The existence of the gang is an undoubted fact. Certain adventures can be explained only by countless2 acts of devotion, invincible3 efforts of energy and powerful cases of complicity, representing so many forces which all obey one mighty4 will. But how is this will exerted? Through what intermediaries, through what subordinates? That is what I do not know. Lupin keeps his secret; and the secrets which Lupin chooses to keep are, so to speak, impenetrable.
The only supposition which I can allow myself to make is that this gang, which, in my opinion, is very limited in numbers and therefore all the more formidable, is completed and extended indefinitely by the addition of independent units, provisional associates, picked up in every class of society and in every country of the world, who are the executive agents of an authority with which, in many cases, they are not even acquainted. The companions, the initiates5, the faithful adherents—men who play the leading parts under the direct command of Lupin—move to and fro between these secondary agents and the master.
Gilbert and Vaucheray evidently belonged to the main gang. And that is why the law showed itself so implacable in their regard. For the first time, it held accomplices6 of Lupin in its clutches—declared, undisputed accomplices—and those accomplices had committed a murder. If the murder was premeditated, if the accusation7 of deliberate homicide could be supported by substantial proofs, it meant the scaffold. Now there was, at the very least, one self-evident proof, the cry for assistance which Leonard had sent over the telephone a few minutes before his death:
“Help!... Murder!... I shall be killed!...”
The desperate appeal had been heard by two men, the operator on duty and one of his fellow-clerks, who swore to it positively8. And it was in consequence of this appeal that the commissary of police, who was at once informed, had proceeded to the Villa9 Marie-Therese, escorted by his men and a number of soldiers off duty.
Lupin had a very clear notion of the danger from the first. The fierce struggle in which he had engaged against society was entering upon a new and terrible phase. His luck was turning. It was no longer a matter of attacking others, but of defending himself and saving the heads of his two companions.
A little memorandum10, which I have copied from one of the note-books in which he often jots11 down a summary of the situations that perplex him, will show us the workings of his brain:
“One definite fact, to begin with, is that Gilbert and Vaucheray humbugged me. The Enghien expedition, undertaken ostensibly with the object of robbing the Villa Marie-Therese, had a secret purpose. This purpose obsessed12 their minds throughout the operations; and what they were looking for, under the furniture and in the cupboards, was one thing and one thing alone: the crystal stopper. Therefore, if I want to see clear ahead, I must first of all know what this means. It is certain that, for some hidden reason, that mysterious piece of glass possesses an incalculable value in their eyes. And not only in theirs, for, last night, some one was bold enough and clever enough to enter my flat and steal the object in question from me.”
Two problems, both equally difficult of solution, presented themselves to his mind. First, who was the mysterious visitor? Gilbert, who enjoyed his entire confidence and acted as his private secretary, was the only one who knew of the retreat in the Rue15 Matignon. Now Gilbert was in prison. Was Lupin to suppose that Gilbert had betrayed him and put the police on his tracks? In that case, why were they content with taking the crystal stopper, instead of arresting him, Lupin?
But there was something much stranger still. Admitting that they had been able to force the doors of his flat—and this he was compelled to admit, though there was no mark to show it—how had they succeeded in entering the bedroom? He turned the key and pushed the bolt as he did every evening, in accordance with a habit from which he never departed. And, nevertheless—the fact was undeniable—the crystal stopper had disappeared without the lock or the bolt having been touched. And, although Lupin flattered himself that he had sharp ears, even when asleep, not a sound had waked him!
He took no great pains to probe the mystery. He knew those problems too well to hope that this one could be solved other than in the course of events. But, feeling very much put out and exceedingly uneasy, he then and there locked up his entresol flat in the Rue Matignon and swore that he would never set foot in it again.
Here a fresh disappointment awaited him. It was so clearly understood, both at the Sante Prison and at the Law Courts, that all communication between Lupin and the prisoners must be absolutely prevented, that a multitude of minute precautions were ordered by the prefect of police and minutely observed by the lowest subordinates. Tried policemen, always the same men, watched Gilbert and Vaucheray, day and night, and never let them out of their sight.
Lupin, at this time, had not yet promoted himself to the crowning honour of his career, the post of chief of the detective-service, [*] and, consequently, was not able to take steps at the Law Courts to insure the execution of his plans. After a fortnight of fruitless endeavours, he was obliged to bow.
* See 813, by Maurice Leblanc, translated by Alexander
Teixeira de Mattos.
He did so with a raging heart and a growing sense of anxiety.
“The difficult part of a business,” he often says, “is not the finish, but the start.”
Where was he to start in the present circumstances? What road was he to follow?
His thoughts recurred17 to Daubrecq the deputy, the original owner of the crystal stopper, who probably knew its importance. On the other hand, how was Gilbert aware of the doings and mode of life of Daubrecq the deputy? What means had he employed to keep him under observation? Who had told him of the place where Daubrecq spent the evening of that day? These were all interesting questions to solve.
Daubrecq had moved to his winter quarters in Paris immediately after the burglary at the Villa Marie-Therese and was now living in his own house, on the left-hand side of the little Square Lamartine that opens out at the end of the Avenue Victor-Hugo.
First disguising himself as an old gentleman of private means, strolling about, cane18 in hand, Lupin spent his time in the neighbourhood, on the benches of the square and the avenue. He made a discovery on the first day. Two men, dressed as workmen, but behaving in a manner that left no doubt as to their aims, were watching the deputy’s house. When Daubrecq went out, they set off in pursuit of him; and they were immediately behind him when he came home again. At night, as soon as the lights were out, they went away.
Lupin shadowed them in his turn. They were detective-officers.
“Hullo, hullo!” he said to himself. “This is hardly what I expected. So the Daubrecq bird is under suspicion?”
But, on the fourth day, at nightfall, the two men were joined by six others, who conversed19 with them in the darkest part of the Square Lamartine. And, among these new arrivals, Lupin was vastly astonished to recognize, by his figure and bearing, the famous Prasville, the erstwhile barrister, sportsman and explorer, now favourite at the Elysee, who, for some mysterious reason, had been pitchforked into the headquarters of police as secretary-general, with the reversion of the prefecture.
And, suddenly, Lupin remembered: two years ago, Prasville and Daubrecq the deputy had had a personal encounter on the Place du Palais-Bourbon. The incident made a great stir at the time. No one knew the cause of it. Prasville had sent his seconds to Daubrecq on the same day; but Daubrecq refused to fight.
A little while later, Prasville was appointed secretary-general.
“Very odd, very odd,” said Lupin, who remained plunged20 in thought, while continuing to observe Prasville’s movements.
At seven o’clock Prasville’s group of men moved away a few yards, in the direction of the Avenue Henri-Martin. The door of a small garden on the right of the house opened and Daubrecq appeared. The two detectives followed close behind him and, when he took the Rue-Taitbout train, jumped on after him.
Prasville at once walked across the square and rang the bell. The garden-gate was between the house and the porter’s lodge21. The portress came and opened it. There was a brief conversation, after which Prasville and his companions were admitted.
“A domiciliary visit,” said Lupin. “Secret and illegal. By the strict rules of politeness, I ought to be invited. My presence is indispensable.”
Without the least hesitation22 he went up to the house, the door of which had not been closed, and, passing in front of the portress, who was casting her eyes outside, he asked, in the hurried tones of a person who is late for an appointment:
“Have the gentlemen come?”
“Yes, you will find them in the study.”
His plan was quite simple: if any one met him, he would pretend to be a tradesman. But there was no need for this subterfuge23. He was able, after crossing an empty hall, to enter a dining-room which also had no one in it, but which, through the panes24 of a glass partition that separated the dining-room from the study, afforded him a view of Prasville and his five companions.
Prasville opened all the drawers with the aid of false keys. Next, he examined all the papers, while his companions took down the books from the shelves, shook the pages of each separately and felt inside the bindings.
“Of course, it’s a paper they’re looking for,” said Lupin. “Bank-notes, perhaps...”
Prasville exclaimed:
“What rot! We shan’t find a thing!”
Yet he obviously did not abandon all hope of discovering what he wanted, for he suddenly seized the four bottles in a liqueur-stand, took out the four stoppers and inspected them.
“Hullo!” thought Lupin. “Now he’s going for decanter-stoppers! Then it’s not a question of a paper? Well, I give it up.”
Prasville next lifted and examined different objects; and he asked:
“How often have you been here?”
“Six times last winter,” was the reply.
“And you have searched the house thoroughly25?”
“Every one of the rooms, for days at a time, while he was visiting his constituency.”
“Still... still...” And he added, “Has he no servant at present?”
“No, he is looking for one. He has his meals out and the portress keeps the house as best she can. The woman is devoted26 to us...”
Prasville persisted in his investigations27 for nearly an hour and a half, shifting and fingering all the knick-knacks, but taking care to put everything back exactly where he found it. At nine o’clock, however, the two detectives who had followed Daubrecq burst into the study:
“He’s coming back!”
“On foot?”
“Yes.”
“Have we time?”
“Oh, dear, yes!”
Prasville and the men from the police-office withdrew, without undue28 haste, after taking a last glance round the room to make sure that there was nothing to betray their visit.
The position was becoming critical for Lupin. He ran the risk of knocking up against Daubrecq, if he went away, or of not being able to get out, if he remained. But, on ascertaining29 that the dining-room windows afforded a direct means of exit to the square, he resolved to stay. Besides, the opportunity of obtaining a close view of Daubrecq was too good to refuse; and, as Daubrecq had been out to dinner, there was not much chance of his entering the dining-room.
Lupin, therefore, waited, holding himself ready to hide behind a velvet30 curtain that could be drawn31 across the glazed32 partition in case of need.
He heard the sound of doors opening and shutting. Some one walked into the study and switched on the light. He recognized Daubrecq.
The deputy was a stout33, thickset, bull-necked man, very nearly bald, with a fringe of gray whiskers round his chin and wearing a pair of black eye-glasses under his spectacles, for his eyes were weak and strained. Lupin noticed the powerful features, the square chin, the prominent cheek-bones. The hands were brawny34 and covered with hair, the legs bowed; and he walked with a stoop, bearing first on one hip35 and then on the other, which gave him something of the gait of a gorilla36. But the face was topped by an enormous, lined forehead, indented37 with hollows and dotted with bumps.
There was something bestial38, something savage39, something repulsive40 about the man’s whole personality. Lupin remembered that, in the Chamber41 of Deputies, Daubrecq was nicknamed “The Wild Man of the Woods” and that he was so labelled not only because he stood aloof42 and hardly ever mixed with his fellow-members, but also because of his appearance, his behaviour, his peculiar43 gait and his remarkable44 muscular development.
He sat down to his desk, took a meerschaum pipe from his pocket, selected a packet of caporal among several packets of tobacco which lay drying in a bowl, tore open the wrapper, filled his pipe and lit it. Then he began to write letters.
He lifted a little stamp-box and examined it. Next, he verified the position of different articles which Prasville had touched and replaced; and he searched them with his eyes, felt them with his hands, bending over them as though certain signs, known to himself alone, were able to tell him what he wished to know.
Lastly, he grasped the knob on an electric bell-push and rang. The portress appeared a minute later.
He asked:
“They’ve been, haven’t they?”
And, when the woman hesitated about replying, he insisted:
“Come, come, Clemence, did you open this stampbox?”
“No, sir.”
“Well, I fastened the lid down with a little strip of gummed paper. The strip has been broken.”
“But I assure you,...” the woman began.
“Why tell lies,” he said, “considering that I myself instructed you to lend yourself to those visits?”
“The fact is...”
“The fact is that you want to keep on good terms with both sides... Very well!” He handed her a fifty-franc note and repeated, “Have they been?”
“Yes.”
“The same men as in the spring?”
“Yes, all five of them... with another one, who ordered them about.”
“A tall, dark man?”
“Yes.”
Lupin saw Daubrecq’s mouth hardening; and Daubrecq continued:
“Is that all?”
“There was one more, who came after they did and joined them... and then, just now, two more, the pair who usually keep watch outside the house.”
“Did they remain in the study?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And they went away when I came back? A few minutes before, perhaps?”
“Yes, sir.”
“That will do.”
The woman left the room. Daubrecq returned to his letter-writing. Then, stretching out his arm, he made some marks on a white writing-tablet, at the end of his desk, and rested it against the desk, as though he wished to keep it in sight. The marks were figures; and Lupin was able to read the following subtraction46-sum:
“9 - 8 = 1”
“Eight from nine leaves one... There’s not a doubt about that,” he added, aloud. He wrote one more letter, a very short one, and addressed the envelope with an inscription48 which Lupin was able to decipher when the letter was placed beside the writing-tablet:
“To Monsieur Prasville, Secretary-general of the Prefecture of Police.”
Then he rang the bell again:
“Clemence,” he said, to the portress, “did you go to school as a child?”
“Yes, sir, of course I did.”
“And were you taught arithmetic?”
“Why, sir...”
“Well, you’re not very good at subtraction.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because you don’t know that nine minus eight equals one. And that, you see, is a fact of the highest importance. Life becomes impossible if you are ignorant of that fundamental truth.”
He rose, as he spoke49, and walked round the room, with his hands behind his back, swaying upon his hips50. He did so once more. Then, stopping at the dining-room, he opened the door:
“For that matter, there’s another way of putting the problem. Take eight from nine; and one remains51. And the one who remains is here, eh? Correct! And monsieur supplies us with a striking proof, does he not?”
He patted the velvet curtain in which Lupin had hurriedly wrapped himself:
“Upon my word, sir, you must be stifling52 under this! Not to say that I might have amused myself by sticking a dagger53 through the curtain. Remember Hamlet’s madness and Polonius’ death: ‘How now! A rat? Dead, for a ducat, dead!’ Come along, Mr. Polonius, come out of your hole.”
It was one of those positions to which Lupin was not accustomed and which he loathed54. To catch others in a trap and pull their leg was all very well; but it was a very different thing to have people teasing him and roaring with laughter at his expense. Yet what could he answer back?
“You look a little pale, Mr. Polonius... Hullo! Why, it’s the respectable old gentleman who has been hanging about the square for some days! So you belong to the police too, Mr. Polonius? There, there, pull yourself together, I sha’n’t hurt you!... But you see, Clemence, how right my calculation was. You told me that nine spies had been to the house. I counted a troop of eight, as I came along, eight of them in the distance, down the avenue. Take eight from nine and one remains: the one who evidently remained behind to see what he could see. Ecce homo!”
“Well? And then?” said Lupin, who felt a mad craving55 to fly at the fellow and reduce him to silence.
“And then? Nothing at all, my good man... What more do you want? The farce56 is over. I will only ask you to take this little note to Master Prasville, your employer. Clemence, please show Mr. Polonius out. And, if ever he calls again, fling open the doors wide to him. Pray look upon this as your home, Mr. Polonius. Your servant, sir!...”
Lupin hesitated. He would have liked to talk big and to come out with a farewell phrase, a parting speech, like an actor making a showy exit from the stage, and at least to disappear with the honours of war. But his defeat was so pitiable that he could think of nothing better than to bang his hat on his head and stamp his feet as he followed the portress down the hall. It was a poor revenge.
“You rascally57 beggar!” he shouted, once he was outside the door, shaking his fist at Daubrecq’s windows. “Wretch, scum of the earth, deputy, you shall pay for this!... Oh, he allows himself...! Oh, he has the cheek to...! Well, I swear to you, my fine fellow, that, one of these days...”
He was foaming58 with rage, all the more as, in his innermost heart, he recognized the strength of his new enemy and could not deny the masterly fashion in which he had managed this business. Daubrecq’s coolness, the assurance with which he hoaxed59 the police-officials, the contempt with which he lent himself to their visits at his house and, above all, his wonderful self-possession, his easy bearing and the impertinence of his conduct in the presence of the ninth person who was spying on him: all this denoted a man of character, a strong man, with a well-balanced mind, lucid60, bold, sure of himself and of the cards in his hand.
But what were those cards? What game was he playing? Who held the stakes? And how did the players stand on either side? Lupin could not tell. Knowing nothing, he flung himself headlong into the thick of the fray61, between adversaries62 desperately63 involved, though he himself was in total ignorance of their positions, their weapons, their resources and their secret plans. For, when all was said, he could not admit that the object of all those efforts was to obtain possession of a crystal stopper!
One thing alone pleased him: Daubrecq had not penetrated64 his disguise. Daubrecq believed him to be in the employ of the police. Neither Daubrecq nor the police, therefore, suspected the intrusion of a third thief in the business. This was his one and only trump65, a trump that gave him a liberty of action to which he attached the greatest importance.
Without further delay, he opened the letter which Daubrecq had handed him for the secretary-general of police. It contained these few lines:
“Within reach of your hand, my dear Prasville, within reach of your
hand! You touched it! A little more and the trick was done... But
you’re too big a fool. And to think that they couldn’t hit upon
any one better than you to make me bite the dust. Poor old France!
“Good-bye, Prasville. But, if I catch you in the act, it will be a
“DAUBRECQ”
“Within reach of your hand,” repeated Lupin, after reading the note. “And to think that the rogue68 may be writing the truth! The most elementary hiding-places are the safest. We must look into this, all the same. And, also, we must find out why Daubrecq is the object of such strict supervision69 and obtain a few particulars about the fellow generally.”
The information supplied to Lupin by a private inquiry-office consisted of the following details:
“ALEXIS DAUBRECQ, deputy of the Bouches-du-Rhone for the past two
years; sits among the independent members. Political opinions not
very clearly defined, but electoral position exceedingly strong,
because of the enormous sums which he spends in nursing his
constituency. No private income. Nevertheless, has a house in
Paris, a villa at Enghien and another at Nice and loses heavily at
play, though no one knows where the money comes from. Has great
influence and obtains all he wants without making up to ministers
or, apparently70, having either friends or connections in political
circles.”
“That’s a trade docket,” said Lupin to himself. “What I want is a domestic docket, a police docket, which will tell me about the gentleman’s private life and enable me to work more easily in this darkness and to know if I’m not getting myself into a tangle71 by bothering about the Daubrecq bird. And time’s getting short, hang it!”
One of the residences which Lupin occupied at that period and which he used oftener than any of the others was in the Rue Chateaubriand, near the Arc de l’Etoile. He was known there by the name of Michel Beaumont. He had a snug72 flat here and was looked after by a manservant, Achille, who was utterly73 devoted to his interests and whose chief duty was to receive and repeat the telephone-messages addressed to Lupin by his followers74.
Lupin, on returning home, learnt, with great astonishment75, that a woman had been waiting to see him for over an hour:
“What! Why, no one ever comes to see me here! Is she young?”
“No... I don’t think so.”
“You don’t think so!”
“She’s wearing a lace shawl over her head, instead of a hat, and you can’t see her face... She’s more like a clerk... or a woman employed in a shop. She’s not well-dressed...”
“Whom did she ask for?”
“M. Michel Beaumont,” replied the servant.
“Queer. And why has she called?”
“All she said was that it was about the Enghien business... So I thought that...”
“What! The Enghien business! Then she knows that I am mixed up in that business... She knows that, by applying here...”
“I could not get anything out of her, but I thought, all the same, that I had better let her in.”
“Quite right. Where is she?”
“In the drawing-room. I’ve put on the lights.”
Lupin walked briskly across the hall and opened the door of the drawing-room:
“What are you talking about?” he said, to his man. “There’s no one here.”
“No one here?” said Achille, running up.
And the room, in fact, was empty.
“Well, on my word, this takes the cake!” cried the servant. “It wasn’t twenty minutes ago that I came and had a look, to make sure. She was sitting over there. And there’s nothing wrong with my eyesight, you know.”
“In the hall, governor! I never left the hall for a second! I should have seen her go out, blow it!”
“Still, she’s not here now...”
“So I see,” moaned the man, quite flabbergasted.
“She must have got tired of waiting and gone away. But, dash it all, I should like to know how she got out!”
“How she got out?” said Lupin. “It doesn’t take a wizard to tell that.”
“What do you mean?”
“She got out through the window. Look, it’s still ajar. We are on the ground-floor... The street is almost always deserted77, in the evenings. There’s no doubt about it.”
He had looked around him and satisfied himself that nothing had been taken away or moved. The room, for that matter, contained no knick-knack of any value, no important paper that might have explained the woman’s visit, followed by her sudden disappearance78. And yet why that inexplicable79 flight?
“Has any one telephoned?” he asked.
“No.”
“Any letters?”
“Yes, one letter by the last post.”
“Where is it?”
“I put it on your mantel-piece, governor, as usual.”
Lupin’s bedroom was next to the drawing-room, but Lupin had permanently80 bolted the door between the two. He, therefore, had to go through the hall again.
Lupin switched on the electric light and, the next moment, said:
“I don’t see it...”
“Yes... I put it next to the flower-bowl.”
“There’s nothing here at all.”
“You must be looking in the wrong place, governor.”
But Achille moved the bowl, lifted the clock, bent81 down to the grate, in vain: the letter was not there.
“Oh blast it, blast it!” he muttered. “She’s done it... she’s taken it... And then, when she had the letter, she cleared out... Oh, the slut!...”
Lupin said:
“You’re mad! There’s no way through between the two rooms.”
“Then who did take it, governor?”
They were both of them silent. Lupin strove to control his anger and collect his ideas. He asked:
“Did you look at the envelope?”
“Yes.”
“Anything particular about it?”
“How was the address worded?... Do you remember?” asked Lupin, in a voice strained with anxiety.
“Yes, I remembered it, because it struck me as funny...”
“But speak, will you? Speak!”
“It said, ‘Monsieur de Beaumont, Michel.’”
Lupin took his servant by the shoulders and shook him:
“It said ‘de’ Beaumont? Are you sure? And ‘Michel’ after ‘Beaumont’?”
“Quite certain.”
“Ah!” muttered Lupin, with a choking throat. “It was a letter from Gilbert!”
He stood motionless, a little pale, with drawn features. There was no doubt about it: the letter was from Gilbert. It was the form of address which, by Lupin’s orders, Gilbert had used for years in corresponding with him. Gilbert had at last—after long waiting and by dint83 of endless artifices—found a means of getting a letter posted from his prison and had hastily written to him. And now the letter was intercepted84! What did it say? What instructions had the unhappy prisoner given? What help was he praying for? What stratagem85 did he suggest?
Lupin looked round the room, which, contrary to the drawing-room, contained important papers. But none of the locks had been forced; and he was compelled to admit that the woman had no other object than to get hold of Gilbert’s letter.
Constraining86 himself to keep his temper, he asked:
“Did the letter come while the woman was here?”
“At the same time. The porter rang at the same moment.”
“Could she see the envelope?”
“Yes.”
The conclusion was evident. It remained to discover how the visitor had been able to effect her theft. By slipping from one window to the other, outside the flat? Impossible: Lupin found the window of his room shut. By opening the communicating door? Impossible: Lupin found it locked and barred with its two inner bolts.
Nevertheless, a person cannot pass through a wall by a mere87 operation of will. To go in or out of a room requires a passage; and, as the act was accomplished88 in the space of a few minutes, it was necessary, in the circumstances, that the passage should be previously89 in existence, that it should already have been contrived90 in the wall and, of course, known to the woman. This hypothesis simplified the search by concentrating it upon the door; for the wall was quite bare, without a cupboard, chimney-piece or hangings of any kind, and unable to conceal91 the least outlet92.
Lupin went back to the drawing-room and prepared to make a study of the door. But he at once gave a start. He perceived, at the first glance, that the left lower panel of the six small panels contained within the cross-bars of the door no longer occupied its normal position and that the light did not fall straight upon it. On leaning forward, he saw two little tin tacks93 sticking out on either side and holding the panel in place, similar to a wooden board behind a picture-frame. He had only to shift these. The panel at once came out.
“Well? And what then? We are no better off than before. Here is an empty oblong, eight or nine inches wide by sixteen inches high. You’re not going to pretend that a woman can slip through an opening which would not admit the thinnest child of ten years old!”
“No, but she can have put her arm through and drawn the bolts.”
“The bottom bolt, yes,” said Lupin. “But the top bolt, no: the distance is far too great. Try for yourself and see.”
Achille tried and had to give up the attempt.
Lupin did not reply. He stood thinking for a long time. Then, suddenly, he said:
“Give me my hat... my coat...”
He hurried off, urged by an imperative95 idea. And, the moment he reached the street, he sprang into a taxi:
“Rue Matignon, quick!...”
As soon as they came to the house where he had been robbed of the crystal stopper, he jumped out of the cab, opened his private entrance, went upstairs, ran to the drawing-room, turned on the light and crouched96 at the foot of the door leading to his bedroom.
He had guessed right. One of the little panels was loosened in the same manner.
And, just as in his other flat in the Rue Chateaubriand, the opening was large enough to admit a man’s arm and shoulder, but not to allow him to draw the upper bolt.
“Hang!” he shouted, unable any longer to master the rage that had been seething97 within him for the last two hours. “Blast! Shall I never have finished with this confounded business?”
In fact, an incredible ill-luck seemed to dog his footsteps, compelling him to grope about at random98, without permitting him to use the elements of success which his own persistency99 or the very force of things placed within his grasp. Gilbert gave him the crystal stopper. Gilbert sent him a letter. And both had disappeared at that very moment.
And it was not, as he had until then believed, a series of fortuitous and independent circumstances. No, it was manifestly the effect of an adverse100 will pursuing a definite object with prodigious101 ability and incredible boldness, attacking him, Lupin, in the recesses102 of his safest retreats and baffling him with blows so severe and so unexpected that he did not even know against whom he had to defend himself. Never, in the course of his adventures, had he encountered such obstacles as now.
And, little by little, deep down within himself, there grew a haunting dread103 of the future. A date loomed104 before his eyes, the terrible date which he unconsciously assigned to the law to perform its work of vengeance105, the date upon which, in the light of a wan13 April morning, two men would mount the scaffold, two men who had stood by him, two comrades whom he had been unable to save from paying the awful penalty...
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fathom
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countless
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invincible
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mighty
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initiates
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| v.开始( initiate的第三人称单数 )；传授；发起；接纳新成员 | |
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accomplices
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| 从犯，帮凶，同谋( accomplice的名词复数 ) | |
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accusation
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| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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villa
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| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
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memorandum
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| n.备忘录，便笺 | |
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jots
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| v.匆忙记下( jot的第三人称单数 )；草草记下，匆匆记下 | |
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obsessed
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| adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的 | |
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13
wan
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| (wide area network)广域网 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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rue
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| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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recurred
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| 再发生，复发( recur的过去式和过去分词 )； 治愈 | |
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18
cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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conversed
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 ) | |
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20
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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21
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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22
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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23
subterfuge
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| n.诡计；藉口 | |
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24
panes
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| 窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 ) | |
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25
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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investigations
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| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
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28
undue
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| adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的 | |
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ascertaining
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的现在分词 ) | |
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velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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glazed
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| 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 | |
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34
brawny
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| adj.强壮的 | |
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35
hip
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| n.臀部，髋；屋脊 | |
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gorilla
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| n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手 | |
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indented
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| adj.锯齿状的，高低不平的；缩进排版 | |
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38
bestial
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| adj.残忍的；野蛮的 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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41
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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aloof
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| adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的 | |
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43
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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46
subtraction
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| n.减法，减去 | |
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47
syllables
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| n.音节( syllable的名词复数 ) | |
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inscription
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| n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文 | |
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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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hips
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| abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的 | |
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51
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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52
stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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53
dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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54
loathed
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| v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的过去式和过去分词 )；极不喜欢 | |
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55
craving
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| n.渴望,热望 | |
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56
farce
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| n.闹剧，笑剧，滑稽戏；胡闹 | |
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rascally
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| adj. 无赖的，恶棍的 adv. 无赖地，卑鄙地 | |
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58
foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
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59
hoaxed
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| v.开玩笑骗某人，戏弄某人( hoax的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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lucid
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| adj.明白易懂的，清晰的，头脑清楚的 | |
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61
fray
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| v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗 | |
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62
adversaries
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| n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 ) | |
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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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64
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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65
trump
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| n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭 | |
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66
lookout
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| n.注意，前途，瞭望台 | |
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67
maxim
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| n.格言，箴言 | |
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68
rogue
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| n.流氓；v.游手好闲 | |
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69
supervision
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| n.监督，管理 | |
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70
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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71
tangle
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| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
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72
snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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73
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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74
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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75
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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76
irritably
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| ad.易生气地 | |
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77
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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78
disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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79
inexplicable
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| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
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80
permanently
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| adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地 | |
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81
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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82
scribbled
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| v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下 | |
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83
dint
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| n.由于，靠；凹坑 | |
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84
intercepted
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| 拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻 | |
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85
stratagem
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| n.诡计，计谋 | |
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86
constraining
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| 强迫( constrain的现在分词 )； 强使； 限制； 约束 | |
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87
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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88
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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89
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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90
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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91
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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92
outlet
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| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
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93
tacks
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| 大头钉( tack的名词复数 )； 平头钉； 航向； 方法 | |
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94
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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95
imperative
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| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
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96
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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97
seething
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| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
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98
random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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99
persistency
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| n. 坚持(余辉, 时间常数) | |
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100
adverse
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| adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的 | |
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101
prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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102
recesses
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| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
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103
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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104
loomed
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| 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 | |
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105
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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