the Cape," Mason's eyes cast skyward. "Where he grew so abstracted that I had to keep reminding him of the date of the Transit96, aye, even upon the Day itself. How he attended the Clock and Telescope as closely as he did, remains a Mystery."
"Dagga hath many Mysteries," Dixon replies.
One being, that talking about things, while not exactly causing them to happen, does cause something,— which is almost the same, tho' not quite. Unless it is possible to smoke a Potatoe. That is, the first of the Giant Vegetables does not seem all that large,— remarkable97 at some Fair in the Country perhaps, but hardly the Faith-challenging Speci?mens that lie yet a Ridge-line or two away, further West, where they are soon to be found ever larger, abandoning the Incremental98, bringing into question the very Creation....
"Ah don't see it," Dixon apologetick. "There'll always be a few very large Specimens99 of anything tha like—”
"This is Acre upon Acre, and cannot be God's Work."
West of Cheat, they discover Indian Corn growing higher than a Weather-cock upon a Barn. What they take for a natural Hill, proves but the Pedestal for a gigantick Squash-Vine thicker than an ancient Tree-trunk, whose Flowers they can jump into in the mornings and bathe in, sometimes never touching100 the Bottom. Single Tomatoes tower high as Churches and shiny enough to see yourself in, warp'd spherickal, red as Blood, with the whole great sweep of Forest and River and Visto curv?ing away behind. And the Smell, apotheckarial, oestral, musk-heavy,— one must bring along a Bladder fill'd with fresh Air, and now and then inhale101 from it, if one does not wish to swoon clean away, in these Gar?dens102 Titanick.
"Did ye hear someone going Fee Fie Fo Fum?" Mason frowns.
"And yet.. .might these not be the products of Human Art...?"
"Folly103. No philosopher, however ingenious, not Mr. Franklin himself,— look at it, for Heaven's sake! You can't see the top! Like some damn'd Palm Oasis104 here!"
"My guess is it's the top of a Carrot," replies Dixon, "tho' of some Size, of course,— yet let us further imagine, that where there is a vegetable patch, there must be someone,— some thing,— tending it. I suggest we— "
"Too late."
"You're welcome, Sirs, tho' you're not suppos'd to be here." 'Tis a group of Farmers despite whose middling Age and Height, Proximity105 to any of the Plants in their Care, gives the look of serious Elves. "Rifle's back at the Barn, so I can't kill ye. Yet you're Brits by the look of ye, so we cannot trust yese neither."
"Why keep it a Secret? Why not rather notify the Pennsylvania Gazette?"
"We but look after these, for Others who are absent, pending85 their Return, in the meantime being allow'd the free use of all we may grow." They are invited to follow.
The Seeds are stor'd in Sheds especially built for them, each able to shelter one, at most two, for the Winter. In the Spring, planting but a few of them is a communal106 Task, easily comparable to a Barn-Raising. Last Year's Potatoe, lying in the giant Root-cellar dug beneath the nearer Pas-
ture, is assaulted by Adze and Hatchet107, and taken by handcarts to the Kitchen to be boil'd, bak'd, or fried in as many ways as there are Wives on hand with personal Receipts. "Nothing!" cries the Head Gardener. "Wait'll yese see the Beet108!"
The Beet is of a Circumference109 requiring more than one Entry-way. All who pass much time going in and out, whether for reasons of Resi?dence, or Investigation110, or indeed Nutrition, eventually acquire a deep red-indigo Stain that nothing can wash away.
"Like Geordie Pitmen, tho' more colorful," it seems to Dixon. "And which is less reasonable, all 'round,— ever to place thy Life's Wagers111 upon a large tho' finite Vegetable upon the Earth, or a like-siz'd Vein112 of Coal beneath it? The Beet, at least, yese can see...?"
"Yet, does it live," declares their Guide.
"You don't mean,— " Mason markedly less eager to have a look inside now.
"We are as Garden Pests, to It. It suffers us. We being unworthy of Its full Attention."
"It.. .understands what we say?" Mason's eyes fallen into an Alternat?ing Squint113, with one right-left-right Cycle taking about a Second.
"There are schools of Thought, as to that. Another Lively Question is, Does it remember the Days, when we were bigger than Beets114, yes, by about the same Proportion, 'd you notice, that Beets are now bigger than us? Now that the Tables are turn'd, do, do they harbor Grudges115? Do they have a concept of Revenge, perhaps for insults we never intended?"
收听单词发音 |
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delegation
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| n.代表团；派遣 | |
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warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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astronomers
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| n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 ) | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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vertiginously
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| adj.头晕的，引起头晕的；多变化的 | |
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eddying
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| 涡流，涡流的形成 | |
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eddy
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| n.漩涡，涡流 | |
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con
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| n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的 | |
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apprehensive
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| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
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apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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phantoms
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| n.鬼怪，幽灵( phantom的名词复数 ) | |
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amiably
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| adv.和蔼可亲地，亲切地 | |
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sip
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| v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量 | |
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advent
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| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
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perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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deities
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| n.神，女神( deity的名词复数 )；神祗；神灵；神明 | |
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desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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sector
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| n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形 | |
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waggon
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brass
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verging
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meridian
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rangers
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| 护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员 | |
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lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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27
shrugs
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| n.耸肩（以表示冷淡，怀疑等）( shrug的名词复数 ) | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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29
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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30
bickering
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| v.争吵( bicker的现在分词 )；口角；（水等）作潺潺声；闪烁 | |
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31
quotidian
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| adj.每日的，平凡的 | |
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32
vapor
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| n.蒸汽，雾气 | |
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33
ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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34
joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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35
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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36
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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37
scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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38
looming
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| n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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39
creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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40
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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41
mileage
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| n.里程，英里数；好处，利润 | |
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42
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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43
savagery
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| n.野性 | |
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44
civic
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| adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的 | |
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45
entity
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| n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物 | |
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46
tavern
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| n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店 | |
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47
uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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48
attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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49
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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50
waggons
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| 四轮的运货马车( waggon的名词复数 )； 铁路货车； 小手推车 | |
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51
herds
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| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
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52
buffalo
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| n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛 | |
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53
canopies
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| （宝座或床等上面的）华盖( canopy的名词复数 )； （飞行器上的）座舱罩； 任何悬于上空的覆盖物； 森林中天棚似的树荫 | |
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54
rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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55
soot
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| n.煤烟，烟尘；vt.熏以煤烟 | |
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56
festive
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| adj.欢宴的，节日的 | |
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57
conveyances
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| n.传送( conveyance的名词复数 )；运送；表达；运输工具 | |
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58
streaking
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| n.裸奔（指在公共场所裸体飞跑）v.快速移动( streak的现在分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
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59
vertigo
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| n.眩晕 | |
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60
rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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61
illustrate
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| v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图 | |
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62
awareness
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| n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智 | |
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63
lure
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| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
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64
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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65
sleepless
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| adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的 | |
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66
trout
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| n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属) | |
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67
intercept
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| vt.拦截，截住，截击 | |
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68
perch
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| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
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69
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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70
lumbering
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| n.采伐林木 | |
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71
hurrah
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| int.好哇，万岁，乌拉 | |
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72
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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73
mumbles
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| 含糊的话或声音，咕哝( mumble的名词复数 ) | |
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74
sniffs
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的第三人称单数 )；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 | |
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75
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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76
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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77
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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78
rumbles
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| 隆隆声，辘辘声( rumble的名词复数 ) | |
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79
turnip
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| n.萝卜，芜菁 | |
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80
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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81
mischievously
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| adv.有害地；淘气地 | |
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82
babbling
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| n.胡说，婴儿发出的咿哑声adj.胡说的v.喋喋不休( babble的现在分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密 | |
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83
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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84
ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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85
pending
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| prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的 | |
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86
resin
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| n.树脂，松香，树脂制品；vt.涂树脂 | |
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87
depots
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| 仓库( depot的名词复数 )； 火车站； 车库； 军需库 | |
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88
jobbers
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| n.做零活的人( jobber的名词复数 )；营私舞弊者；股票经纪人；证券交易商 | |
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89
jobber
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| n.批发商；(股票买卖)经纪人；做零工的人 | |
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90
convoy
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| vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队 | |
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91
caravans
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| （可供居住的）拖车（通常由机动车拖行）( caravan的名词复数 )； 篷车； （穿过沙漠地带的）旅行队（如商队） | |
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92
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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93
frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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94
puffing
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| v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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95
sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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96
transit
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| n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过 | |
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97
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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98
incremental
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| adj.增加的 | |
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99
specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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100
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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101
inhale
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| v.吸入(气体等)，吸(烟) | |
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102
dens
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| n.牙齿，齿状部分；兽窝( den的名词复数 )；窝点；休息室；书斋 | |
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103
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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104
oasis
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| n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方 | |
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105
proximity
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| n.接近，邻近 | |
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106
communal
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| adj.公有的，公共的，公社的，公社制的 | |
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107
hatchet
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| n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀 | |
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108
beet
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| n.甜菜；甜菜根 | |
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109
circumference
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| n.圆周，周长，圆周线 | |
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110
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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111
wagers
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| n.赌注，用钱打赌( wager的名词复数 )v.在（某物）上赌钱，打赌( wager的第三人称单数 )；保证，担保 | |
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112
vein
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| n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络 | |
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113
squint
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| v. 使变斜视眼, 斜视, 眯眼看, 偏移, 窥视; n. 斜视, 斜孔小窗; adj. 斜视的, 斜的 | |
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114
beets
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| 甜菜( beet的名词复数 )； 甜菜根； （因愤怒、难堪或觉得热而）脸红 | |
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115
grudges
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| 不满，怨恨，妒忌( grudge的名词复数 ) | |
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