Following the example of Joseph, he dismounted, and while the big man, with his waddling8, difficult walk, disappeared into the court, Connor stepped back and looked over Abra. Starlight was enough to see him by, for he glimmered9 with running sweat even in the semidarkness, but it was plain from his high head and inquisitive10 muzzle11 that he was neither winded nor down-hearted. He followed Connor like a dog when the gambler went in turn to the mare. She turned about nervously12 to watch the newcomer. Not until Abra had touched noses with her and perhaps spoken to her the dumb horse-talk would she allow Connor to come close, and even then he could not see her as clearly as the stallion. By running his finger-tips over her he discovered the reason—only on the flanks and across the breast was she wet with perspiration13, and barely moist on the thighs14 and belly15. The race had winded her no more than a six-furlong canter.
He was still marveling at this discovery when Joseph appeared under the arch carrying a lantern and beckoned16 him in, leading the way to a large patio, surrounded by a continuous arcade17. In the center a fountain was alternately silver and shadow in the swinging lantern light. The floor of the patio was close-shaven turf.
Joseph hung the lantern on the inside of one of the arches and turned to Connor, apparently18 to invite him to take one of the chairs under the arcade. Instead, he raised his hand to impose silence. Connor heard, from some distance, a harsh sound of breathing of inconceivable strength. For though it was plainly not close to them, he could mark each intake19 and expulsion of breath. And the noise created for him the picture of a monster.
"Let us go to the master," said Joseph, and turned straight across the patio in the direction of that sonorous20 breathing.
Connor followed, by no means at ease. From the withered21 old men to huge Joseph had been a long step. How far would be the reach between Joseph himself and the omnipotent22 master?
He passed in the track of Joseph toward the rear of the patio. Presently the big man halted, removed his hat, and faced a door beneath the arcade. It was only a momentary23 interruption. He went on again at once, replacing his hat, but the thrill of apprehension24 was still tingling25 in the blood of the gambler. Now they went under the arcade, through an open door, and issued in the rear of the house, Connor's imaginary "monster" dissolved.
For they stood in front of a blacksmith shop, the side toward them being entirely26 open so that Connor could see the whole of the interior. Two sooty lanterns hung from the rafters, the light tangling27 among wreaths of smoke above and showing below a man whose back was turned toward them as he worked a great snoring bellows28 with one hand.
That bellows was the source of the mysterious breathing. Connor chuckled29; all mysteries dissolved as this had done the moment one confronted them. He left off chuckling30 to admire the ease with which the blacksmith handled the bellows. A massive angle of iron was buried in the forge, the white flames spurting31 around it as the bellows blew, casting the smith into high relief at every pulse of the fire. Sometimes it ran on the great muscles of the arm that kept the bellows in play; sometimes it ran a dazzling outline around his entire body, showing the leather apron32 and the black hair which flooded down about his shoulders.
"Who—" began Connor.
"Hush," cautioned Joseph in a whisper. "David speaks when he chooses—not sooner."
Here the smith laid hold on the iron with long pincers, and, raising it from the coals, at once the shop burst with white light as David placed the iron on the anvil33 and caught up a short-handled sledge34. He whirled it and brought it down with a clangor. The sparks spurted35 into the night, dropping to the ground and turning red at the very feet of Connor. Slowly David turned the iron, the steady shower of blows bending it, changing it, molding it under the eye of the gambler. This was that clangor which had floated through the clear mountain air to him when he first gazed down on the valley; this was the bell-like murmur36 which had washed down to him through the gates of the valley.
At least it was easy to understand why the servants feared him. A full fourteen pounds was in the head of that sledge, Connor guessed, yet David whirled it with a light and deft37 precision. Only the shuddering39 of the anvil told the weight of those blows. Meantime, with every leap of the spark-showers the gambler studied the face of the master. They were features of strength rather than beauty from the frowning forehead to the craggy jaw40. A sort of fierce happiness lived in that face now, the thought of the craftsman41 and the joy of the laborer43 in his strength.
As the white heat passed from the iron and it no longer flowed into a shape so readily under the hammer of the smith, a change came in him. Connor knew nothing of ironcraft, but he guessed shrewdly that another man would have softened44 the metal with fire again at this point. Instead, David chose to soften45 it with strength. The steady patter of blows increased to a thundering rain as the iron turned a dark and darker red.
The rhythm of the worker grew swifter, did not break, and Connor watched with a keen eye of appreciation46. Just as a great thoroughbred makes its supreme47 effort in the stretch by a lengthening48 and slight quickening of stride, but never a dropping into the choppy pace of unskilled labor42 at speed, so the man at the anvil was now rocking steadily49 back and forth50 from heel to toe, the knees unflexing a little as he struck and stiffening51 as he swung up the hammer. The greater effort was told only by the greater ring of the hammer face on the hardening iron—by that and by the shudder38 of the arm of the smith as the fourteen pounds went clanging home to the stroke.
And now the iron was quite dark—the smith stood with the ponderous52 sledge poised53 above his head and turned the bar swiftly, with study, to see that the angle was exactly what he wished. The hammer did not descend54 again on the iron; the smith was content, and plunging55 the big angle iron into the tempering tub, his burly shoulders were obscured for a moment by a rising cloud of steam.
He stepped out of this and came directly to them. Now the lantern was behind him, he was silhouetted56 in black, a mighty57 figure. He was panting from his labor, and the heavy sound of his breathing disturbed the gambler. He had expected to find a wise and simple old man in David. Instead, he was face to face with a Hercules.
His attention was directed entirely to Joseph.
"I come from my work unclean," he said. "Joseph, take the stranger within and wait."
Joseph led back into the patio to a plain wooden table beside which Connor, at the gesture of invitation, sat down. Here Joseph left him hurriedly, and the gambler looked about. The arcade was lightened by a flagging of crystalline white stone, and the ceiling was inlaid with the same material. But the arches and the wall of the building were of common dobe, massive, but roughly built.
Beyond the fountain nodded like a ghost in the patio, and now and then, when the lantern was swayed by the wind, the pool glinted and was black again. The silence was beginning to make him feel more than ever like an unwelcome guest when another old Negro came, and Connor noted58 with growing wonder the third of these ancients. Each of them must have been in youth a fine specimen59 of manhood. Even in white-headed age they retained some of that noble countenance60 which remains61 to those who have once been strong. This fellow bore a tray upon his arm, and in the free hand carried a large yellow cloth of a coarse weave.
He placed on the table a wooden trencher with a great loaf of white bread, a cone62 of clear honey, and an earthen pitcher63 of milk. Next he put a wooden bowl on a chair beside Connor, and when the latter obediently extended his hands, the old man poured warm water over them and dried them with a napkin.
There was a ceremony about this that fitted perfectly64 with the surroundings, and Connor became thoughtful. He was to tempt65 the master with the wealth of the world, but what could he give the man to replace his Homeric comfort?
In the midst of these reflections soft steps approached him, and he saw the brown-faced David coming in a shapeless blouse and trousers of rough cloth, with moccasins on his feet. Rising to meet his host, he was surprised to find that David had no advantage in height and a small one in breadth of shoulder; in the blacksmith shop he had seemed a giant. The brown man stopped beside the table. He seemed to be around thirty, but because of the unwrinkled forehead Connor decided66 that he was probably five years older.
"I am David," he said, without offering his hand.
"I," said the gambler, "am Benjamin."
There was a flash that might have been either pleasure or suspicion in the face of David.
"Joseph has told me what has passed between you," he said.
"I hope he's broken no law by letting me come in."
"My will is the law; in disregarding me he has broken a law."
He made a sign above his shoulder that brought Joseph hurrying out of the gloom, his keen little eyes fastened upon the face of the master with intolerable anxiety. There was another sign from David, and Joseph, without a glance at Connor, snatched the ivory head out of his pocket, thrust it upon the table, and stood back, watching the brown man with fascination68.
"You see," went on David, "that he returns to you the price which you paid him. Therefore you have no longer a right to remain in the Garden of Eden."
Connor flushed. "If this were a price," he answered, clinging as closely as he could to language as simple and direct as that of David, "it could be returned to me. But it is not a price. It is a gift, and gifts cannot be returned."
He held out the ape-head, and when Joseph could see nothing save the face of David, he pushed the trinket back toward the huge man.
"Then," said the brown man, "the fault which was small before is now grown large."
He looked calmly upon Joseph, and the giant quailed69. By the table hung a gong on which the master tapped; one of the ancient servants appeared instantly.
"Go to my room," said David, "and bring me the largest nugget from the chest."
The old man disappeared, and while they waited for his return the little bright eyes of Joseph went to and fro on the face of the master; but David was staring into the darkness of the patio. The servant brought a nugget of gold, as large as the doubled fist of a child, and the master rolled it across the table to Connor.
A tenseness about his mouth told the gambler that much was staked on this acceptance. He turned the nugget in his hand, noting the discoloration of the ore from which it had been taken.
"It is a fine specimen," he said.
"You will see," said David, "both its size and weight."
And Connor knew; it was an exchange for the ivory head. He laid the nugget carelessly back upon the table, thankful that the gift had been offered with such suspicious bluntness.
"It is a fine specimen," he repeated, "but I am not collecting."
There was a heavy cloud on the face of David as he took up the nugget and passed it into the hand of the waiting servant; but his glance was for Joseph, not Connor.
Joseph burst into speech for the first time, and the words tumbled out.
"I do not want it. I shall not keep it. See, David; I give it up to him!" He made a gesture with both hands as though he would push away the ape-head forever.
The master looked earnestly at Connor.
"You hear?"
Connor's heart was beating rapidly, from the excitement of the strange interview and the sense of his narrow escape from banishment71. Because he had made the gift to Joseph he had an inalienable right, it seemed, to expect some return from Joseph's master—even permission to stay in the valley, if he insisted.
There was another of those uncomfortable pauses, with the master looking sternly into the night.
"Zacharias," he said.
The servant stepped beside him.
"Bring the whip—and the cup."
The eyes of Zacharias rolled once toward Joseph and then he was gone, running; he returned almost instantly with a seven foot blacksnake, oiled until it glistened72. He put it in the hand of David, but only when Joseph stepped back, shuddering, and then turned and kneeled before David, the significance of that whip came home to Connor, sickening him. The whites of Joseph's eyes rolled at him and Connor stepped between Joseph and the whip.
"Do you mean this?" he gasped73. "Do you mean to say that you are going to flog that poor fellow because he took a gift from me?"
"From you it was a gift," answered the master, perfectly calm, "but to him it was a price. And to me it is a great trouble."
"God!" murmured Connor.
"Do you call on him?" asked the brown man severely74. "He is only here in so far as I am the agent of his justice. Yet I trust it is not more His will than it is the will of David. Also, the heart of Joseph is stubborn and must be humbled75. Tears are the sign of contrition76, and the whip shall not cease to fall until Joseph weeps."
His glance pushed Connor back; the gambler saw the lash67 whirled, and he turned his back sharply before it fell. Even so, the impact of the lash on flesh cut into Connor, for he had only to take back the gift to end the flogging. He set his teeth. Could he give up his only hold on David and the Eden Grays? By the whizzing of the lash he knew that it was laid on with the full strength of that muscular arm. Now a horrible murmur from the throat of Joseph forced him to turn against his will.
The face of David was filled, not with anger, but with cruel disdain77; under his flying lash the welts leaped up on the back of Joseph, but he, with his eyes shut and his head strained far back, endured. Only through his teeth, each time he drew breath, came that stifled78 moan, and he shuddered79 at each impact of the whip. Now his eyes opened, and through the mist of pain a brutal80 hatred81 glimmered at Connor. That flare82 of rage seemed to sap the last of his strength, for now his face convulsed, tears flooded down, and his head dropped. Instantly the hand of David paused.
Something had snapped in Connor at the same time that the head of Joseph fell, and while he wiped the wet from his face he only vaguely83 saw Joseph hurry down the corridor, with Zacharias carrying the whip behind.
But the master? There was neither cruelty nor anger in his face as he turned to the table and filled with milk the wooden cup which Zacharias had brought.
"This is my prayer," he said quietly, "that in the justice of David there may never be the poison of David's wrath84." 79
He drained the cup, broke a morsel85 of bread from the loaf and ate it. Next he filled the second cup and handed it to the gambler.
"Drink."
Automatically Connor obeyed.
"Eat."
In turn he tasted the bread.
"And now," said the master, in the deep, calm voice, "you have drunk with David in his house, and he has broken bread with you. Hereafter may there be peace and good will between us. You have given a free gift to one of my people, and he who gives clothes to David's people keeps David from the shame of nakedness; and he who puts bread in the mouths of David's servants feeds David himself. Stay with me, therefore, Benjamin, until you find in the Garden the thing you desire, then take it and go your way. But until that time, what is David's is Benjamin's; your will be my will, and my way be your way."
He paused.
"And now, Benjamin, you are weary?"
"Very tired."
"Follow me."
It seemed well to Connor to remove himself from the eye of the master as soon as possible. Not that the host showed signs of anger, but just as one looks at a clear sky and forebodes hard weather because of misty86 horizons, so the gambler guessed the frown behind David's eyes. He was glad to turn into the door which was opened for him. But even though he guessed the danger, Connor could not refrain from tempting87 Providence88 with a speech of double meaning.
"You are very kind," he said. "Good night, David."
"May God keep you until the morning, Benjamin."
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1
glimmer
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v.发出闪烁的微光;n.微光,微弱的闪光 | |
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muffled
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adj.(声音)被隔的;听不太清的;(衣服)裹严的;蒙住的v.压抑,捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 );用厚厚的衣帽包着(自己) | |
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3
scattering
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n.[物]散射;散乱,分散;在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的;分散在不同范围的;广泛扩散的;(选票)数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式);散布;驱散 | |
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4
drawn
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v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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mare
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n.母马,母驴 | |
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grove
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n.林子,小树林,园林 | |
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patio
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n.庭院,平台 | |
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waddling
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v.(像鸭子一样)摇摇摆摆地走( waddle的现在分词 ) | |
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9
glimmered
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v.发闪光,发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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10
inquisitive
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adj.求知欲强的,好奇的,好寻根究底的 | |
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11
muzzle
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n.鼻口部;口套;枪(炮)口;vt.使缄默 | |
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nervously
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adv.神情激动地,不安地 | |
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13
perspiration
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n.汗水;出汗 | |
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thighs
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n.股,大腿( thigh的名词复数 );食用的鸡(等的)腿 | |
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15
belly
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n.肚子,腹部;(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分,膛 | |
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16
beckoned
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v.(用头或手的动作)示意,召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17
arcade
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n.拱廊;(一侧或两侧有商店的)通道 | |
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18
apparently
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adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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19
intake
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n.吸入,纳入;进气口,入口 | |
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sonorous
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adj.响亮的,回响的;adv.圆润低沉地;感人地;n.感人,堂皇 | |
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21
withered
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adj. 枯萎的,干瘪的,(人身体的部分器官)因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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22
omnipotent
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adj.全能的,万能的 | |
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23
momentary
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adj.片刻的,瞬息的;短暂的 | |
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24
apprehension
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n.理解,领悟;逮捕,拘捕;忧虑 | |
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25
tingling
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v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 ) | |
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26
entirely
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ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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27
tangling
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(使)缠结, (使)乱作一团( tangle的现在分词 ) | |
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28
bellows
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n.风箱;发出吼叫声,咆哮(尤指因痛苦)( bellow的名词复数 );(愤怒地)说出(某事),大叫v.发出吼叫声,咆哮(尤指因痛苦)( bellow的第三人称单数 );(愤怒地)说出(某事),大叫 | |
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29
chuckled
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轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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30
chuckling
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轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 ) | |
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31
spurting
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(液体,火焰等)喷出,(使)涌出( spurt的现在分词 ); (短暂地)加速前进,冲刺; 溅射 | |
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apron
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n.围裙;工作裙 | |
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anvil
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n.铁钻 | |
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34
sledge
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n.雪橇,大锤;v.用雪橇搬运,坐雪橇往 | |
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spurted
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(液体,火焰等)喷出,(使)涌出( spurt的过去式和过去分词 ); (短暂地)加速前进,冲刺 | |
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36
murmur
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n.低语,低声的怨言;v.低语,低声而言 | |
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37
deft
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adj.灵巧的,熟练的(a deft hand 能手) | |
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38
shudder
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v.战粟,震动,剧烈地摇晃;n.战粟,抖动 | |
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shuddering
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v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动 | |
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40
jaw
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n.颚,颌,说教,流言蜚语;v.喋喋不休,教训 | |
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41
craftsman
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n.技工,精于一门工艺的匠人 | |
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42
labor
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n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦 | |
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43
laborer
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n.劳动者,劳工 | |
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44
softened
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(使)变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 ); 缓解打击; 缓和; 安慰 | |
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45
soften
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v.(使)变柔软;(使)变柔和 | |
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46
appreciation
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n.评价;欣赏;感谢;领会,理解;价格上涨 | |
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47
supreme
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adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
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48
lengthening
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(时间或空间)延长,伸长( lengthen的现在分词 ); 加长 | |
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49
steadily
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adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地 | |
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50
forth
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adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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51
stiffening
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n. (使衣服等)变硬的材料, 硬化 动词stiffen的现在分词形式 | |
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52
ponderous
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adj.沉重的,笨重的,(文章)冗长的 | |
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53
poised
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a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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54
descend
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vt./vi.传下来,下来,下降 | |
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55
plunging
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adj.跳进的,突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降 | |
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56
silhouetted
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显出轮廓的,显示影像的 | |
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57
mighty
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adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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58
noted
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adj.著名的,知名的 | |
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59
specimen
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n.样本,标本 | |
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60
countenance
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n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同 | |
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61
remains
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n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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62
cone
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n.圆锥体,圆锥形东西,球果 | |
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63
pitcher
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n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐;(棒球)投手 | |
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64
perfectly
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adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
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65
tempt
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vt.引诱,勾引,吸引,引起…的兴趣 | |
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66
decided
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adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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67
lash
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v.系牢;鞭打;猛烈抨击;n.鞭打;眼睫毛 | |
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fascination
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n.令人着迷的事物,魅力,迷恋 | |
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69
quailed
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害怕,发抖,畏缩( quail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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70
shrugged
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vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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71
banishment
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n.放逐,驱逐 | |
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72
glistened
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v.湿物闪耀,闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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73
gasped
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v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要 | |
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74
severely
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adv.严格地;严厉地;非常恶劣地 | |
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75
humbled
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adj. 卑下的,谦逊的,粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下,贬低 | |
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76
contrition
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n.悔罪,痛悔 | |
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77
disdain
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n.鄙视,轻视;v.轻视,鄙视,不屑 | |
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78
stifled
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(使)窒息, (使)窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 ); 镇压,遏制; 堵 | |
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79
shuddered
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v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 );发抖;(机器、车辆等)突然震动;颤动 | |
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80
brutal
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adj.残忍的,野蛮的,不讲理的 | |
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81
hatred
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n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨 | |
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82
flare
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v.闪耀,闪烁;n.潮红;突发 | |
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83
vaguely
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adv.含糊地,暖昧地 | |
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84
wrath
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n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒 | |
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85
morsel
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n.一口,一点点 | |
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86
misty
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adj.雾蒙蒙的,有雾的 | |
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87
tempting
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a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
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88
providence
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n.深谋远虑,天道,天意;远见;节约;上帝 | |
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