Of all the rudely awakened3 and mightily4 frightened inmates5, perhaps Miss Moyne herself was most excited by this waft6 of bad news. She had been sleeping very soundly in dreamless security and did not at first feel the absurdity7 of being told that she had just tumbled down the escarpment, which in fact she never yet had summoned the courage to approach, even when sustained by a strong masculine arm.
“O dear! how did it happen?” she demanded of her aunt, Mrs. Coleman Rhodes, who had rushed upon her dainty couch with the frightful8 announcement of her accident.
“Oh, Alice! you are here, you are not hurt at all! Oh!” Mrs. Rhodes went on, “and what can it all mean!”
[52]
Everybody rushed out, of course, as soon as hurried dressing9 would permit, and fell into the confusion that filled the halls and main veranda10.
“Mr. Peck and I,” he went on to say, “were enjoying a friendly turn at sword-play up here at Eagle’s Nest; couldn’t sleep, needed exercise, and went up there so as not to disturb any one. While we were fencing she came rushing past through those bushes and leaped right over with a great shriek12. She—”
“Don’t stop to talk,” cried Mr. E. Hobbs Lucas, with a directness and clearness quite unusual in a historian. “Don’t stop to talk, let’s go do something!”
“Yes, come on,” quavered poor Peck, his face whiter than the moon and his beard quivering in sympathy with his voice.
“Oh, it’s dreadful, awful!” moaned little Mrs. Philpot, “poor, dear Miss Moyne, to think that she is gone!” and she leaned heavily on Miss Moyne’s shoulder as she spoke14.
It was a strange scene, too confused for the best dramatic effect, but spectacular in the extreme. Servants swarmed15 out with lights that wavered fantastically in the moonshine, while the huddled16 guests swayed to and fro in a body. Every face was pinched with intense excitement and looked haggard under its crown of disheveled hair. Even the hotel windows stared in stupid horror, and the kindly17 countenances18 of the negro waiters took on a bewildered and meaningless[53] grin set in a black scowl19 of superstition20 and terror.
When Dufour came upon the scene, he did not appear in the least flurried, and the first thing he did was to lay his hand on Miss Moyne’s shoulder and exclaim in a clear tenor21 strain:
“Why, here! it’s all a mistake! What are you talking about? Here’s Miss Moyne! Here she stands!”
“Mercy! where?” enquired22 little Mrs. Philpot, who was still leaning on her friend and shedding bitter tears.
Dufour, with a quiet: “Please don’t take offence,” put a hand on either side of Miss Moyne and lifted her so that she stood in a chair looking very sweetly down over the crowd of people.
Few indeed are they who can look beautiful under such circumstances, but Miss Moyne certainly did, especially in the eyes of Crane and Peck as they gazed up at her.
“That Kentuckian must romance, I suppose,” grumbled24 R. Hobbs Lucas. “Wonder what he’ll tell next.”
“I don’t see how I could be so mistaken,” said Peck, after quiet had been somewhat restored, “I would have willingly been sworn to—”
“Oh, don’t you absolutely know that we suppose just that very thing?” said Lucas.
With the return of self-consciousness the company began to scatter28, the ladies especially scampering29 to their rooms with rustling30 celerity. The men grumbled not a little, as if being deprived of a shocking accident touched them with a sting.
“The grotesque31 idea!” ejaculated Dufour. “Such a practical joke—impractical joke, I might better say, could originate only between a poet and a critic.”
Everybody went back to bed, feeling more or less injured by Crane and Peck, who shared in their own breasts the common impression that they had made great fools of themselves. If these crest-fallen knights32, so lately militant33 and self-confident, had any cause of quarrel now it was based upon a question as to which should feel the meaner and which should more deeply dread13 to meet Miss Moyne on the morrow.
As for Miss Moyne herself she was indignant although she tried to quiet her aunt, who was ready to shake the dust of Mt. Boab from her feet at once.
Next morning, however, when it was discovered that Miss Crabb was missing and that after all something tragic34 probably had happened, everybody felt relieved.
点击收听单词发音
1 rumor | |
n.谣言,谣传,传说 | |
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2 precipice | |
n.悬崖,危急的处境 | |
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3 awakened | |
v.(使)醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 );(使)觉醒;弄醒;(使)意识到 | |
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4 mightily | |
ad.强烈地;非常地 | |
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5 inmates | |
n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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6 waft | |
v.飘浮,飘荡;n.一股;一阵微风;飘荡 | |
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7 absurdity | |
n.荒谬,愚蠢;谬论 | |
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8 frightful | |
adj.可怕的;讨厌的 | |
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9 dressing | |
n.(食物)调料;包扎伤口的用品,敷料 | |
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10 veranda | |
n.走廊;阳台 | |
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11 modulated | |
已调整[制]的,被调的 | |
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12 shriek | |
v./n.尖叫,叫喊 | |
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13 dread | |
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧 | |
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14 spoke | |
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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15 swarmed | |
密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 ); 云集; 成群地移动; 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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16 huddled | |
挤在一起(huddle的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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17 kindly | |
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地 | |
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18 countenances | |
n.面容( countenance的名词复数 );表情;镇静;道义支持 | |
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19 scowl | |
vi.(at)生气地皱眉,沉下脸,怒视;n.怒容 | |
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20 superstition | |
n.迷信,迷信行为 | |
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21 tenor | |
n.男高音(歌手),次中音(乐器),要旨,大意 | |
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22 enquired | |
打听( enquire的过去式和过去分词 ); 询问; 问问题; 查问 | |
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23 farce | |
n.闹剧,笑剧,滑稽戏;胡闹 | |
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24 grumbled | |
抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 ); 发牢骚; 咕哝; 发哼声 | |
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25 hurling | |
n.爱尔兰式曲棍球v.猛投,用力掷( hurl的现在分词 );大声叫骂 | |
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26 ironical | |
adj.讽刺的,冷嘲的 | |
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27 testily | |
adv. 易怒地, 暴躁地 | |
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28 scatter | |
vt.撒,驱散,散开;散布/播;vi.分散,消散 | |
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29 scampering | |
v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑,惊惶奔跑( scamper的现在分词 ) | |
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30 rustling | |
n. 瑟瑟声,沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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31 grotesque | |
adj.怪诞的,丑陋的;n.怪诞的图案,怪人(物) | |
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32 knights | |
骑士; (中古时代的)武士( knight的名词复数 ); 骑士; 爵士; (国际象棋中)马 | |
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33 militant | |
adj.激进的,好斗的;n.激进分子,斗士 | |
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34 tragic | |
adj.悲剧的,悲剧性的,悲惨的 | |
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