Out of the nightmare wild,
Thou bringest me, spent and broken,
Like the life of a little child.
Like the spume of a far-spent wave,
Out of the pride of being,
My soul returns to Thee.
—WILLIAM WILFRED CAMPBELL.
Raye & Hemming3, managers of that branch of the Great Lake Lumber4 Company that had its headquarters in the town of Barbay, soon learned that their new clerk was a young man of no mean parts. For beside an unusual ability, young Stanwell brought to his work that tenacity5 of purpose and tendency to unremitting toil6 which is the product of the farm.
Scotty found himself treated with every consideration by his chiefs. Captain Herbert's protégé was evidently a person of some importance, and he guessed that his generous salary was largely due to his patron's influence. Though his feelings towards his benefactor7 were naturally somewhat mixed, since hearing how he had defrauded8 him of his birthright, nevertheless Scotty could find small room in his heart for any ill-will against Isabel's uncle. He had ill-used him, no doubt, but he was making reparation, and what more could any man do? And, indeed, Scotty's affairs were turning out so much better than his fondest hopes had pictured, that he could not wish the past different. A few years with Raye & Hemming, he felt assured, would open the golden gates of college to him, and there he would vindicate10 himself.
For the young man was in happy ignorance of the fact that his present good fortune depended upon his separation from Isabel. Monteith had not seen fit to apprise11 him of that item in Captain Herbert's bargain. The shrewd schoolmaster had a suspicion that the foolish young man might throw up his hopeful prospects12 in a fit of romantic gallantry, and determined13 to run no risks until all danger was past.
So the boy did not know how hopeless was the love he and his golden-haired sweetheart had pledged beneath the pines at Kirsty's gate. Miss Herbert strongly objected to him, he knew, but she could be overcome in time. They must be separated for a time, but Captain Herbert was his friend, surely, and Isabel—well, he was certain of her, anyway—Isabel would never forget, for had she not promised that she would think of him always, no matter how far apart they might be, and how could anyone doubt Isabel?
His life in the town was beneficial in many ways. Socially he learned as much as he did in the office of Raye & Hemming, knowledge which he knew would stand him in good stead when that longed-for day would come when he would be permitted to visit Isabel in her home. He was received in Barbay society in spite of his rural training, for was he not Captain Herbert's friend, and the only son of that dashing Captain Stanwell whom the best people knew in the early days. And was there not the chance that he might be a young man of property some day?
And so, though Isabel and home were far away, Scotty worked away blithely15, determined to show Captain Herbert that he was worthy16 of the trust reposed17 in him, and resolved to win in spite of all odds18.
But as he grew more accustomed to the business, and more intimate with the inner workings of Raye & Hemming's office, there slowly spread over his rosy19 hopes a shadow of misgiving20. He found it impossible to shut his eyes to the fact that the men with whom he was employed, and from whom he was to learn, were adepts21 at many of the small, sharp practices which he had been taught to despise. Scotty had been brought up with no hazy22 ideas of right and wrong. Though Big Malcolm had left the boy's training almost entirely23 to his wife, still, as much by example as precept24, he had instilled25 into his grandson's very soul a proud contempt for anything resembling a lie. Any form of deceit, sharp dealing26 or trickery came under one despised category, and within Scotty's earliest memory had been looked upon by all his household with supreme27 scorn.
And now in his new environment he found himself a daily witness of a dozen little petty transactions such as he had been taught to loathe28. Sometimes, when he was compelled to assist in the sharp tricks of his employers and received afterwards their laughing congratulations upon his success, he turned away from them with a feeling of nausea29. He tried to picture his grandfather in similar circumstances, but could not. Well he knew Big Malcolm would not stoop from his lofty height to touch the business of Raye & Hemming with his finger-tips.
And yet they were not absolutely dishonest; perhaps this was only what the world considered being "sharp" in business, he argued. But he could not quite convince himself, and in his perplexity hinted at his troubles in a letter to Monteith.
The schoolmaster's answer did not succeed in putting his mind at rest. "I know those fellows have the name of doing some slippery things," he wrote, "and personally I wish you had hit upon men who had a better reputation, but there's no denying they know how to make money, and the shareholders30 are naturally rather fond of them. You must just learn to shut your eyes to little things that don't exactly suit you and go ahead. Your chance in life depends upon your ability to please those fellows. Don't lose it, my boy, it means everything."
Scotty was rather bewildered by this advice, coming from one whom he had long regarded as an infallible authority. In his backwoods simplicity31 he felt himself at sea. Was there, then, a different code of honour in the country from that which was adhered to in the town?
Not since the days when Granny had had to chide32 him for childish naughtiness had he been greatly troubled over the vexed33 question of right and wrong. Looking back now, he could see that he had been hedged about by what he chose to call circumstances. First there had been the influences of that home beneath the Silver Maple34, and the strong, gentle control of his grandmother. And when his high spirits had been in danger of taking him beyond the "borderland dim," Monteith had come, and there had been no more trouble. Monteith's training had been quite different from that which he had received at home. The schoolmaster despised as a fool anyone who did not walk the straight and narrow path. Wrong-doing was idiotic35, he declared; it didn't "pay." But Monteith's creed36 did not hold here. It did pay, as far as Scotty could see. And here he was with no hedging circumstances to keep him in the right path, standing37 at the parting of the ways.
And yet he did not for a moment consider the possibility of drawing back. There was too much at stake. As Monteith had said, everything depended upon his faithfully filling his post. To lose the favour of Raye & Hemming meant to lose everything he had set his heart upon, Captain Herbert's friendship, his education, Isabel herself.
No, he could not dream of giving up. And so he took Monteith's advice and went forward doggedly38. But all the enjoyment39 in his new work was soon gone, his happy, sanguine40 days gradually changed to a season of worry and humiliation41; until he sometimes longed with all his soul to fling all the unclean business aside, take an axe42 and go back to the bush.
He struggled on through the winter, morose43 and plodding44, until the spring came with scented45 breezes and the songs of birds calling him to come away. Barbay was situated46 picturesquely47 on an arm of Lake Simcoe. From the office window he could catch enchanting48 glimpses of sapphire49 lake and emerald hill, and he was seized with an intense longing50 to return to his outdoor life. If he could only get back to his old environment for even a day, he felt he could readjust his ideas and see things more clearly. The 24th of May, the birthday of the good Queen, brought him the longed-for holiday. The office claimed him for a few hours in the morning, but early in the afternoon he hired a canoe, and, supplied with a gun and rod, a blanket and plenty of bread and meat, he paddled away into the blue expanse. He would go on until he came to the forest, he determined, and there he would camp for the night.
His spirits rose like a freed bird as, with long, steady strokes, hour after hour, he glided51 smoothly52 up the low, green shore. He was some distance from any human habitation when the steady dip, dip of his paddle echoed farther inland than usual. He paused and peered into the woods. He was on the edge of a forest whose tangled53 fringe of birch and elm hung over the greening water. But just behind this fringe was a little clearing, all smothered55 in riotous56 undergrowth. Scotty ran his canoe up on the sandy beach, her bow sweeping57 aside the drooping58 elm branches, and leaped ashore59. He plunged60 into the little tangled circle of undergrowth, and at the first sight gave a boyish whoop61 of delight.
In the centre of the space, facing the water, stood an old log shanty62, a temporary structure erected63 in the lumbering65 days. It contained bunks66 filled with straw. Here was the very place to spend the night; it seemed waiting for him. He set to work to make camp with the skill of a lifelong practice. A splendid black bass67 that responded hungrily to his bait made a fine addition to his larder68. He soon had a merry fire in front of the cabin, sending a blue column of smoke straight into the treetops, and when it burned down to a bed of coals he cooked his fish. Supper was soon over, the canoe stowed safely high up on the shore, and he had nothing to do but enjoy the silence and peace of the wild, lonely spot. He built up his fire again, partly because the May night was cool and partly to keep off the mosquitoes, and stretched himself full length upon the ground before it. It was the first time in months that he had been absolutely at peace. Around him was the encircling forest, which bulked largely in his earliest memories, and always gave him the sensation of being at home. The sweet pungent69 odour of burning evergreens70 filled the air, mingling71 with the scents72 of the forest. Above the dark ring of wild, luxuriant growth the sky shone a clear transparent73 crystal, with faint illusive74 suggestions of rose and orange, for out there in the wide world the sun was setting, and Lake Simcoe glinted between the tree trunks flushed and smiling. The little breeze of the afternoon had died away, and not a leaf stirred; only where the subsiding75 waves disturbed the shells and pebbles76 on the beach could be heard a soft whispering rustle77.
But as the night fell, from the darkening forest there arose the evening chorus of the birds. Each tall pine tree, silhouetted78 sharply against the crystal sky, was soon ringing with the transporting vespers of the veery. Away back on a hill, far above the little clearing, a whip-poor-will stationed himself in a treetop to complain over and over of the darkness and loneliness of the world. Just at Scotty's right hand, from behind a screen of scented basswood, came a sudden discordant79 sound, the rasping "meyow" of the cat-bird; a moment's silence followed and then arose a burst of delirious80, bubbling melody, as though the naughty songster, hidden within his aromatic81 curtains, were laughing impudently82 at having deceived his hearers into thinking he was only a cat. A loon83 arose with a splash from the reedy shore of an island opposite and sailed away through the amber84 air; his wild, derisive85 laugh echoed back from the glimmering86 sunset bay where he had joined his comrades. Far above, the "scree-ak, scree-ak" of the night-hawks whirling in the heavens echoed away into the green depths; up the long dark aisles87 came the sweet "hoo, hoo" of the owl14, and the clear ringing notes of the whitethroat "calling across the dusk." The frogs, down by the whispering water's edge, joined their chorus to the night music; and on every side, keeping at a respectful distance from the smoke of the fire, the mosquitoes "all in a wailful88 choir89" uttered their little, thin, doleful tunes90. And always, far up in the dark pinetops, like bells in a cathedral tower, rang out the clear, enchanting, metallic91 notes; the long liquid carol of the veery.
Scotty drew a great sigh of content; he was home again. The magic spirit of the woods, with its sense of peace and freedom, enfolded his very soul. Those things of earth, the sordid92 meannesses of his everyday life, faded away; they were as far removed as that diamond star he was watching twinkling on the sharp peak of a dark fir. He lay on his back, his hands clasped beneath his head, and gazed up into the tender blue of heaven until the night began to deepen. The crackling embers of the fire slowly smouldered down, the chorus in the treetops began to subside93. Gradually a great stillness settled over the velvet94 darkness of the woods, and still lying motionless and content he could hear only the soft stir of a leaf or the occasional "hush95, hush!" that the waters and the shells whispered, as though they were telling each other that the world was going to sleep.
Scotty forgot his bed in the shanty, a soft balsam limb made a fragrant96 pillow, and mother earth was the best couch. His senses floated away.
He was at home, lying under the Silver Maple; the sound of Granny's spinning-wheel came drowsily97 through the doorway98. The pathway across the swamp to Kirsty's clearing was blue with violets; a white figure was flitting down it,—coming to him with the sunshine on her golden hair and the violets at her feet.
Suddenly he was wide awake; not startled, but with all his keen, woodsman senses alert. Instinctively99 he reached for his gun. Something strange in his surroundings had aroused him, he knew. What was it? He lay listening intently.
And then out of the depths of the darkness came the answer,—a sound, dim and far off, but echoing melodiously100 through the leafy arches, a voice as of an angel, singing:
"The Lord thee keeps, the Lord thy shade
On thy right hand doth stay:
Nor yet the sun by day."
Scotty raised himself upon his elbow; the sound of the old psalm102, coming without warning out of the uninhabited darkness, struck him with awe103. Had the forest taken voice, or was it all but a part of his dream? He listened breathlessly until the psalm was finished and the silence had again fallen. There seemed something too sweetly mysterious about the singing to come from a human source. There was an intense silence for a few moments, then the voice rose again, this time nearer and more distinct,
"The Lord's my Shepherd, I'll not want,
He makes me down to lie
In pastures green, He leadeth me
The quiet waters by."
Scotty was overwhelmed with a sudden rush of memory. He was reminded of that day so long ago when the awesome104 shadows of the winter woods had terrified him with the first conception of death, and sent him with unerring instinct to the true refuge.
Who could be wandering in this wild, lonely place at night singing,—singing the very things calculated to touch the depths of his soul?
The sound was coming nearer, growing in power, as though the singer felt the sublime105 confidence of the words.
"Yea, though I walk through death's dark vale,
Yet will I fear no ill,
For Thou art with me and Thy rod
And staff me comfort still."
And then Scotty recognised the voice. It was one which, once heard, was not easily forgotten. It belonged to the great preacher, Mr. McAlpine, the man who years before had come to the Glen, and with his message from the Eternal roused the place to a better life. But he was an old man now, and retired106 from his labours, and how came he to be wandering in this trackless wilderness107 after nightfall?
The voice had ceased, and now the sound of footsteps in the crackling underbrush could be heard. Scotty could discern a dim figure coming towards his fire. He stood up as it approached. The old man with his long white beard, his bare silver head, for he carried his hat reverently108, his tall, gaunt figure and piercing eye gave the young man the impression of one of the great men of Bible times, Isaiah, or that one who preached in the wilderness beyond Jordan and called to his hearers to make straight the paths for the coming of the Messiah.
With the mutual109 feeling of friendship that arises between men in the lonely places of the earth, the two met with outstretched hands.
A smile of pleasure at the open face and fine physique of his unexpected host flashed over the old man's face.
"Big Malcolm MacDonald's grandson!" he cried, when Scotty had introduced himself. "Oh, yes, indeed, I know Big Malcolm well,"—he shook the young man's hand once more: "Ah yes, it was his eldest110 son's funeral that first took me to the Oa. God moves in a mysterious way, indeed. And you were but a child then, and now you are a man. And it is a good thing to be standing upon the threshold of life, is it not?"
A good thing? Scotty would have given a most emphatic111 affirmative in response some months before, but now he was doubtful.
"Yes," he said hesitatingly, "in some ways. But how do you happen to be away back here alone, Mr. McAlpine?"
The minister explained his presence. He had been asked to go to Barbay to assist with the sacrament on the following Sabbath, and had intended to spend the night with a friend and take the stage out in the morning.
"But I could not wait," he concluded, "I was constrained112 to come on." There was that strange gleam in his eye which had always so filled Scotty with awe in his childhood. The young man understood. Mr. McAlpine's burning restlessness, his erratic113 way of making arrangements to be driven to certain places, and then suddenly setting out in the dead of night to walk prodigious114 distances had been the wondering talk of the Oa since he was a child. For this man carried a burden of souls that gave him no rest day or night, and that even now, when he was broken and aged115, sometimes drove him to stupendous labour.
"But you will surely stay here to-night!" cried Scotty, feeling in the capacity of host even in this wild tangle54 of forest growth. "I am camping, but there is plenty of room in the shanty, and I can cook you some supper."
The old man accepted the hospitality gratefully. He appeared worn and exhausted116, and seemed to have suddenly lost his restless energy, as though the spur which had driven him forth117 in the night had been removed.
Scotty made a comfortable seat for him of cedar118 boughs119 placed against a large tree trunk, and stirred up the fire to a blaze. Its rays danced forth, lighting120 up the worn face and white hair of the old man seated before it, and the strong frame of the young one standing erect64 in splendid contrast. The light made the log walls of the old shanty stand forth, touched here and there the fantastic heaps of dead brushwood and misshapen stumps121, illumined the underside of the adjacent trees and danced away down the dim avenues to be lost among the ghostly shadows.
And while his host prepared supper, the minister beguiled122 the time by asking after all his friends in the Oa and the Glen, especially the Highlanders, for Mr. McAlpine was not above possessing a little weakness for anyone who spoke123 the Gaelic. And then he must know what the young man was doing, and how he came to be there.
Scotty answered his questions in the distantly respectful manner that all the Glenoro youth had been wont124 to show this man. He explained his sudden excursion to the woods as merely a natural desire to be out of doors. He told something too of his life with Raye & Hemming in Barbay, but he had all the reticence125 of his class and kin9, and the minister learned little from what he said.
And while they conversed126 the elder man was watching the younger with the keen eye of a detective. For to old John McAlpine every soul with whom he came in contact was a burden to be carried until it was laid safely at the foot of the cross, and he was yearning127 to know if this young man, so respectful and kindly128 of manner, had yet had his heart touched by Divine love.
He tried to read the dark, young face in the light of the dancing flames, noting every feature—the intellectual brow, the kind, bright eyes, the mouth, still boyish, and showing some wilfulness129 and impatience130 of rule; the resolute131 chin. A good face, the man concluded, with rare possibilities. But he was convinced before the conversation closed that its owner was not a follower132 of the meek133 and lowly One.
For the minister was a marvellous reader of character, and in spite of Scotty's reserve, before the evening was gone he had allowed his guest to discover that he intended to carve out his own destiny as he desired, fearless of consequences.
When everything was in readiness for the night, and the young man had returned from making up a second bed in the shanty, the minister drew up close to the fire and took from his pocket a Bible.
He slowly turned over the leaves, praying earnestly that he might be guided in his choice to something that would touch this young man's soul. The 139th Psalm caught his eye, and the deep voice slowly and solemnly read:
"O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thoughts afar off.... Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend134 up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold135 thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me."
Leaning back against a fallen tree trunk, his face partially136 hidden in shadow, Scotty listened intently. Had this man been sent out of the darkness of the forest to show him how foolhardy were his attempts to escape from God? For had he not been saying to himself all these past months that surely the darkness of secrecy137 would cover his wrongdoing; that somehow he would escape from God.
He had not read the Bible since he left home, and the old familiar words, coming like a long-lost friend, struck him with their inevitable138 truth. His rest in the lap of nature had brought him to himself; he saw things with a clearer vision, and he realised now that the fierce yearning to be away which had driven him to the forest had been really the desire to escape the Eye that never sleeps. The longing to take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea had been upon him, and here God's messenger had met him, and he stood like a hunted animal at bay.
The minister read on without pause almost to the end, and then stopped.
There were two more verses, Scotty well knew; he and Isabel had learned that Psalm years ago at Granny's knee. "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting139." He looked up half-inquiringly as the voice ceased. The minister smiled comprehendingly.
"I see you know what follows," he said; "it is a great thing to be grounded in the Scriptures140 in youth. Do you know why I stopped?"
"No," said Scotty, in a whisper.
"Because the next is a verse I hardly dare to read. It is a fearful thing to ask the Almighty141 God to search the heart, for there are wicked ways in us, many and deep." He began slowly turning over the leaves again, and Scotty waited with a strange dread143 of what was coming.
The passage was from the challenging words that came to Job out of the whirlwind, and like a whirlwind they swept over the young man's soul.
"Who is this that darkeneth counsel, by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins, like a man, for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me."
He paused a moment and his listener held his breath. To him the words did not seem to be spoken by man, but seemed to come out of the whispering darkness of the great forest.
"Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.... Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the cornerstone thereof; when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"
Scotty's heart suddenly swelled144. This great Jehovah was speaking directly to him; the Jehovah whose inexorable laws were written in man's very being, as well as in His Book. And he, His creature, was about to set them aside, declaring that he would walk as seemed right in his own eyes.
But the minister was still reading. "Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the day-spring to know his place?... Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?... Canst thou bind145 the sweet influences of the Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?"
Scotty listened with heart and ears, and when the minister came at last to Job's confession146, he felt he could echo the words, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor147 myself and repent148 in dust and ashes."
The amber column of smoke rising straight to the circle of sky was suddenly touched with a silver radiance. Up from behind the dark island the moon had arisen, radiant and burnished149, and was sending a long shimmering150 pathway across the deep blue of Lake Simcoe. Scotty's eyes followed its glint between the tree trunks and the words came over him again, "Now mine eye seeth thee." But when the minister paused he came back to realities. Another picture rose before him, the sweet face of the girl he loved, the one whom he was to win by keeping in the path wherein he now walked. A look of defiance151 flitted across his face. No. He would go on. He could never give up now!
But the leaves had rustled152 again, and now the minister had resumed his word pictures. This time they were not of the mighty142 Jehovah, just, unapproachable, omnipotent153; but of the lonely Man of Nazareth standing by the lakeside and calling the fishermen to Him, and then on to Calvary when He said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
The elder man's keen eyes saw the tokens of a conflict in the other's face, and he was too wise to address him directly. His occasional remarks had the effect of soliloquies, but they plunged Scotty's soul in the valley of shadows.
He was thinking how all his life he had been compassed about. He knew now that what he had called hedging circumstances had been God's very Hand. His grandmother's faithful teachings had guided his careless boyish feet; his grandfather's falls from the high position he had set himself were graphic154 object-lessons to teach the value of righteousness; Monteith's influence had kept him in the right way, and now how dared he turn aside of his own will?
But what was the minister reading now? What but the story of a young man, one so goodly and commendable155 in person and character that the Master had regarded him with an especial feeling of comradeship; but there was one thing he refused to give up, and he turned his back upon the Saviour156 of mankind and went away sorrowful, "for his possessions were very great." And Scotty's possessions were great also—those he was about to reach out and seize, infinitely157 beyond the value of gold and silver, and he wanted to turn away, too, but something held him.
The minister glanced at the young man's face, and knew his heart had been touched. He closed the Book. "Let us pray," he said, and rising, knelt by the side of a moss-grown log. But Scotty did not kneel; he sat erect, staring with desperate eyes into the fire, and striving with all the force of his will to harden his heart. To his relief the old man made no remark upon his strange conduct when he arose from his knees, but at once went to his bed in the shanty. Some subtle instinct told him the young man would be better alone.
Long after he had retired Scotty walked up and down before the fire, fighting out the old, weary battle; but now with a fury as if for life.
To go on with his work at Raye & Hemming's now in the light of what had come to him this night would be, he knew, to cast aside all the teachings of his lifetime—the teachings of Granny, of experience, yes, even of Monteith, for he realised now they had all come from God, and were one. He was down in the valley of the shadows, and the rod and staff were of no comfort to him, for they meant pain and renunciation.
He could not give up Captain Herbert's friendship and Isabel; he could not go on. The fire had died down to a red eye looking sullenly158 out of the smoky darkness, the moon had sunk behind the forest ring, and out of the blackness of night came a sensation of approaching change, a hint that the dawn was near. As Scotty, pale and haggard, stood looking into the dying fire, a step aroused him and the minister was by his side.
"Why, sir," he cried in surprise, "you will surely not be getting up yet. It is quite dark."
"I was not sleeping," said the old man. "I could not but watch you," he added gently, "for I cannot but see you are carrying a burden; one heavy for your time of life, my lad, and I wondered if I could be of any help."
All Scotty's mental attitude of defiance melted away before this gentle sympathy. He was silent, simply through the inability to speak, and the minister continued, "Do not speak of it if you would rather not. I would not force your confidence, but just come and we will pray about it, and you will tell the Father and He will be making it right."
Scotty turned with a gesture of defeat. To pray was the last thing he desired to do, it meant surrender; but this time he knelt obediently at the minister's side by the dying fire.
And as he bowed his head he was suddenly startled by the words that broke forth. It seemed as if all his own soul's struggle had been transferred to the man at his side. Old John McAlpine had a wondrous159 gift of prayer, one that never failed to cast a solemn spell over his hearers, and to-night he pleaded for the soul of this young man as if for his life. His big hands were knotted, the perspiration160 stood in beads161 on his white forehead, and his agonised voice rose and went ringing away into the forest. Scotty was awesomely162 reminded of One who prayed in a garden, quite unlike this one of nature's wild making, and sweat drops of blood because of the sin he was to bear. And before the minister had ceased it seemed as if that other One came to his side and took up the petition, for Scotty felt his worldly desires slip from him like a garment. The struggle was over. Henceforth there could be no indecision, for he was not his own, but had been bought with a price.
When they arose from their knees the darkness had suddenly become transparent. A mysterious rustle and whisper of awakening163 life was on all sides, the dawn was on the point of breaking. Scotty's fire, like his worldly hopes, had died down to pale ashes, but far out on the faintly grey bosom164 of Lake Simcoe, and away beyond its dark forest-ring, soon to put all lesser165 lights to shame in their triumphant166 blaze, were kindling167 the fires of Heaven.
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1
strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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hemming
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| 卷边 | |
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lumber
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| n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动 | |
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tenacity
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| n.坚韧 | |
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toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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7
benefactor
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| n. 恩人，行善的人，捐助人 | |
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defrauded
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| v.诈取，骗取( defraud的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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vindicate
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| v.为…辩护或辩解，辩明；证明…正确 | |
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apprise
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| vt.通知，告知 | |
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prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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14
owl
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| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
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15
blithely
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| adv.欢乐地，快活地，无挂虑地 | |
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16
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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17
reposed
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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18
odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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19
rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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20
misgiving
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕 | |
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21
adepts
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| n.专家，能手( adept的名词复数 ) | |
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22
hazy
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| adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的 | |
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23
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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24
precept
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| n.戒律；格言 | |
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25
instilled
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| v.逐渐使某人获得（某种可取的品质），逐步灌输( instill的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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26
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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27
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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28
loathe
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| v.厌恶，嫌恶 | |
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29
nausea
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| n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶) | |
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30
shareholders
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| n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 ) | |
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31
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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32
chide
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| v.叱责；谴责 | |
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33
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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34
maple
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| n.槭树，枫树，槭木 | |
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35
idiotic
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| adj.白痴的 | |
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36
creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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37
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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38
doggedly
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| adv.顽强地，固执地 | |
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39
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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40
sanguine
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| adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的 | |
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41
humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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42
axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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43
morose
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| adj.脾气坏的，不高兴的 | |
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44
plodding
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| a.proceeding in a slow or dull way | |
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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
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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47
picturesquely
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48
enchanting
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| a.讨人喜欢的 | |
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49
sapphire
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| n.青玉，蓝宝石；adj.天蓝色的 | |
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50
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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51
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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52
smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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53
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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54
tangle
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| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
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55
smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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56
riotous
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| adj.骚乱的；狂欢的 | |
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57
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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58
drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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59
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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60
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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61
whoop
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| n.大叫，呐喊，喘息声；v.叫喊，喘息 | |
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62
shanty
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| n.小屋，棚屋；船工号子 | |
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63
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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64
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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65
lumbering
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| n.采伐林木 | |
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66
bunks
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| n.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的名词复数 )；空话，废话v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 )；空话，废话 | |
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67
bass
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| n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴 | |
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68
larder
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| n.食物贮藏室，食品橱 | |
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69
pungent
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| adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的 | |
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70
evergreens
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| n.常青树，常绿植物，万年青( evergreen的名词复数 ) | |
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71
mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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72
scents
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| n.香水( scent的名词复数 )；气味；（动物的）臭迹；（尤指狗的）嗅觉 | |
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73
transparent
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|
| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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74
illusive
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| adj.迷惑人的，错觉的 | |
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75
subsiding
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|
| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的现在分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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76
pebbles
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|
| [复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 ) | |
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77
rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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78
silhouetted
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| 显出轮廓的，显示影像的 | |
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79
discordant
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|
| adj.不调和的 | |
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80
delirious
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|
| adj.不省人事的，神智昏迷的 | |
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81
aromatic
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|
| adj.芳香的，有香味的 | |
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82
impudently
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83
loon
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| n.狂人 | |
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84
amber
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|
| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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85
derisive
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| adj.嘲弄的 | |
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86
glimmering
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|
| n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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87
aisles
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| n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊 | |
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88
wailful
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|
| adj.悲叹的，哀悼的 | |
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89
choir
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|
| n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱 | |
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90
tunes
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| n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调 | |
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91
metallic
|
|
| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
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92
sordid
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|
| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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93
subside
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| vi.平静，平息；下沉，塌陷，沉降 | |
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94
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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95
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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96
fragrant
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|
| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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97
drowsily
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| adv.睡地，懒洋洋地，昏昏欲睡地 | |
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98
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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99
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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100
melodiously
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101
smite
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| v.重击；彻底击败；n.打；尝试；一点儿 | |
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102
psalm
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| n.赞美诗，圣诗 | |
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103
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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104
awesome
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| adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的 | |
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105
sublime
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|
| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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106
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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107
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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108
reverently
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| adv.虔诚地 | |
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109
mutual
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|
| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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110
eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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111
emphatic
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| adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的 | |
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112
constrained
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| adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
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113
erratic
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| adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的 | |
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114
prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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115
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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116
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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117
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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118
cedar
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| n.雪松，香柏(木) | |
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119
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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120
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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121
stumps
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| （被砍下的树的）树桩( stump的名词复数 )； 残肢； （板球三柱门的）柱； 残余部分 | |
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122
beguiled
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| v.欺骗( beguile的过去式和过去分词 )；使陶醉；使高兴；消磨（时间等） | |
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123
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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124
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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125
reticence
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| n.沉默，含蓄 | |
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126
conversed
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 ) | |
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127
yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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128
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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129
wilfulness
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| 任性；倔强 | |
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130
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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131
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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132
follower
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| n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒 | |
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133
meek
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| adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的 | |
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134
ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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135
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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136
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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137
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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138
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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139
everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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140
scriptures
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|
| 经文，圣典( scripture的名词复数 )； 经典 | |
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141
almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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142
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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143
dread
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|
| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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144
swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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145
bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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146
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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147
abhor
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| v.憎恶；痛恨 | |
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148
repent
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| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 | |
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149
burnished
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| adj.抛光的，光亮的v.擦亮（金属等），磨光( burnish的过去式和过去分词 )；被擦亮，磨光 | |
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150
shimmering
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| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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151
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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152
rustled
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| v.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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153
omnipotent
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| adj.全能的，万能的 | |
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154
graphic
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| adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的 | |
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155
commendable
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| adj.值得称赞的 | |
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156
saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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157
infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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158
sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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159
wondrous
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| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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160
perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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161
beads
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| n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链 | |
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162
awesomely
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| 赫然 | |
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163
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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164
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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165
lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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166
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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167
kindling
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| n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式 | |
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