On a visit to the Zhizdrinsky district in search of sport, I met in the fields a petty proprietor14 of the Kaluga province called Polutikin, and made his acquaintance. He was an enthusiastic sportsman; it follows, therefore, that he was an excellent fellow. He was liable, indeed, to a few weaknesses; he used, for instance, to pay his addresses to every unmarried heiress in the province, and when he had been refused her hand and house, broken-hearted he confided15 his sorrows to all his friends and acquaintances, and continued to shower offerings of sour peaches and other raw produce from his garden upon the young lady's relatives; he was fond of repeating one and the same anecdote16, which, in spite of Mr. Polutikin's appreciation17 of its merits, had certainly never amused anyone; he admired the works of Akim Nahimov and the novel Pinna; he stammered19; he called his dog Astronomer20; instead of 'however' said 'howsomever'; and had established in his household a French system of cookery, the secret of which consisted, according to his cook's interpretation21, in a complete transformation22 of the natural taste of each dish; in this artiste's hands meat assumed the flavour of fish, fish of mushrooms, macaroni of gunpowder23; to make up for this, not a single carrot went into the soup without taking the shape of a rhombus or a trapeze. But, with the exception of these few and insignificant24 failings, Mr. Polutikin was, as has been said already, an excellent fellow.
On the first day of my acquaintance with Mr. Polutikin, he invited me to stay the night at his house.
'It will be five miles farther to my house,' he added; 'it's a long way to walk; let us first go to Hor's.' (The reader must excuse my omitting his stammer18.)
'Who is Hor?'
'A peasant of mine. He is quite close by here.'
We went in that direction. In a well-cultivated clearing in the middle of the forest rose Hor's solitary25 homestead. It consisted of several pine-wood buildings, enclosed by plank26 fences; a porch ran along the front of the principal building, supported on slender posts. We went in. We were met by a young lad of twenty, tall and good-looking.
'Ah, Fedya! is Hor at home?' Mr. Polutikin asked him.
'No. Hor has gone into town,' answered the lad, smiling and showing a row of snow-white teeth. 'You would like the little cart brought out?'
'Yes, my boy, the little cart. And bring us some kvas.'
We went into the cottage. Not a single cheap glaring print was pasted up on the clean boards of the walls; in the corner, before the heavy, holy picture in its silver setting, a lamp was burning; the table of linden-wood had been lately planed and scrubbed; between the joists and in the cracks of the window-frames there were no lively Prussian beetles27 running about, nor gloomy cockroaches28 in hiding. The young lad soon reappeared with a great white pitcher29 filled with excellent kvas, a huge hunch30 of wheaten bread, and a dozen salted cucumbers in a wooden bowl. He put all these provisions on the table, and then, leaning with his back against the door, began to gaze with a smiling face at us. We had not had time to finish eating our lunch when the cart was already rattling31 before the doorstep. We went out. A curly-headed, rosy-cheeked boy of fifteen was sitting in the cart as driver, and with difficulty holding in the well-fed piebald horse. Round the cart stood six young giants, very like one another, and Fedya.
'All of these Hor's sons!' said Polutikin.
'These are all Horkies' (i.e. wild cats), put in Fedya, who had come after us on to the step; 'but that's not all of them: Potap is in the wood, and Sidor has gone with old Hor to the town. Look out, Vasya,' he went on, turning to the coachman; 'drive like the wind; you are driving the master. Only mind what you're about over the ruts, and easy a little; don't tip the cart over, and upset the master's stomach!'
The other Horkies smiled at Fedya's sally. 'Lift Astronomer in!' Mr. Polutikin called majestically32. Fedya, not without amusement, lifted the dog, who wore a forced smile, into the air, and laid her at the bottom of the cart. Vasya let the horse go. We rolled away. 'And here is my counting-house,' said Mr. Polutikin suddenly to me, pointing to a little low-pitched house. 'Shall we go in?' 'By all means.' 'It is no longer used,' he observed, going in; 'still, it is worth looking at.' The counting-house consisted of two empty rooms. The caretaker, a one-eyed old man, ran out of the yard. 'Good day, Minyaitch,' said Mr. Polutikin; 'bring us some water.' The one-eyed old man disappeared, and at once returned with a bottle of water and two glasses. 'Taste it,' Polutikin said to me; 'it is splendid spring water.' We drank off a glass each, while the old man bowed low. 'Come, now, I think we can go on,' said my new Friend. 'In that counting-house I sold the merchant Alliluev four acres of forest-land for a good price.' We took our seats in the cart, and in half-an-hour we had reached the court of the manor33-house.
'Tell me, please,' I asked Polutikin at supper; 'why does Hor live apart from your other peasants?'
'Well, this is why; he is a clever peasant. Twenty-five years ago his cottage was burnt down; so he came up to my late father and said: "Allow me, Nikolai Kouzmitch," says he, "to settle in your forest, on the bog34. I will pay you a good rent." "But what do you want to settle on the bog for?" "Oh, I want to; only, your honour, Nikolai Kouzmitch, be so good as not to claim any labour from me, but fix a rent as you think best." "Fifty roubles a year!" "Very well." "But I'll have no arrears35, mind!" "Of course, no arrears"; and so he settled on the bog. Since then they have called him Hor' (i.e. wild cat).
'Well, and has he grown rich?' I inquired.
'Yes, he has grown rich. Now he pays me a round hundred for rent, and I shall raise it again, I dare say. I have said to him more than once, "Buy your freedom, Hor; come, buy your freedom." … But he declares, the rogue36, that he can't; has no money, he says…. As though that were likely….'
The next day, directly after our morning tea, we started out hunting again. As we were driving through the village, Mr. Polutikin ordered the coachman to stop at a low-pitched cottage and called loudly, 'Kalinitch!' 'Coming, your honour, coming' sounded a voice from the yard; 'I am tying on my shoes.' We went on at a walk; outside the village a man of about forty over-took us. He was tall and thin, with a small and erect37 head. It was Kalinitch. His good-humoured; swarthy face, somewhat pitted with small-pox, pleased me from the first glance. Kalinitch (as I learnt afterwards) went hunting every day with his master, carried his bag, and sometimes also his gun, noted38 where game was to be found, fetched water, built shanties39, and gathered strawberries, and ran behind the droshky; Mr. Polutikin could not stir a step without him. Kalinitch was a man of the merriest and gentlest disposition40; he was constantly singing to himself in a low voice, and looking carelessly about him. He spoke41 a little through his nose, with a laughing twinkle in his light blue eyes, and he had a habit of plucking at his scanty42, wedge-shaped beard with his hand. He walked not rapidly, but with long strides, leaning lightly on a long thin staff. He addressed me more than once during the day, and he waited on me without, obsequiousness43, but he looked after his master as if he were a child. When the unbearable44 heat drove us at mid-day to seek shelter, he took us to his beehouse in the very heart of the forest. There Kalinitch opened the little hut for us, which was hung round with bunches of dry scented45 herbs. He made us comfortable on some dry hay, and then put a kind of bag of network over his head, took a knife, a little pot, and a smouldering stick, and went to the hive to cut us out some honey-comb. We had a draught47 of spring water after the warm transparent48 honey, and then dropped asleep to the sound of the monotonous49 humming of the bees and the rustling50 chatter51 of the leaves. A slight gust52 of wind awakened53 me…. I opened my eyes and saw Kalinitch: he was sitting on the threshold of the half-opened door, carving54 a spoon with his knife. I gazed a long time admiring his face, as sweet and clear as an evening sky. Mr. Polutikin too woke up. We did not get up at once. After our long walk and our deep sleep it was pleasant to lie without moving in the hay; we felt weary and languid in body, our faces were in a slight glow of warmth, our eyes were closed in delicious laziness. At last we got up, and set off on our wanderings again till evening. At supper I began again to talk of Hor and Kalinitch. 'Kalinitch is a good peasant,' Mr. Polutikin told me; 'he is a willing and useful peasant; he can't farm his land properly; I am always taking him away from it. He goes out hunting every day with me…. You can judge for yourself how his farming must fare.'
I agreed with him, and we went to bed.
The next day Mr. Polutikin was obliged to go to town about some business with his neighbour Pitchukoff. This neighbour Pitchukoff had ploughed over some land of Polutikin's, and had flogged a peasant woman of his on this same piece of land. I went out hunting alone, and before evening I turned into Hor's house. On the threshold of the cottage I was met by an old man—bald, short, broad-shouldered, and stout—Hor himself. I looked with curiosity at the man. The cut of his face recalled Socrates; there was the same high, knobby forehead, the same little eyes, the same snub nose. We went into the cottage together. The same Fedya brought me some milk and black bread. Hor sat down on a bench, and, quietly stroking his curly beard, entered into conversation with me. He seemed to know his own value; he spoke and moved slowly; from time to time a chuckle55 came from between his long moustaches.
We discussed the sowing, the crops, the peasant's life…. He always seemed to agree with me; only afterwards I had a sense of awkwardness and felt I was talking foolishly…. In this way our conversation was rather curious. Hor, doubtless through caution, expressed himself very obscurely at times…. Here is a specimen56 of our talk.
"Tell me, Hor," I said to him, "why don't you buy your freedom from your master?"
"And what would I buy my freedom for? Now I know my master, and I know my rent…. We have a good master."
'Surely,' he said.
'Well, then, why don't you buy your freedom?' Hor shook his head.
'What would you have me buy it with, your honour?'
'Oh, come, now, old man!'
'If Hor were thrown among free men,' he continued in an undertone, as though to himself, 'everyone without a beard would be a better man than Hor.'
'Then shave your beard.'
'What is a beard? a beard is grass: one can cut it.'
'Well, then?'
'But Hor will be a merchant straight away; and merchants have a fine life, and they have beards.'
'Why, do you do a little trading too?' I asked him.
'We trade a little in a little butter and a little tar…. Would your honour like the cart put to?'
'You're a close man and keep a tight rein58 on your tongue,' I thought to myself. 'No,' I said aloud, 'I don't want the cart; I shall want to be near your homestead to-morrow, and if you will let me, I will stay the night in your hay-barn.'
'You are very welcome. But will you be comfortable in the barn? I will tell the women to lay a sheet and put you a pillow…. Hey, girls!' he cried, getting up from his place; 'here, girls!… And you, Fedya, go with them. Women, you know, are foolish folk.'
A quarter of an hour later Fedya conducted me with a lantern to the barn. I threw myself down on the fragrant59 hay; my dog curled himself up at my feet; Fedya wished me good-night; the door creaked and slammed to. For rather a long time I could not get to sleep. A cow came up to the door, and breathed heavily twice; the dog growled60 at her with dignity; a pig passed by, grunting61 pensively62; a horse somewhere near began to munch63 the hay and snort…. At last I fell asleep.
At sunrise Fedya awakened me. This brisk, lively young man pleased me; and, from what I could see, he was old Hor's favourite too. They used to banter64 one another in a very friendly way. The old man came to meet me. Whether because I had spent the night under his roof, or for some other reason, Hor certainly treated me far more cordially than the day before.
'The samovar is ready,' he told me with a smile; 'let us come and have tea.'
We took our seats at the table. A robust-looking peasant woman, one of his daughters-in-law, brought in a jug65 of milk. All his sons came one after another into the cottage.
'What a fine set of fellows you have!' I remarked to the old man.
'Yes,' he said, breaking off a tiny piece of sugar with his teeth; 'me and my old woman have nothing to complain of, seemingly.'
'And do they all live with you?'
'Yes; they choose to, themselves, and so they live here.'
'And are they all married?'
'Here's one not married, the scamp!' he answered, pointing to Fedya, who was leaning as before against the door. 'Vaska, he's still too young; he can wait.'
'And why should I get married?' retorted Fedya; 'I'm very well off as I am. What do I want a wife for? To squabble with, eh?'
'Now then, you … ah, I know you! you wear a silver ring…. You'd always be after the girls up at the manor house…. "Have done, do, for shame!"' the old man went on, mimicking66 the servant girls. 'Ah, I know you, you white-handed rascal67!'
'But what's the good of a peasant woman?'
'A peasant woman—is a labourer,' said Hor seriously; 'she is the peasant's servant.'
'And what do I want with a labourer?'
'I dare say; you'd like to play with the fire and let others burn their fingers: we know the sort of chap you are.'
'Well, marry me, then. Well, why don't you answer?'
'There, that's enough, that's enough, giddy pate68! You see we're disturbing the gentleman. I'll marry you, depend on it…. And you, your honour, don't be vexed69 with him; you see, he's only a baby; he's not had time to get much sense.'
Fedya shook his head.
'Is Hor at home?' sounded a well-known voice; and Kalinitch came into the cottage with a bunch of wild strawberries in his hands, which he had gathered for his friend Hor. The old man gave him a warm welcome. I looked with surprise at Kalinitch. I confess I had not expected such a delicate attention on the part of a peasant.
That day I started out to hunt four hours later than usual, and the following three days I spent at Hor's. My new friends interested me. I don't know how I had gained their confidence, but they began to talk to me without constraint70. The two friends were not at all alike. Hor was a positive, practical man, with a head for management, a rationalist; Kalinitch, on the other hand, belonged to the order of idealists and dreamers, of romantic and enthusiastic spirits. Hor had a grasp of actuality—that is to say, he looked ahead, was saving a little money, kept on good terms with his master and the other authorities; Kalinitch wore shoes of bast, and lived from hand to mouth. Hor had reared a large family, who were obedient and united; Kalinitch had once had a wife, whom he had been afraid of, and he had had no children. Hor took a very critical view of Mr. Polutikin; Kalinitch revered71 his master. Hor loved Kalinitch, and took protecting care of him; Kalinitch loved and respected Hor. Hor spoke little, chuckled72, and thought for himself; Kalinitch expressed himself with warmth, though he had not the flow of fine language of a smart factory hand. But Kalinitch was endowed with powers which even Hor recognised; he could charm away haemorrhages, fits, madness, and worms; his bees always did well; he had a light hand. Hor asked him before me to introduce a newly bought horse to his stable, and with scrupulous73 gravity Kalinitch carried out the old sceptic's request. Kalinitch was in closer contact with nature; Hor with men and society. Kalinitch had no liking74 for argument, and believed in everything blindly; Hor had reached even an ironical75 point of view of life. He had seen and experienced much, and I learnt a good deal from him. For instance, from his account I learnt that every year before mowing-time a small, peculiar-looking cart makes its appearance in the villages. In this cart sits a man in a long coat, who sells scythes77. He charges one rouble twenty-five copecks—a rouble and a half in notes—for ready money; four roubles if he gives credit. All the peasants, of course, take the scythes from him on credit. In two or three weeks he reappears and asks for the money. As the peasant has only just cut his oats, he is able to pay him; he goes with the merchant to the tavern78, and there the debt is settled. Some landowners conceived the idea of buying the scythes themselves for ready money and letting the peasants have them on credit for the same price; but the peasants seemed dissatisfied, even dejected; they had deprived them of the pleasure of tapping the scythe76 and listening to the ring of the metal, turning it over and over in their hands, and telling the scoundrelly city-trader twenty times over, 'Eh, my friend, you won't take me in with your scythe!' The same tricks are played over the sale of sickles79, only with this difference, that the women have a hand in the business then, and they sometimes drive the trader himself to the necessity—for their good, of course—of beating them. But the women suffer most ill-treatment through the following circumstances. Contractors80 for the supply of stuff for paper factories employ for the purchase of rags a special class of men, who in some districts are called eagles. Such an 'eagle' receives two hundred roubles in bank-notes from the merchant, and starts off in search of his prey81. But, unlike the noble bird from whom he has derived82 his name, he does not swoop83 down openly and boldly upon it; quite the contrary; the 'eagle' has recourse to deceit and cunning. He leaves his cart somewhere in a thicket84 near the village, and goes himself to the back-yards and back-doors, like someone casually85 passing, or simply a tramp. The women scent46 out his proximity86 and steal out to meet him. The bargain is hurriedly concluded. For a few copper87 half-pence a woman gives the 'eagle' not only every useless rag she has, but often even her husband's shirt and her own petticoat. Of late the women have thought it profitable to steal even from themselves, and to sell hemp88 in the same way—a great extension and improvement of the business for the 'eagles'! To meet this, however, the peasants have grown more cunning in their turn, and on the slightest suspicion, on the most distant rumors89 of the approach of an 'eagle,' they have prompt and sharp recourse to corrective and preventive measures. And, after all, wasn't it disgraceful? To sell the hemp was the men's business—and they certainly do sell it—not in the town (they would have to drag it there themselves), but to traders who come for it, who, for want of scales, reckon forty handfuls to the pood—and you know what a Russian's hand is and what it can hold, especially when he 'tries his best'! As I had had no experience and was not 'country-bred' (as they say in Orel) I heard plenty of such descriptions. But Hor was not always the narrator; he questioned me too about many things. He learned that I had been in foreign parts, and his curiosity was aroused…. Kalinitch was not behind him in curiosity; but he was more attracted by descriptions of nature, of mountains and waterfalls, extraordinary buildings and great towns; Hor was interested in questions of government and administration. He went through everything in order. 'Well, is that with them as it is with us, or different?… Come, tell us, your honour, how is it?' 'Ah, Lord, thy will be done!' Kalinitch would exclaim while I told my story; Hor did not speak, but frowned with his bushy eyebrows91, only observing at times, 'That wouldn't do for us; still, it's a good thing—it's right.' All his inquiries92, I cannot recount, and it is unnecessary; but from our conversations I carried away one conviction, which my readers will certainly not anticipate … the conviction that Peter the Great was pre-eminently a Russian—Russian, above all, in his reforms. The Russian is so convinced of his own strength and powers that he is not afraid of putting himself to severe strain; he takes little interest in his past, and looks boldly forward. What is good he likes, what is sensible he will have, and where it comes from he does not care. His vigorous sense is fond of ridiculing93 the thin theorising of the German; but, in Hor's words, 'The Germans are curious folk,' and he was ready to learn from them a little. Thanks to his exceptional position, his practical independence, Hor told me a great deal which you could not screw or—as the peasants say—grind with a grindstone, out of any other man. He did, in fact, understand his position. Talking with Hor, I for the first time listened to the simple, wise discourse94 of the Russian peasant. His acquirements were, in his own opinion, wide enough; but he could not read, though Kalinitch could. 'That ne'er-do-weel has school-learning,' observed Hor, 'and his bees never die in the winter.' 'But haven't you had your children taught to read?' Hor was silent a minute. 'Fedya can read.' 'And the others?' 'The others can't.' 'And why?' The old man made no answer, and changed the subject. However, sensible as he was, he had many prejudices and crotchets. He despised women, for instance, from the depths of his soul, and in his merry moments he amused himself by jesting at their expense. His wife was a cross old woman who lay all day long on the stove, incessantly95 grumbling96 and scolding; her sons paid no attention to her, but she kept her daughters-in-law in the fear of God. Very significantly the mother-in-law sings in the Russian ballad97: 'What a son art thou to me! What a head of a household! Thou dost not beat thy wife; thou dost not beat thy young wife….' I once attempted to intercede98 for the daughters-in-law, and tried to rouse Hor's sympathy; but he met me with the tranquil99 rejoinder, 'Why did I want to trouble about such … trifles; let the women fight it out. … If anything separates them, it only makes it worse … and it's not worth dirtying one's hands over.' Sometimes the spiteful old woman got down from the stove and called the yard dog out of the hay, crying, 'Here, here, doggie'; and then beat it on its thin back with the poker100, or she would stand in the porch and 'snarl,' as Hor expressed it, at everyone that passed. She stood in awe101 of her husband though, and would return, at his command, to her place on the stove. It was specially90 curious to hear Hor and Kalinitch dispute whenever Mr. Polutikin was touched upon.
'There, Hor, do let him alone,' Kalinitch would say. 'But why doesn't he order some boots for you?' Hor retorted. 'Eh? boots!… what do I want with boots? I am a peasant.' 'Well, so am I a peasant, but look!' And Hor lifted up his leg and showed Kalinitch a boot which looked as if it had been cut out of a mammoth's hide. 'As if you were like one of us!' replied Kalinitch. 'Well, at least he might pay for your bast shoes; you go out hunting with him; you must use a pair a day.' 'He does give me something for bast shoes.' 'Yes, he gave you two coppers102 last year.'
Kalinitch turned away in vexation, but Hor went off into a chuckle, during which his little eyes completely disappeared.
Kalinitch sang rather sweetly and played a little on the balalaëca. Hor was never weary of listening to him: all at once he would let his head drop on one side and begin to chime in, in a lugubrious103 voice. He was particularly fond of the song, 'Ah, my fate, my fate!' Fedya never lost an opportunity of making fun of his father, saying, 'What are you so mournful about, old man?' But Hor leaned his cheek on his hand, covered his eyes, and continued to mourn over his fate…. Yet at other times there could not be a more active man; he was always busy over something—mending the cart, patching up the fence, looking after the harness. He did not insist on a very high degree of cleanliness, however; and, in answer to some remark of mine, said once, 'A cottage ought to smell as if it were lived in.'
'Look,' I answered, 'how clean it is in Kalinitch's beehouse.'
'The bees would not live there else, your honour,' he said with a sigh.
'Tell me,' he asked me another time, 'have you an estate of your own?' 'Yes.' 'Far from here?' 'A hundred miles.' 'Do you live on your land, your honour?' 'Yes.'
'But you like your gun best, I dare say?'
'Yes, I must confess I do.' 'And you do well, your honour; shoot grouse to your heart's content, and change your bailiff pretty often.'
On the fourth day Mr. Polutikin sent for me in the evening. I was sorry to part from the old man. I took my seat with Kalinitch in the trap. 'Well, good-bye, Hor—good luck to you,' I said; 'good-bye, Fedya.'
'Good-bye, your honour, good-bye; don't forget us.' We started; there was the first red glow of sunset. 'It will be a fine day to-morrow,' I remarked looking at the clear sky. 'No, it will rain,' Kalinitch replied; 'the ducks yonder are splashing, and the scent of the grass is strong.' We drove into the copse. Kalinitch began singing in an undertone as he was jolted104 up and down on the driver's seat, and he kept gazing and gazing at the sunset.
The next day I left the hospitable105 roof of Mr. Polutikin.
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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slippers
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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tar
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| n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于 | |
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situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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willows
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| n.柳树( willow的名词复数 )；柳木 | |
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huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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moors
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| v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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grouse
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| n.松鸡；v.牢骚，诉苦 | |
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abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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anecdote
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| n.轶事，趣闻，短故事 | |
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appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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stammer
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| n.结巴，口吃；v.结结巴巴地说 | |
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stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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astronomer
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| n.天文学家 | |
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interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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transformation
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| n.变化；改造；转变 | |
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gunpowder
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| n.火药 | |
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insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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plank
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| n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目 | |
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27
beetles
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| n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 ) | |
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cockroaches
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| n.蟑螂( cockroach的名词复数 ) | |
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29
pitcher
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| n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手 | |
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30
hunch
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| n.预感，直觉 | |
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31
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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32
majestically
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| 雄伟地； 庄重地； 威严地； 崇高地 | |
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33
manor
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| n.庄园，领地 | |
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34
bog
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| n.沼泽；室...陷入泥淖 | |
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35
arrears
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| n.到期未付之债，拖欠的款项；待做的工作 | |
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36
rogue
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| n.流氓；v.游手好闲 | |
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37
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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38
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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39
shanties
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| n.简陋的小木屋( shanty的名词复数 )；铁皮棚屋；船工号子；船歌 | |
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40
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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41
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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42
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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43
obsequiousness
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| 媚骨 | |
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44
unbearable
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| adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的 | |
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45
scented
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| adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
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46
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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47
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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48
transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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49
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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50
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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51
chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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gust
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| n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发 | |
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53
awakened
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| 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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54
carving
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| n.雕刻品，雕花 | |
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55
chuckle
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| vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑 | |
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specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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dubious
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| adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的 | |
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rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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61
grunting
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| 咕哝的，呼噜的 | |
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pensively
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| adv.沉思地，焦虑地 | |
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63
munch
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| v.用力嚼，大声咀嚼 | |
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banter
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| n.嘲弄，戏谑；v.取笑，逗弄，开玩笑 | |
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jug
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| n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂 | |
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mimicking
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| v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的现在分词 )；酷似 | |
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rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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pate
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| n.头顶；光顶 | |
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vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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constraint
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| n.(on)约束，限制；限制(或约束)性的事物 | |
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revered
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| v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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scrupulous
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| adj.审慎的，小心翼翼的，完全的，纯粹的 | |
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liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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75
ironical
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| adj.讽刺的，冷嘲的 | |
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76
scythe
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| n. 长柄的大镰刀，战车镰； v. 以大镰刀割 | |
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77
scythes
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| n.（长柄）大镰刀( scythe的名词复数 )v.（长柄）大镰刀( scythe的第三人称单数 ) | |
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78
tavern
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| n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店 | |
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79
sickles
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| n.镰刀( sickle的名词复数 ) | |
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80
contractors
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| n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 ) | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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82
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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83
swoop
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| n.俯冲，攫取；v.抓取，突然袭击 | |
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84
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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85
casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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86
proximity
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| n.接近，邻近 | |
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87
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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88
hemp
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| n.大麻；纤维 | |
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89
rumors
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| n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷 | |
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90
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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91
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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93
ridiculing
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| v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的现在分词 ) | |
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discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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95
incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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96
grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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97
ballad
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| n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲 | |
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98
intercede
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| vi.仲裁，说情 | |
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99
tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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100
poker
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| n.扑克；vt.烙制 | |
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101
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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102
coppers
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| 铜( copper的名词复数 )； 铜币 | |
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103
lugubrious
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| adj.悲哀的，忧郁的 | |
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104
jolted
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| （使）摇动， （使）震惊( jolt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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