Silently they rode through the stir and thresh of the night, the two women and the man. For guidance along the woods trail they must trust to the finer sense of their horses whose heads they could not see in the closed-in murk. A desultory1 spray fell upon them as the wind wrenched3 at the boughs4 overhead, but the rain had ceased. Infinitely5 high, infinitely potent6 sounded the imminent7 tumult8 of the invisible Powers of the night, on whose sufferance they moved, tiny, obscure, and unharmed. It filled all the distances.
Debouching upon the open desert, they found their range of vision slightly expanded. They could dimly perceive each other. The horses drew closer together. With his flash covered by his poncho9, Banneker consulted a compass and altered their course, for he wished to give the station, to which Gardner might have returned, a wide berth10. Io moved up abreast11 of him as he stood, studying the needle. Had he turned the light upward he would have seen that she was smiling. Whether he would have interpreted that smile, whether, indeed, she could have interpreted it herself, is doubtful.
Presently they picked up the line of telegraph poles, well beyond the station, just the faintest suggestion of gaunt rigor12 against the troubled sky, and skirted them, moving more rapidly in the confidence of assured direction. A very gradual, diffused13 alleviation14 of the darkness began to be felt. The clouds were thinning. Something ahead of them hissed15 in a soft, full, insistent16 monosonance. Banneker threw up a shadowy arm. They dismounted on the crest17 of a tiny desert clifflet, now become the bank of a black current which nuzzled and nibbled18 into its flanks.
Io gazed intently at the flood which was to deliver her out of the hands of the Philistine19. How far away the other bank of the newborn stream might be, she could only guess from the vague rush in her ears. The arroyo's water slipped ceaselessly, objectlessly away from beneath her strained vision, smooth, suave20, even, effortless, like the process of some unhurried and mighty21 mechanism22. Now and again a desert plant, uprooted23 from its arid24 home, eddied25 joyously26 past her, satiated for once of its lifelong thirst; and farther out she thought to have a glimpse of some dead and whitish animal. But these were minor27 blemishes28 on a great, lustrous29 ribbon of silken black, unrolled and re-rolled from darkness into darkness.
"It's beckoning30 us," said Io, leaning to Banneker, her hand on his shoulder.
"We must wait for more light," he answered.
"Will you trust yourself to _that_?" asked Camilla Van Arsdale, with a gesture of fear and repulsion toward the torrent31.
"Anywhere!" returned Io. There was exaltation in her voice.
"I can't understand it," cried the older woman. "How do you know what may lie before you?"
"That is the thrill of it."
"There may be death around the first curve. It's so unknown; so secret and lawless."
"Ah, and I'm lawless!" cried Io. "I could defy the gods on a night like this!"
She flung her arms aloft, in a movement of sweet, wild abandon, and, as if in response to an incantation, the sky was reft asunder32 and the moon rushed forth33, free for the moment of the clutching clouds, fugitive34, headlong, a shining Maenad of the heavens, surrounded by the rush and whirl that had whelmed earth and its waters and was hurrying them to an unknown, mad destiny.
"Now we can see our way," said Banneker, the practical.
He studied the few rods of sleek35, foamless36 water between him and the farther bank, and, going to the steel boat which Mindle had brought to the place on the hand car, took brief inventory37 of its small cargo38. Satisfied, he turned to load in Io's few belongings39. He shipped the oars42.
"I'll let her go stem-first," he explained; "so that I can see what we're coming to and hold her if there's trouble."
"But can you see?" objected Miss Van Arsdale, directing a troubled look at the breaking sky.
"If we can't, we'll run her ashore43 until we can."
He handed Io the flashlight and the map.
"You'll want me in the bow seat if we're traveling reversed," said she.
He assented44. "Good sailorwoman!"
"I don't like it," protested Miss Van Arsdale. "It's a mad business. Ban, you oughtn't to take her."
"It's too late to talk of that," said Io.
"Ready?" questioned Banneker.
"Yes."
He pushed the stern of the boat into the stream, and the current laid it neatly45 and powerfully flat to the sheer bank. Io kissed Camilla Van Arsdale quickly and got in.
"We'll wire you from Miradero," she promised. "You'll find the message in the morning."
The woman, mastering herself with a difficult effort, held out her hand to Banneker.
"If you won't be persuaded," she said, "then good--"
"No," he broke in quickly. "That's bad luck. We shall be all right."
"Good luck, then," returned his friend, and turned away into the night.
Banneker, with one foot in the boat, gave a little shove and caught up his oars. An unseen hand of indeterminable might grasped the keel and moved them quietly, evenly, outward and forward, puppets given into the custody46 of the unregarding powers. Oars poised47 and ready, Ban sat with his back toward his passenger, facing watchfully49 downstream.
Leaning back into the curve of the bow, Io gave herself up to the pulsing sweep of the night. Far, far above her stirred a cosmic tumult. The air might have been filled with vast wings, invisible and incessant50 in the night of wonders. The moon plunged51 headlong through the clouds, now submerged, now free, like a strong swimmer amidst surf. She moved to the music of a tremendous, trumpeting52 note, the voice of the unleashed53 Spring, male and mighty, exulting54 in his power, while beneath, the responsive, desirous earth thrilled and trembled and was glad.
The boat, a tiny speck55 on the surface of chaos56, darted57 and checked and swerved58 lightly at the imperious bidding of unguessed forces, reaching up from the depths to pluck at it in elfish sportiveness. Only when Ban thrust down the oar41-blades, as he did now and again to direct their course or avoid some obstacle, was Io made sensible, through the jar and tremor59 of the whole structure, how swiftly they moved. She felt the spirit of the great motion, of which they were a minutely inconsiderable part, enter into her soul. She was inspired of it, freed, elated, glorified60. She lifted up her voice and sang. Ban, turning, gave her one quick look of comprehension, then once more was intent and watchful48 of their master and servitor, the flood.
"Ban," she called.
He tossed an oar to indicate that he had heard.
"Come back and sit by me."
He seemed to hesitate.
"Let the boat go where it wants to! The river will take care of us. It's a good river, and so strong! I think it loves to have us here."
Ban shook his head.
"'Let the great river bear us to the sea,'" sang Io in her fresh and thrilling voice, stirring the uttermost fibers61 of his being with delight. "Ban, can't you trust the river and the night and--and the mad gods? I can."
Again he shook his head. In his attitude she sensed a new concentration upon something ahead. She became aware of a strange stir that was not of the air nor the water.
"Hush--sh--sh--sh--sh!" said something unseen, with an immense effect of restraint and enforced quiet.
The boat slewed62 sharply as Banneker checked their progress with a downthrust of oars. He edged in toward the farther bank which was quite flat, studying it with an eye to the most favoring spot, having selected which, he ran the stern up with several hard shoves, leapt out, hauled the body of the craft free from the balked63 and snatching current, and held out a hand to his passenger.
"What is it?" she asked as she joined him.
"I don't know. I'm trying to think where I've heard that noise before." He pondered. "Ah, I've got it! It was when I was out on the coast in the big rains, and a few million tons of river-bank let go all holds and smushed down into the stream.... What's on your map?"
He bent64 over it, conning65 its detail by the light of the flash which she turned on.
"We should be about here," he indicated, touching66 the paper, "I'll go ahead and take a look."
"Shan't I go with you?"
"Better stay quiet and get all the rest you can."
He was gone some twenty minutes. "There's a big, fresh-looking split-off in the opposite bank," he reported; "and the water looks fizzy and whirly around there. I think we'll give her a little time to settle. A sudden shift underneath67 might suck us down. The water's rising every minute, which makes it worth while waiting. Besides, it's dark just now."
"Do you believe in fate?" asked the girl abruptly68, as he seated himself on the sand beside her. "That's a silly, schoolgirl thing to say, isn't it?" she added. "But I was thinking of this boat being there in the middle of the dry desert, just when we needed it most."
"It had been there some time," pointed69 out Banneker. "And if we couldn't have come this way, I'd have found some other."
"I believe you would," crowed Io softly.
"So, I don't believe in fate; not the ready-made kind. Things aren't that easy. If I did--"
"If you did?" she prompted as he paused.
"I'd get back into the boat with you and throw away the oars."
"I dare you!" she cried recklessly.
"We'd go whirling and spinning along," he continued with dreams in his voice, "until dawn came, and then we'd go ashore and camp."
"Where?"
"How should I know? In the Enchanted70 Canyon71 where it enters the Mountains of Fulfillment.... They're not on this map."
"They're not on any map. More's the pity. And then?"
"Then we'd rest. And after that we'd climb to the Plateau Beyond the Clouds where the Fadeless Gardens are, and there..."
"And there?"
"There we'd hear the Undying Voices singing."
"Should we sing, too?"
"Of course. 'For they who attain72 these heights, through pain of upward toil73 and the rigors74 of abstention, are as the demigods, secure above evil and the fear thereof.'"
"I don't know what that is, but I hate the 'upward toil' part of it, and the 'abstention' even more. We ought to be able to become demigods without all that, just because we wish it. In a fairy-tale, anyway. I don't think you're a really competent fairy-tale-monger, Ban."
"You haven't let me go on to the 'live happy ever after' part," he complained.
"Ah, that's the serpent, the lying, poisoning little serpent, always concealed75 in the gardens of dreams. They don't, Ban; people don't live happy ever after. I could believe in fairy-tales up to that point. Just there ugly old Experience holds up her bony finger--she's a horrid76 hag, Ban, but we'd all be dead or mad without her--and points to the wriggling77 little snake."
"In my garden," said he, "she'd have shining wings and eyes that could look to the future as well as to the past, and immortal78 Hope for a lover. It would be worth all the toil and the privation."
"Nobody ever made up a Paradise," said the girl fretfully, "but what the Puritan in him set the road with sharp stones and bordered it with thorns and stings.... Look, Ban! Here's the moon come back to us.... And see what's laughing at us and our dreams."
On the crest of a sand-billow sprawled79 a huge organ-cactus, brandishing80 its arms in gnomish81 derision of their presence.
"How can one help but believe in foul82 spirits with that thing to prove their existence?" she said. "And, look! There's the good spirit in front of that shining cloud."
She pointed to a yucca in full, creamy flower; a creature of unearthly purity in the glow of the moon, a dream-maiden beckoning at the gates of darkness to a world of hidden and ineffable83 beauty.
"When I saw my first yucca in blossom," said Banneker, "it was just before sunrise after I had been riding all night, and I came on it around a dip in the hills, standing84 alone against a sky of pearl and silver. It made me think of a ghost, the ghost of a girl who had died too young to know womanhood, died while she was asleep and dreaming pale, soft dreams, never to be fulfilled."
"That's the injustice85 of death," she answered. "To take one before one knows and has felt and been all that there is to know and feel and be."
"Yet"--he turned a slow smile to her--"you were just now calling Experience bad names; a horrid hag, wasn't it?"
"At least, she's life," retorted the girl.
"Yes. She's life."
"Ban, I want to go on. The whole universe is in motion. Why must we stand still?"
They reembarked. The grip of the hurrying depths took them past crinkly water, lustrously86 bronze in the moonlight where the bank had given way, and presently delivered them, around the shoulder of a low, brush-crowned bluff87, into the keeping of a swollen88 creek89. Here the going was more tricky90. There were shoals and whirls at the bends, and plunging91 flotsam to be avoided. Banneker handled the boat with masterly address, easing her through the swift passages, keeping her, with a touch here and a dip there, to the deepest flow, swerving92 adroitly93 to dodge94 the trees and brush which might have punctured95 the thin metal. Once he cried out and lunged at some object with an unshipped oar. It rolled and sank, but not before Io had caught the contour of a pasty face. She was startled rather than horrified96 at this apparition97 of death. It seemed an accessory proper to the pattern of the bewitched night.
Through a little, silvered surf of cross-waves, they were shot, after an hour of this uneasy going, into the broad, clean sweep of the Little Bowleg River. After the troubled progress of the lesser98 current it seemed very quiet and secure; almost placid99. But the banks slipped by in an endless chain. Presently they came abreast of three horsemen riding the river trail, who urged their horses into a gallop100, keeping up with them for a mile or more. As they fell away, Io waved a handkerchief at them, to which they made response by firing a salvo from their revolvers into the air.
"We're making better than ten miles an hour," Banneker called over his shoulder to his passenger.
They shot between the split halves of a little, scraggly, ramshackle town, danced in white water where the ford101 had been, and darted onward102. Now Banneker began to hold against the current, scanning the shores until, with a quick wrench2, he brought the stern around and ran it up on a muddy bit of strand103.
"Grub!" he announced gayly.
Languor104 had taken possession of Io, the languor of one who yields to unknown and fateful forces. Passive and at peace, she wanted nothing but to be wafted105 by the current to whatever far bourne might await her. That there should be such things as railway trains and man-made schedules in this world of winds and mystery and the voice of great waters, was hard to believe; hardly worth believing in any case. Better not to think of it: better to muse106 on her companion, building fire as the first man had built for the first woman, to feed and comfort her in an environment of imminent fears.
Coffee, when her man brought it, seemed too artificial for the time and place. She shook her head. She was not hungry.
"You must," insisted Ban. He pointed downstream where the murk lay heavy. "We shall run into more rain. You will need the warmth and support of food."
So, because there were only they two on the face of the known earth, woman and man, the woman obeyed the man. To her surprise, she found that she was hungry, ardently107 hungry. Both ate heartily108. It was a silent meal; little spoken except about the chances and developments of the journey, until she got to her feet. Then she said:
"I shall never, as long as I live, wherever I go, whatever I do, know anything like this again. I shall not want to. I want it to stand alone."
"It will stand alone," he answered.
They met the rain within half an hour, a wall-like mass of it. It blotted110 out everything around them. The roar of it cut off sound, as the mass of it cut off sight. Fortunately the boat was now going evenly as in an oiled groove111. By feeling, Io knew that her guide was moving from his seat, and guessed that he was bailing112. The spare poncho, put in by Miss Van Arsdale, protected her. She was jubilant with the thresh of the rain in her face, the sweet, smooth motion of the boat beneath her, the wild abandon of the night, which, entering into her blood, had transmuted113 it into soft fire.
How long she crouched114, exultant115 and exalted116, under the beat of the storm, she could not guess. She half emerged from her possession with a strange feeling that the little craft was being irresistibly117 drawn118 forward and downward in what was now a suction rather than a current. At the same time she felt the spring and thrust of Banneker's muscles, straining at the oars. She dipped a hand into the water. It ridged high around her wrists with a startling pressure. What was happening?
Through the uproar119 she could dimly hear Ban's voice. He seemed to be swearing insanely. Dropping to her hands and knees, for the craft was now swerving and rocking, she crept to him.
"The dam! The dam! The dam!" he shouted. "I'd forgotten about it. Go back. Turn on the flash. Look for shore."
Against rather than into that impenetrable enmeshment of rain, the glow dispersed120 itself ineffectually. Io sat, not frightened so much as wondering. Her body ached in sympathy with the panting, racking toil of the man at the oars, the labor121 of an indomitable pigmy, striving to thwart122 a giant's will. Suddenly he shouted. The boat spun123. Something low and a shade blacker than the dull murk about them, with a white, whispering ripple124 at its edge, loomed125. The boat's prow126 drove into soft mud as Banneker, all but knocking her overboard in his dash, plunged to the land and with one powerful lift, brought boat and cargo to safety.
For a moment he leaned, gasping127, against a stump128. When he spoke109, it was to reproach himself bitterly.
"We must have come through the town. There's a dam below it. I'd forgotten it. My God! If we hadn't had the luck to strike shore."
"Is it a high dam?" she asked.
"In this flood we'd be pounded to death the moment we were over. Listen! You can hear it."
The rain had diminished a little. Above its insistence129 sounded a deeper, more formidable beat and thrill.
"We must be quite close to it," she said.
"A few rods, probably. Let me have the light. I want to explore before we start out."
Much sooner than she had expected, he was back. He groped for and took her hand. His own was steady, but his voice shook as he said:
"Io."
"It's the first time you've called me that. Well, Ban?"
"Can you stand it to--to have me tell you something?"
"Yes."
"We're not on the shore."
"Where, then? An island?"
"There aren't any islands here. It must be a bit of the mainland cut off by the flood."
"I'm not afraid, if that's what you mean. We can stand it until dawn."
A wavelet lapped quietly across her foot. She withdrew it and with that involuntary act came understanding. Her hand, turning in his, pressed close, palm cleaving130 to palm.
"How much longer?" she asked in a whisper.
"Not long. It's just a tiny patch. And the river is rising every minute."
"How long?" she persisted.
"Perhaps two hours. Perhaps less. My good God! If there's any special hell for criminal fools, I ought to go to it for bringing you to this," he burst out in agony.
"I brought you. Whatever there is, we'll go to it together."
"You're wonderful beyond all wonders. Aren't you afraid?"
"I don't know. It isn't so much fear, though I dread131 to think of that hammering-down weight of water."
"Don't!" he cried brokenly. "I can't bear to think of you--" He lifted his head sharply. "Isn't it lightening up? Look! Can you see shore? We might be quite near."
She peered out, leaning forward. "No; there's nothing." Her hand turned within his, released itself gently. "I'm not afraid," she said, speaking clear and swift. "It isn't that. But I'm--rebellious. I hate the idea of it, of ending everything; the unfairness of it. To have to die without knowing the--the realness of life. Unfulfilled. It isn't fair," she accused breathlessly. "Ban, it's what we were saying. Back there on the river-bank where the yucca stands. I don't want to go--I can't bear to go--before I've known ... before...."
Her arms crept to enfold him. Her lips sought his, tremulous, surrendering, demanding in surrender. With all the passion and longing40 that he had held in control, refusing to acknowledge even their existence, as if the mere132 recognition of them would have blemished133 her, he caught her to him. He heard her, felt her sob134 once. The roar of the cataract135 was louder, more insistent in his ears ... or was it the rush of the blood in his veins136?... Io cried out, a desolate137 and hungry cry, for he had wrenched his mouth from hers. She could feel the inner man abruptly withdrawn138, concentrated elsewhere. She opened her eyes upon an appalling139 radiance wherein his face stood out clear, incredulous, then suddenly eager and resolute140.
"It's a headlight!" he cried. "A train! Look, Io! The mainland. It's only a couple of rods away."
He slipped from her arms, ran to the boat.
"What are you going to do?" she called weakly. "Ban! You can never make it."
"I've got to. It's our only chance."
As he spoke, he was fumbling141 under the seat. He brought out a coil of rope. Throwing off poncho, coat, and waistcoat, he coiled the lengths around his body.
"Let me swim with you," she begged.
"You're not strong enough."
"I don't care. We'd go together ... I--I can't face it alone, Ban."
"You'll have to. Or give up our only chance of life. You must, Io. If I shouldn't get across, you may try it; the chances of the current might help you. But not until after you're sure I haven't made it. You must wait."
"Yes," she said submissively.
"As soon as I get to shore, I'll throw the rope across to you. Listen for it. I'll keep throwing until it strikes where you can get it."
"I'll give you the light."
"That may help. Then you make fast under the forward seat of the boat. Be sure it's tight."
"Yes, Ban."
"Twitch142 three times on the rope to let me know when you're ready and shove out and upstream as strongly as you can."
"Can you hold it against the current?"
"I must. If I do, you'll drift around against the bank. If I don't--I'll follow you."
"No, Ban," she implored143. "Not you, too. There's no need--"
"I'll follow you," said he. "Now, Io."
He kissed her gently, stepped back, took a run and flung himself upward and outward into the ravening144 current.
She saw a foaming145 thresh that melted into darkness....
Time seemed to have stopped for her. She waited, waited, waited in a world wherein only Death waited with her.... Ban was now limp and lifeless somewhere far downstream, asprawl in the swiftness, rolling a pasty face to the sky like that grisly wayfarer146 who had hailed them silently in the upper reach of the river, a messenger and prophet of their fate. The rising waters eddied about her feet. The boat stirred uneasily. Mechanically she drew it back from the claim of the flood. A light blow fell upon her cheek and neck.
It was the rope.
Instantly and intensely alive, Io tautened it and felt the jerk of Ban's signal. With expert hands she made it fast, shipped the oars, twitched147 the cord thrice, and, venturing as far as she dared into the deluge148, pushed with all her force and threw herself over the stern.
The rope twanged and hummed like a gigantic bass-string. Io crawled to the oars, felt the gunwale dip and right again, and, before she could take a stroke, was pressed against the far bank. She clambered out and went to Banneker, guiding herself by the light. His face, in the feeble glow, shone, twisted in agony. He was shaking from head to foot. The other end of the rope which had brought her to safety was knotted fast around his waist.... So he would have followed, as he said!
Through Io's queer, inconsequent brain flitted a grotesque149 conjecture150: what would the newspapers make of it if she had been found, washed up on the river-bank, and the Manzanita agent of the Atkinson and St. Philip Railroad Company drowned and haltered by a long tether to his boat, near by? A sensational151 story!...
She went to Banneker, still helplessly shaking, and put her firm, slight hands on his shoulders.
"It's all right, Ban," she said soothingly152. "We're out of it."
收听单词发音 |
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desultory
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| adj.散漫的，无方法的 | |
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wrench
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| v.猛拧；挣脱；使扭伤；n.扳手；痛苦，难受 | |
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wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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potent
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| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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poncho
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| n.斗篷，雨衣 | |
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berth
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| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
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abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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rigor
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| n.严酷，严格，严厉 | |
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diffused
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| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
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alleviation
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| n. 减轻，缓和，解痛物 | |
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hissed
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| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
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insistent
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| adj.迫切的，坚持的 | |
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crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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nibbled
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| v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的过去式和过去分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬 | |
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philistine
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| n.庸俗的人；adj.市侩的，庸俗的 | |
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suave
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| adj.温和的；柔和的；文雅的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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uprooted
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| v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园 | |
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arid
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eddied
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joyously
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| ad.快乐地, 高兴地 | |
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minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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blemishes
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| n.（身体的）瘢点( blemish的名词复数 )；伤疤；瑕疵；污点 | |
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29
lustrous
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| adj.有光泽的；光辉的 | |
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30
beckoning
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| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
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31
torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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32
asunder
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| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
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33
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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34
fugitive
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| adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者 | |
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35
sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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36
foamless
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| adj.无泡沫的 | |
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37
inventory
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| n.详细目录，存货清单 | |
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38
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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39
belongings
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| n.私人物品，私人财物 | |
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40
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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41
oar
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| n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行 | |
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42
oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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43
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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44
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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46
custody
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| n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留 | |
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47
poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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48
watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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49
watchfully
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| 警惕地，留心地 | |
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50
incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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51
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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52
trumpeting
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| 大声说出或宣告（trumpet的现在分词形式） | |
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53
unleashed
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| v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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54
exulting
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| vi. 欢欣鼓舞，狂喜 | |
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55
speck
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| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
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56
chaos
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| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
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57
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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58
swerved
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| v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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59
tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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60
glorified
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| 美其名的，变荣耀的 | |
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61
fibers
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| 光纤( fiber的名词复数 )； （织物的）质地； 纤维，纤维物质 | |
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62
slewed
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| adj.喝醉的v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去式 )( slew的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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63
balked
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| v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的过去式和过去分词 )；（指马）不肯跑 | |
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64
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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65
conning
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| v.诈骗，哄骗( con的现在分词 )；指挥操舵( conn的现在分词 ) | |
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66
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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67
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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68
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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69
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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70
enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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71
canyon
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| n.峡谷，溪谷 | |
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72
attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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73
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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74
rigors
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| 严格( rigor的名词复数 )； 严酷； 严密； （由惊吓或中毒等导致的身体）僵直 | |
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75
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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76
horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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77
wriggling
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| v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的现在分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）；蠕蠕 | |
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78
immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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79
sprawled
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| v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的过去式和过去分词)；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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80
brandishing
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| v.挥舞( brandish的现在分词 )；炫耀 | |
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81
gnomish
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| adj.似侏儒的，好戏弄的 | |
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82
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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83
ineffable
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| adj.无法表达的，不可言喻的 | |
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84
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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85
injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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86
lustrously
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| adv.光亮地；有光泽地；灿烂地 | |
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87
bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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88
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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89
creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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90
tricky
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| adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的 | |
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91
plunging
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|
| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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92
swerving
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| v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的现在分词 ) | |
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93
adroitly
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| adv.熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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94
dodge
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| v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计 | |
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95
punctured
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| v.在（某物）上穿孔( puncture的过去式和过去分词 )；刺穿（某物）；削弱（某人的傲气、信心等）；泄某人的气 | |
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96
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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97
apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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98
lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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99
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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100
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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101
Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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102
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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103
strand
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| vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地） | |
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104
languor
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| n.无精力，倦怠 | |
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105
wafted
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| v.吹送，飘送，（使）浮动( waft的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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106
muse
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| n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感 | |
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107
ardently
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| adv.热心地，热烈地 | |
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108
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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109
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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110
blotted
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| 涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 )； （用吸墨纸）吸干 | |
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111
groove
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| n.沟，槽；凹线，（刻出的）线条，习惯 | |
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112
bailing
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| （凿井时用吊桶）排水 | |
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113
transmuted
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| v.使变形，使变质，把…变成…( transmute的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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114
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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115
exultant
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| adj.欢腾的，狂欢的，大喜的 | |
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116
exalted
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| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
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117
irresistibly
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| adv.无法抵抗地，不能自持地；极为诱惑人地 | |
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118
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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119
uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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120
dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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121
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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122
thwart
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| v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的) | |
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123
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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124
ripple
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| n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进 | |
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125
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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126
prow
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| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
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127
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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128
stump
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| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
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129
insistence
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| n.坚持；强调；坚决主张 | |
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130
cleaving
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| v.劈开，剁开，割开( cleave的现在分词 ) | |
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131
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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132
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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133
blemished
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| v.有损…的完美，玷污( blemish的过去式 ) | |
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134
sob
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| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
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135
cataract
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| n.大瀑布，奔流，洪水，白内障 | |
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136
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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137
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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138
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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139
appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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140
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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141
fumbling
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| n. 摸索,漏接 v. 摸索,摸弄,笨拙的处理 | |
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142
twitch
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| v.急拉，抽动，痉挛，抽搐；n.扯，阵痛，痉挛 | |
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143
implored
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| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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144
ravening
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| a.贪婪而饥饿的 | |
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145
foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
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146
wayfarer
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| n.旅人 | |
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147
twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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148
deluge
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| n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥 | |
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149
grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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150
conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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151
sensational
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| adj.使人感动的，非常好的，轰动的，耸人听闻的 | |
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152
soothingly
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| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
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