One day, yet east of Cheat, a light Snow descending1 but scarce begun to stick, several of the Party observe a Girl chasing a Chicken across the Visto, when an odd thing happens,— smack2 at the very Center, directly upon the Line, the Chicken stops, turns about till its head points West and Tail East, and thenceforward remains3 perfectly4 still, seemingly fallen into a Trance. The Girl, after Guarantees from both Surveyors of the Chicken's Safety, moves on to other chores, whilst the day wheels over and down into Dusk, and ev'ryone in the Crew comes by to have a look at the immobile Fowl5, for as long as their Obligations may allow.
' 'Tis well known," various ancient Pennsylvanians and Marylanders assure the Surveyors, "that placing a Chicken 'pon a Straight Line'll send it nodding faster than ever a head put under a wing." The Girl, returning to fetch her Hen, agrees briskly. "Chicken on a Line? Thought ev'rybody knew that."
Dixon's idea of Thrift6 is offended. "Well that's an attractive nuisance, isn't it? what's to keep them all from wandering in at any moment...? ev'ry Clucker clear to Ohio and back to Cheapeake,— lining7 up, going into a Daze8, presently throngin' the Visto? We could have a Chickens' Black Hole of Calcutta, here,— except that, being in America, they'd all have to be remov'd gently, one by one, wasting Days, lest any fowl-keeper whose stock has suffer'd even a Feather's molestation9 call down, among these Lawyer-craz'd People, a Vengeful Pursuit after Reimburse10?ment, upon a Biblical scale, that may beggar our Mission.”
Mason groans11, "Shall wise Doctors one day write History's assessment12 of the Good resulting from this Line, vis-a-vis the not-so-good? I wonder which List will be longer."
"Hark! Hark! You wonder? That's all?" One of the Enigmata of the Invisible World, is how a Voice unlocaliz'd may yet act powerfully as a moral Center. 'Tis the Duck speaking, naturally,— or, rather, artificially. "What about 'care'? Don't you care?"
"This Visto.. .is a result of what we have chosen, in our Lives, to work at," Dixon bewilder'd that the Topick is even coming up, " - unlike some mechanickal water-fowl, we have to, what on our planet is styl'd, 'work,'...?"
"Running Lines is what surveyors do" explains Mason.
"Thankee, Mason," says Dixon. "And one of the few things Star-gazing's good for, is finding out where you are, exactly, upon the Surface of the Earth. Put huz two together with enough Axmen, you have a sort of Visto-Engine. Two Clients wish'd to have a Visto for one of their Bound?aries. Here we are. What other reason should we be together for?"
"Thankee, Dixon," says Mason.
Later that night, and, as he hopes, out of the Duck's Hearing, Mason says, "I've been thinking about that Chicken today."
"Aye, Ah knoah how lonely it gets out here, tho' aren't they said to be moody14...?"
"Only a moment, dear Colleague, pray you.— Suppose Right Lines cause Narcolepsy in all Fowl, including,—
"— the Duck," Dixon exclaims. "Why aye! As in the Chinaman's Refrain, there's all thah' Bad Energy, flowing there night and Day,— bad for us, anyhow. But for the Duck? Who knows? Mightn't it, rather, be nourishing her? helping15 to increase her Powers,— even...uncom?monly so?"
"Exactly. 'Twould explain her relentless16 Presence near it, .. .humm... yes, the trick,— should we wish to play it,— would be to see to her per?fect location upon the Line,— symmetrickally bisected."
"Facing East, or West?"
"What matter? she can turn upon a farthing however fast she goes."
"Pond-Larvae," offers Armand, feeling like a Traitor17, "- - she still fan?cies them....”
"A Decoy. We need a painted Wood representation of a Duck."
"Tom Hynes is the very man, Sir, hand him a Pine Log and he'll carve ye a Quacker ye can't tell from real even close enough to scare it away."
"It must look like an Automatick Duck, not a natural one."
Tom does a better job on the Decoy, than he knows. Soon the Duck is spending hours, still'd, companionably close to the expressionless Object. One day, in an Access, she throws herself upon it, going to beak-bite its Neck, and of course the Truth comes out. "Wood." For a moment it seems she will sigh, ascend18, accelerate once more, back into her Realm of Veloc?ity and Spleen. Instead, "Well, it's a beginning," she says. "It floats like a Duck,— it fools other Ducks, who are quite sophisticated in these mat?ters, into believing it a Duck. It's a Basis. Complexity19 of Character might develop, in time—" Quiet, good-looking, ever there to drop in on after a long Tour of Flying,— and where there's one withal, why, there's more of the same.. .Famine to Feast! Who needs bright Conversation?
".. .and that's why, around those foothills, some nights when the Wind is blowing backwards20 and the Moon's just gone behind the Clouds, you can hear the Hum of her going by, due West, due East, and that forlorn come-back call, and then folks'll say, ' 'Tis the Frenchman's Duck, out cruising the Line.''
"Why doesn't somebody set her free," the children of settlers up and down the Line want to know. "Go in, get her, bring her out?"
"Not so easy. Anybody finds a chance to try it, she disappears. She's like a Ghost who haunts a house, unable to depart."
"A Ghost usually has unfinish'd Business. What, think you, detains the Duck?"
"A simple, immoderate Desire for the Orthogonal," in the Opinion of Professor Voam, "which cannot allow her even the thought of life away from that much Straightness, the Leagues of perfect straightness, perfect alignment21 with Earth's Spin,— flying back and forth22, East and West, for?ever, the buffeting23 of the Magnetick currents, the ebb24 and flow of Nations over the Land-Surface, the Pulse and Breath of the solid Planet, the Dance with the Moon, the entire great Massive Progress 'round and 'round the Sun...."
For a while after becoming a Resident of the Visto, the Duck accosts25 Travelers for Miles up and down the Line, ever seeking Armand. For a
chance at Revenge, it is worth slowing into Visibility,— besides giving
her an opportunity to chat. "Here,"— producing from some interior
Recess26 a sheaf of Notices in print, clipp'd from various newspapers and
Street-bills,— "here,— voilà, with the Flauteur, and the Tambourine-
Player? in the Center, 'tis moi, tnoi Listen to what Voltaire wrote
about me, to the Count and Countess d'Argental,— '...sans la voix de la Le More et le Canard27 de Vaucanson, vous n'auriez rien que fit ressouvenir de la gloire de la France,' all right? Le More, who's that? some Soprano. Fine, I'm a big-hearted sort of Fille, the Glory of France certainly knows how to share a Stage. You think it was easy ev'ry night with those two Musicians? Listening again and again to that Ordure? You'd think now and then a little Besozzi, at least,— any Besozzi would've done. Relief? forget it, not in the Rooms we work'd. Took all my Stage Discipline not to start quacking28 along with those grand high C's. One admires the man, genius Engineer, but his taste, musickally speaking, runs from None to Doubtful.
"The true humiliation29 came at the end of each Exhibition, when Vau?canson actually open'd me up, and show'd to anyone who wish'd to stare, any Bas-mondain, the intricate Web within of Wheels, levers, and wires, unto the last tiny piece of Linkage30, nay31, the very falling Plummet32 that gave me Life,— nowadays, itself 'morphos'd, so as to fall without end.... They pointed33, titter'd, sketch'd exquisitely34 in the air,— Indignity35 absolute. He would never allow anyone the least suspicion that I might after all be real. Inside me lay Truth Mechanickal,— outside was but clever impersonation. I was that much his Creature, that he own'd the right to deny my Soul.
"His undoing36 was in modifying my Design, hoping to produce Venus from a Machine, as you might say. My submission37 was not yet complete enough. In the years before the late War, as Publick tastes veer'd in quite another Direction and we were left becalm'd, each in the Company of few but the other, his demands grew less and less those of a Man of Science. He wish'd, rather, to hear Sounds of affection and contentment, in his presence. He got nothing more abandon'd than Wing Caresses38, perhaps a Beak-Bite.. .a limited Repertoire39, but all the same, one felt.. .compro-mis'd. He wish'd to control utterly40, not an Automaton41, but a creature capable of Love, not only for Drakes and Ducklings, but for himself. The
approach of his middle years, the winds blowing as from an untravel'd North..."
'Tis on their way back East for the last time, that the Duck learns to hold perfectly still in the Air, at any altitude, and remain there whilst the earth Spins beneath her. She understands that she may now shift north or south, to any Latitude42 she likes, without being restricted any more to the Line and its Visto. But she is curious about where else the Parallel goes. She ascends43, one evening after Mess, and as the Party, with their Tents, all go rolling away into the Shadow, they in their Turn watch her, pois'd above the last lit Meridian44, recede45 over the Horizon and vanish. Next morning here she comes roaring in at well over seven hundred miles per hour, coasting to a smooth stop and settling upon the Cook-tent's Peak with not a Feather out of place. "Interesting Planet," is her comment. "I have been o'er the Foot of the Italian Boot, close by Bukhara and Samarkand,— "I can't wait to do the Equator. Ye have tapp'd into but five degrees of three hundred sixty, twenty minutes of a Day it would cause you Astonishment46 and Distress47 to learn of your minor48 tho' morally problematick part in."
"A Global Scheme! Ah knew it!" Dixon beginning to scream, "what'd Ah tell thee?"
"Get a grip on yerrself, man," mutters Mason, "what happen'd to 'We're men of Science'?"
"And Men of Science," cries Dixon, "may be but the simple Tools of others, with no more idea of what they are about, than a Hammer knows of a House."
("Ah," sighs Euphrenia, "all too true. The Life of an Automaton can?not, however conceiv'd, strike anyone as enviable."
"Excuse us, Aunt," ventures DePugh, "but did we understand you to say,- "
"Don't get her started!" Brae hisses49.
"Have you, Aunt," Ethelmer fiendishly pretending Interest, "really shar'd the Life of— "
"Shar'd! Why, in my own Student Days, in far-off Paris, France, I was oblig'd to keep Starvation off my Sill, by pretending to be an Automaton Oboe player. My Manager, Signore Drivelli (actually, under the Statutes50 of the Two Sicilies, we were man and wife), not only charg'd Admission,
but also took bets on the side as to how long I could play between breaths."
"Zabby," pleads Mr. LeSpark, "speak with her about this sometime, could you please, it being your Family?"
"What was your best Time?" asks Ethelmer.
"Never went longer than twenty minutes or so, but I could've easily tootl'd on all night, the secret being to sneak51 Charges of Air in thro' your Nose, using the cheeks as a Plenum, for Storage, as 'tis in the Bag-Pipes,— The Musick written for Oboe is notoriously lacking in places to breathe. The Notes just keep coming, sixteen or thirty-two of 'em ev'ry time you tap your foot, not to mention the embellishments you're expected to put in yourself, for no extra Fee of course,— the principal Reason so many of us go insane being, not from forcing air into a small mouthpiece, but in all the sneakery and diversion of Attention requir'd to keep blowing,— in India they understand how important the breath is,— being indeed the Soul in different form,— and how dangerous it is to meddle52 unnaturally54 with the rhythms proper to it....")
As Dixon becomes possess'd by the Horizon, Hugh Crawfford is seen to walk to and fro shaking his head, presently muttering softly. Mason corners him behind a Waggon55. "Out with it, Sir,— things are too precar?ious here for you to be concealing56 your opinions from me."
"Not concealing. Withholding57, maybe,— " Mason, losing his com?posure, lunges for and attempts to strangle the Guide. They slip and stagger in the newly fallen Leaves. "Very well,— Mason! off, off, attend me, this is a Mountain Dulcimer, that I put together by Hand once, when there wasn't much else to do,— " and in a wild Note-scape, almost minor, almost Celtick, commences an uncommonly58 amazing Hammering and Plucking. When Mason appears soothed59 enough, "Now, I've seen Mr. Dixon's Ailment60 before,— yes,— with trappers, with traders,
With rangers61 and strangers, the Frenchies out there call it 'Rap-ture de West,' Brother, Sooner or later, It's go-ing, to take ye,
Away to the sunset, Along with the rest,
So 'tis hey, ye Dirt-Farmers, I'm gone, for the Prairies, And over, the Mountains, and Down to the Sea, if I Get back some Day, tho' the World shine as Morning, yet Ever will sunsets be Beck'ning to me—
But out under the Moon, Chestnut62 Ridge63 and Cheat behind them, and Monongahela to cross, into an Overture64 of meadow to the Horizon, low?lands become to them a dream whilst under a Spell, the way it gives back the Light, the way it withholds65 its Shadows,— who might not come to believe in an Eternal West? In a Momentum66 that bears all away? "Men are remov'd by it, and women, from where they were,— as if surrender'd to a great current of Westering. You will hear of gold cities, marble cities, men that fly, women that fight, fantastickal creatures never dream'd in Europe,— something always to take and draw you that way," Mr. Craw-fford puffing67 meanwhile upon an Indian Pipe, whose Bowl, finely carv'd of soft stone, by a Quebec Frenchman he had dealings with years ago, depicts68 a female head of Classical beauty, her Locks spilling beyond obsessiveness69, all blacken'd with fire and grease, smok'd out of for all those years, having held a thousand Stems, from Reeds stirr'd by the Mists of Niagara, to Cane70 at the mouth of the Mississippi, "— you recall to me myself, in my first days out here, up all night, going West by way of the Stars. It's said some have a gift for it, like dowsing, and can run true bearings indefinitely under the most obscur'd of Skies. Many of Colonel Byrd's Companions running the Line 'twixt Virginia and Car?olina possess'd the gift,— when the Party split, with half going 'round the Great Dismal71 and half right across, becoming detain'd in that Cypress72 Purgatory73 for weeks, 'twas the Westering Certainty that got 'em thro' safe.... I've even managed to keep my Latitude for the odd few sec?onds, so I take an amateur's Interest, and thus far, by my estimate, you are hardly the width of a pipestem out. As to what draws Mr. Dixon,— I
don't mean to present it lightly. We say the Westering's 'got' him. And I also tell you this so you'll know that when"— here Mason draws a sharp breath,— "something requires an unpremeditated cessation to the Line, well,— Mr. Dixon...may not be inclin'd to stop."
"He wouldn't take a chance with his— " but the Guide has put a hand upon Mason's arm, motioning with his head as Dixon comes into view,— he has been wandering among the tents and Waggons74, looking troubled, very tall and out of scale in the uncertain dinner-time light. By the time he's out of earshot again, it has occurr'd to Mason, "You said what? an unpremeditated,—
"Cessation."
"Is there something else I should know?"
There is, nor does it take long in coming. Mortality at last touches the Expedition. William Baker75 and John Carpenter are kill'd by the Fall of a single Tree, on September 17th, a Thursday. 'Tis possible they'd sign'd up together, and work'd together,— their names are enter'd together in Mr. McClean's records. The next week, Carpenter's is enter'd by mistake, to be follow'd by a trailing Line over to a row of Zeros, for Days work'd in the Week. Mo must have forgot,— so may the Book-keeper's Page be haunted,— a Ghost-Entry, John Carpenter's Soul lingering,— William Baker's, to Appearance, having mov'd on.
"This is a Disaster," Mason curl'd as a dying Leaf, dispos'd to give it all up. "You agree, don't you, Jeremiah, you know it doesn't happen, it never happens, that two are kill'd in the fall of a single Tree?"
"Their People have them,— they'll be safe?" too vex'd in Reassuring76 himself, to see Mason's Point.
"You were the one looking for a Sign, weren't you, well there's your miserable77 Sign, why aren't you reading it."
" 'Twas a tall old Chestnut, they set their Wedges wrong, and then it fell where they hadn't guess'd it would. What else, pray?"
"Damn'd right, pray," snaps Mason, " - somebody'd better, around here."
They sit in the Tent, Coffee growing cold, Mason waiting for the Sec?tor to arrive, Dixon waiting for Mason to burst forth with "Well what's the fucking Use, really?" to which Dixon will have to come up with an answer, and not take too much time, either, doing it.
Geminity hath found a fleshless Face,—
No second Chance, 'tis Death that's won the Race
Between the Line in all its Purity,
And what lay, mass'd, within the mortal Tree...
- Timothy Tox, The Line
No question, beyond Cheat they move in a time and space apt, one instant to the next, to stretch or shrink,— as a Chain's length may, upon the clement78 Page, pass little notic'd, whilst in an Ambuscade, may reckon as, perhaps, all,— or nothing.
When the Sector79 arrives, they set up upon a Bluff80 overlooking Monon-gahela, and watch the Culmination81 of Stars in Lyra and Cygnus, correct?ing for seconds plus and minus of Aberration82, Deviation84, Precession, and Refraction, whilst in Cabins nearby the Wives of the new-hir'd Axmen gather, and those Axmen who may, come thro', and out the back, to take White Maize85 Whiskey out of a Tin Cup.
Soon as the Party have stept West of Monongahela, Indians of Nations other than Iroquois begin showing up to have a look at them. The Delaware Chief Catfish86, his Lady, and his Nephew arrive in the first days of October, all dress'd as Europeans might be, and confer apart with the Mohawks, exchanging Strings87 of Wampom with them. Stranger and Native alike confess ignorance of Catfish's Mission in these parts, far from his Village, and as if Disguis'd, in Coat, Waistcoat, Breeches, and Cock'd Hat. "Looking for Business," is how Hugh Crawfford translates it, adding, "It is usually best in these cases, not to inquire too closely." A few miles further on west, eight Senecas, going south to fight the Cherokees, come and stay over in Camp, obtaining Powder of Mo McClean, along with some Paint. "Materials of War,— I'm not sure we can write these off," Mason cautiously suggests to him. The Commissary glares, as if presented with an opening for some Violence. "Well they're southern Indians," he explains instead. "They are Snakes down there,— poisonous, no human feeling. Whereas, these Seneca, well, they're our Indians,— we live in, as off, the same Forests,— if we can help 'm along, it ever pays to have a friend or two out here, Gents." And at the final Sta?tion by Dunkard Creek88,— as Mason records in his "Memoranda," for 1767,— the venerable Prisqueetom, Prince of the Delawares and brother to their King, pays them a call, and is presently describing for them the
great unbroken Meadow of the West, whilst Indian Visitors pass by in all directions, staring or amus'd, sometimes in Drink as well, regardless of the hour,— all Figures relating to their daily ration83 of Spirits having been negotiable since the Party cross'd Monongahela.
"It's like Covent Garden on Saturday Night," Mason grumbles89, - what are we become,— a Show they all must see, or lose credibility among...whatever Indians have for Fops? I ought to just go over and inform that old Coot,—
"Mason, he's eighty-six...? And why should Traffick not be Brisk? These People freely travel an Arrangement of High-Roads, connected upon a Scale Continental90, that nothing we know of in North Britain can equal...? Making huz little different from the Strollers who work the Inns
along the Coaching Roads of more civiliz'd Lands.... Can't speak for
thee, but I rather welcome all this mix'd Society. Not as...formal, this way, as it might become,— " swinging his head westward91. "Heaven help us if we run out of Whiskey. As it is, Mo's got distillers clear back the other side o' Monongahela working back-shifts by the light of the moon, and Waggons that do and don't make it thro', all so that our Guests here'll be taken care of... ?"
"Peace, Merriment,— take joy of thy rude Hurricanoe, give no thought to what may lie beyond thy moment's mean Horizon. Fatum in Denario vertit, but don't let that stop you, allow me rather to assume as well thy own Burden of Worry, being a self-sacrificing gent, in a curious sort of way,—
"Eeh, Mason, mind thy Wig92 now, for these are all good Lads, they drink but in moderation, no more riotously93 than in Wapping, I am sure...?"
"Arrhh...now am I entirely94 sedate95, thankee."
"Safest thing's to act insane, of course," Mr. Crawfford advises.
"How's that?"
"We style it, 'Doing a Chapman.' " A trader by that name, captur'd near Fort Detroit, at the time of Pontiack's rising, famously having escap'd execution by feigning96 to be mad. "These folk respect Madness. To them 'tis a holy state."
"As I told thee, Mason,— nothing for thee to worry about...?"
"I'd notic'd them stepping lightly 'round you.”
Hitherto, as if by Conscious Agreement, Withdrawal97 into Folly98 by the one Surveyor would have unfailingly provok'd an Embrace of Sobriety by the other. So, up till now, has the Line been preserv'd, day to day, from frenzied99 Impulse, as from reason'd Reluctance,— allowing it to proceed on its Way unmolested. Here, as it draws to its last Halt, if anywhere, might both Gentlemen take joy of a brief Holiday from Reason. Yet, "Too busy," Mason insists, and "Far too cheerful for thah'," supposes Dixon.
"As the Stars tell you where it is you must cut your Path, so do the Land and its Rivers tell us where our Tracks must go."
"Yet the Stars, in their Power," Mason's Melancholia so advanc'd that he is not fully13 aware of sitting wrapp'd in a Blanket arguing Religion with a Mohawk Warrior100 with whom he is scarcely upon intimate Terms, "that only the Mightiest101 God may command, deserve at least the one small, respectful Courtesy, of allowing their Line to cross, without a Mark, your Nations' own Great Path...."
"Come," says Daniel.
"Eeh," Dixon looking up from his Pipe.
"Come where?" says Mason.
"Out on the Path. We'll take a Turn down toward Virginia and back again."
"Am I in Condition for this?" inquires Mason, of no one in particular. "And what of all these Catawbas I keep hearing about?"
"Will we be allow'd to smoak?" Dixon wants to know.
The Indian is gazing at them doubtfully. "You must see, what it is you believe you may cross so easily. Follow me, tho' I am not entirely pleas'd with my Back to either of you."
They proceed along Dunkard Creek, abandoning their short-term Destinies to the possibly homicidal Indian. The Forest life ever present?ing Mystery to them,— too much going on, night and day, behind ev'ry Trunk, beneath ev'ry Bush,— how many new Pontiacks may even now be raising forces, planning assaults, perhaps in the Market for a couple of English Surveyors to style a casus belli and publickly torture before putting to death,— yaagghh!— yet isn't this man entirely vouch'd for by Sir William Johnson? Or, actually, said to be vouch'd for. Hum. Perhaps
the first item of the neo-Pontiackal uprising, would be to put Johnson to Death? Perhaps this has already occurred? So busy are the Astronomers102 with these Apprehensions103 that they nearly miss their Guide's Hand-Signal to slow down and approach with Caution what lies ahead.
The Moon has not yet risen. The Indian steps off the Path, motioning to them, to do the same. "This is troubling. They've been this far up already. See what you nearly stepp'd on." He crouches105 and fleetly retrieves106 a long, slender tho' not easily broken, Sliver107 of something from the Trail. "Swamp Cane. It doesn't grow up here,— they gather and splinter it, catch and kill Serpents, dip the Points into the venom,— set them in the Trail, aim'd toward us." Having gather'd as many of the deadly Points as he can find, he bends close to a small patch of untrav-el'd Ground. "Forgive me, for what I must now beg you to bear at my hands." Carefully he pushes each Point into the Earth, till only bits of the blunt ends remain.
"These Catawbas," Mason falling increasingly short of perfect non?chalance. "How close are they, I wonder?"
"Whoever set these, they weren't more than two, and they were mov?ing fast. The main body could be anywhere south of here."
" 'Twould be useful to know how far south...?" Dixon supposes.
"He means, let us go on, into sure Ambuscado and Death," Mason hastily, "he's a bit, what do you people call it?" Tapping his Nob and twirling his finger beside it. "Pray do not suppose all Englishmen to be quite so free of care."
"By the time we get anywhere to tell anyone, they'll be someplace else. We'd better go back. For now, say nothing more, and try to move quietly."
Mr. Barnes is troubl'd at the Depth of the Silence that reigns108. "No longer frets109 th' intemperate110 Jay," he mutters, " - withal, the Siskin chirpeth not."
"Cap'n, what the fuck is going on?"
At either end of the Warrior Path, the heat, the agitation111, the increasing Tension grow. Never in memory, they are assur'd by their Mohawk Escort, have Iroquois and Catawba each wish'd so passionately112 the other's Destruction. Any new day may bring the unavoidable Descent.
With Indians all 'round them, the Warpath a-tremble with murd'rous Hopes, its emptiness feeling more and more unnatural53 as the hours tick on, into the End of Day, as the latent Blades of Warriors113 press more closely upon the Membrane114 that divides their Subjunctive World from our number'd and dreamless Indicative, Apprehension104 rising, Axmen deserting, the ghosts of '55 growing, hourly, more sensible and sover?eign,— as unaveng'd Fires foul115 the Dusk, unanswer'd mortal Cries travel the Forests at the speed of Wind. Ah Christ,— besides West, where else are they heading, those few with the Clarity to remain?
They both dream of going on, unhinder'd, as the Halt dream of running, the Earth-bound of flying. Rays of light appear from behind Clouds, the faces of the Bison upon close Approach grow more human, unbearably116 so, as if just about to speak, Rivers run swifter, and wider, till at last the Party halts before one that mayn't be cross'd, even by the sturdiest Bat-toe,— that for miles runs deeper than the height of a Conestoga Waggon. Upon that final Bank, an Indian will appear silently, and lead the party past a forested Bend to a great Bridge, fashion'd of Iron, quite out of reach of British or for that matter French Arts, soaring over to the far Shore, its highest part, whenever there are rain-clouds, indeed lost to sight,— constructed long ago by whatever advanced Nation live upon the River's opposite side.
"May we cross?" asks Dixon.
"May we not cross?" asks Mason.
"Alas," replies the Son of the Forest, "not yet,— for to earn Passage, there is more you must do."
"Why show it to huz at all?" wonders Dixon.
"If I did not, your Great Road thro' the Trees would miss it. You move like wood-borers inside a Post in a great House, in the dark, eating and shitting, moving ever into the Wood and away from your shit, with no idea at all what else lies Without."
"In the Forest," comments Mr. Crawfford, "ev'ryone comes 'round in a Circle sooner or later. One day, your foot comes down in your own shit. There, as the Indians say, is the first Step upon the Trail to Wisdom."
They wake.
收听单词发音 |
1
descending
|
|
| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
smack
|
|
| vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
remains
|
|
| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
fowl
|
|
| n.家禽，鸡，禽肉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
thrift
|
|
| adj.节约，节俭；n.节俭，节约 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
lining
|
|
| n.衬里，衬料 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
daze
|
|
| v.(使)茫然，(使)发昏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
molestation
|
|
| n.骚扰，干扰，调戏；折磨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
reimburse
|
|
| v.补偿，付还 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
groans
|
|
| n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
assessment
|
|
| n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
fully
|
|
| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
moody
|
|
| adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
helping
|
|
| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
relentless
|
|
| adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
traitor
|
|
| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
ascend
|
|
| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
complexity
|
|
| n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
backwards
|
|
| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
alignment
|
|
| n.队列；结盟，联合 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
buffeting
|
|
| 振动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
ebb
|
|
| vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
accosts
|
|
| v.走过去跟…讲话( accost的第三人称单数 )；跟…搭讪；（乞丐等）上前向…乞讨；（妓女等）勾搭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
recess
|
|
| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
canard
|
|
| n.虚报；谣言；v.流传 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
quacking
|
|
| v.（鸭子）发出嘎嘎声( quack的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
humiliation
|
|
| n.羞辱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
linkage
|
|
| n.连接；环节 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
nay
|
|
| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
plummet
|
|
| vi.(价格、水平等)骤然下跌；n.铅坠；重压物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
exquisitely
|
|
| adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
indignity
|
|
| n.侮辱，伤害尊严，轻蔑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
undoing
|
|
| n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
submission
|
|
| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
caresses
|
|
| 爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
repertoire
|
|
| n.(准备好演出的)节目，保留剧目；(计算机的)指令表，指令系统， <美>(某个人的)全部技能；清单，指令表 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
utterly
|
|
| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
automaton
|
|
| n.自动机器，机器人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
latitude
|
|
| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
ascends
|
|
| v.上升，攀登( ascend的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
meridian
|
|
| adj.子午线的；全盛期的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
recede
|
|
| vi.退(去)，渐渐远去；向后倾斜，缩进 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
astonishment
|
|
| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
distress
|
|
| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
minor
|
|
| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
hisses
|
|
| 嘶嘶声( hiss的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
statutes
|
|
| 成文法( statute的名词复数 )； 法令； 法规； 章程 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
sneak
|
|
| vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
meddle
|
|
| v.干预，干涉，插手 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
unnatural
|
|
| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
unnaturally
|
|
| adv.违反习俗地；不自然地；勉强地；不近人情地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
waggon
|
|
| n.运货马车，运货车；敞篷车箱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
concealing
|
|
| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
withholding
|
|
| 扣缴税款 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
uncommonly
|
|
| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
soothed
|
|
| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
ailment
|
|
| n.疾病，小病 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
rangers
|
|
| 护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
chestnut
|
|
| n.栗树，栗子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
ridge
|
|
| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
overture
|
|
| n.前奏曲、序曲，提议，提案，初步交涉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
withholds
|
|
| v.扣留( withhold的第三人称单数 )；拒绝给予；抑制（某事物）；制止 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
momentum
|
|
| n.动力，冲力，势头；动量 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
puffing
|
|
| v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
depicts
|
|
| 描绘，描画( depict的第三人称单数 )； 描述 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
obsessiveness
|
|
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
70
cane
|
|
| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
dismal
|
|
| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
cypress
|
|
| n.柏树 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
purgatory
|
|
| n.炼狱；苦难；adj.净化的，清洗的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
waggons
|
|
| 四轮的运货马车( waggon的名词复数 )； 铁路货车； 小手推车 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
baker
|
|
| n.面包师 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
reassuring
|
|
| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
miserable
|
|
| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
clement
|
|
| adj.仁慈的；温和的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
sector
|
|
| n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
bluff
|
|
| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
culmination
|
|
| n.顶点；最高潮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
aberration
|
|
| n.离开正路，脱离常规，色差 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
ration
|
|
| n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
deviation
|
|
| n.背离，偏离；偏差，偏向；离题 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
maize
|
|
| n.玉米 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
catfish
|
|
| n.鲶鱼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
strings
|
|
| n.弦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
creek
|
|
| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
grumbles
|
|
| 抱怨( grumble的第三人称单数 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
continental
|
|
| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
westward
|
|
| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
wig
|
|
| n.假发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
riotously
|
|
| adv.骚动地，暴乱地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
sedate
|
|
| adj.沉着的，镇静的，安静的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
feigning
|
|
| 假装，伪装( feign的现在分词 )； 捏造（借口、理由等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
withdrawal
|
|
| n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
folly
|
|
| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
frenzied
|
|
| a.激怒的；疯狂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
warrior
|
|
| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
mightiest
|
|
| adj.趾高气扬( mighty的最高级 )；巨大的；强有力的；浩瀚的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
astronomers
|
|
| n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
apprehensions
|
|
| 疑惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
apprehension
|
|
| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
crouches
|
|
| n.蹲着的姿势( crouch的名词复数 )v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
retrieves
|
|
| v.取回( retrieve的第三人称单数 )；恢复；寻回；检索（储存的信息） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
sliver
|
|
| n.裂片，细片，梳毛；v.纵切，切成长片，剖开 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
reigns
|
|
| n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 )；君主统治时期；任期；当政期 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
frets
|
|
| 基质间片； 品丝（吉他等指板上定音的）( fret的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
intemperate
|
|
| adj.无节制的，放纵的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
agitation
|
|
| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
passionately
|
|
| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
warriors
|
|
| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
membrane
|
|
| n.薄膜，膜皮，羊皮纸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
foul
|
|
| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
unbearably
|
|
| adv.不能忍受地，无法容忍地；慌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |