"But our babies are sick!"
One octogenarian—a carpenter's apprentice—heatedly informed me, through Schmick, that he had a child two weeks old that would die before morning if deprived of proper food and nourishment8. Somewhat impressed by this pitiful lament9, I enquired10 how his wife was getting along. The ancient, being in a placid11 state of senility, courteously12 thanked me for my interest, and answered that she had been dead for forty-nine years, come September. I overlooked the slight discrepancy13.
During the remainder of the day, I insisted on the utmost quiet in our wing of the castle. Poopendyke was obliged to take his typewriter out to the stables, where I dictated14 scores of letters to him. I caught Britton whistling in the kitchen about noon-time, and severely15 reprimanded him. We went quite to the extreme, however, when we tiptoed about our lofty halls. All of the afternoon we kept a sharp lookout16 for the doctor, but if he came we were none the wiser. Britton went into the town at three with the letters and a telegram to my friends in Vienna, imploring17 them to look up a corps18 of efficient servants for me and to send them on post-haste. I would have included a request for a competent nurse-maid if it hadn't been for a report from Poopendyke, who announced that he had caught a glimpse of a very nursy looking person at one of the upper windows earlier in the day.
I couldn't, however, for the life of me understand why my neighbour enjoined19 such rigid20 silence in our part of the castle and yet permitted that confounded dog of hers to yowl and bark all day. How was I to know that the beast had treed a lizard21 in the lower hall and couldn't dislodge it?
Britton returned with news. The ferrymen, with great joy in the telling, informed him that the season for tourists parties was just beginning and that we might expect, with them, to do a thriving and prosperous business during the next month or two. Indeed, word already had been received by the tourists company's agent in the town that a party of one hundred and sixty-nine would arrive the next day but one from Munchen, bent22 on visiting my ruin. In great trepidation23, I had all of the gates and doors locked and reinforced by sundry24 beams and slabs25, for I knew the overpowering nature of the collective tourist.
I may be pardoned if I digress at this time to state that the party of one hundred and sixty-nine, both stern and opposite, besieged26 my castle on the next day but one, with the punctuality of locusts27, and despite all of my precautions, all of my devices, all of my objections, effected an entrance and over-ran the place like a swarm29 of ants. The feat30 that could not have been accomplished31 by an armed force was successfully managed by a group of pedagogues32 from Ohio, to whom "Keep off the Grass" and "No Trespass33" are signs of utter impotence on the part of him who puts them up, and ever shall be, world without end. They came, they saw, they conquered, and they tried to buy picture postcards of me.
I mention this in passing, lest you should be disappointed. More anon.
Punctually at nine o'clock, I was in the balcony, thanking my lucky stars that it was a bright, moonlit night. There was every reason to rejoice in the prospect34 of seeing her face clearly when she appeared at her secret little window. Naturally, I am too much of a gentleman to have projected unfair means of illuminating35 her face, such as the use of a pocket electric lamp or anything of that sort. I am nothing if not gallant,—when it comes to a pinch. Besides, I was reasonably certain that she would wear a thick black veil. In this I was wrong. She wore a white, filmy one, but it served the purpose. I naturally concluded that she was homely36.
"Good evening," she said, on opening the window.
"Very much better, thank you. It was so good of you to stop the workmen."
"Won't you take off your veil and stay awhile?" I asked, politely facetious39. "It isn't quite fair to me, you know."
Her next remark brought a blush of confusion to my cheek. A silly notion had induced me to don my full evening regalia, spike-tail coat and all. Nothing could have been more ludicrously incongruous than my appearance, I am sure, and I never felt more uncomfortable in my life.
"How very nice you look in your new suit," she said, and I was aware of a muffled40 quality in her ordinarily clear, musical voice. She was laughing at me. "Are you giving a dinner party?"
"I usually dress for dinner," I lied with some haughtiness41. "And so does Poopendyke," I added as an afterthought. My blush deepened as I recalled the attenuated42 blazer in which my secretary breakfasted, lunched and dined without discrimination.
"For Gretel's benefit, I presume."
"Aha! You do know Gretel, then?"
"I shall discharge her in the morning," said I severely. "She is a liar44 and her husband is a poltroon45. They positively46 deny your existence in any shape or form."
"They won't pay any attention to you," said she, with a laugh. "They are fixtures47, quite as much so as the walls themselves. You'll not be able to discharge them. My grandfather tried it fifty years ago and failed. After that he made it a point to dismiss Conrad every day in the year and Gretel every other day. As well try to remove the mountain, Mr. Smart. They know you can't get on without them."
"I have discharged her as a cook," I said, triumphantly48. "A new one will be here by the end of the week."
"Oh," she sighed plaintively49, "how glad I am. She is an atrocious cook. I don't like to complain, Mr. Smart, but really it is getting so that I can't eat anything she sends up. It is jolly of you to get in a new one. Now we shall be very happy."
"By Jove!" said I, completely staggered by these revelations. Unable to find suitable words to express my sustained astonishment50, I repeated: "By Jove!" but in a subdued51 tone.
"I have thought it over, Mr. Smart," she went on in a business-like manner, "and I believe we will get along much better together if we stay apart."
Ambiguous remarks ordinarily reach my intelligence, but I was so stunned52 by preceding admissions that I could only gasp54:
"Do you mean to say you've been subsisting55 all this time on my food?"
"Oh, dear me, no! How can you think that of me? Gretel merely cooks the food I buy. She keeps a distinct and separate account of everything, poor thing. I am sure you will not find anything wrong with your bills, Mr. Smart. But did you hear what I said a moment ago?"
"I'm not quite sure that I did."
"I prefer to let matters stand just as they are. Why should we discommode57 each other? We are perfectly58 satisfied as we—"
"I will not have my new cook giving notice, madam. You surely can't expect her—or him—to prepare meals for two separate—"
"I hadn't thought of that," she interrupted ruefully. "Perhaps if I were to pay her—or him—extra wages it would be all right," she added, quickly. "We do not require much, you know."
I laughed rather shortly,—meanly, I fear.
"This is most extraordinary, madam!"
"I—I quite agree with you. I'm awfully59 sorry it had to turn out as it has. Who would have dreamed of your buying the place and coming here to upset everything?"
I resolved to be firm with her. She seemed to be taking too much for granted. "Much as I regret it, madam, I am compelled to ask you to evacuate—to get out, in fact. This sort of thing can't go on."
She was silent for so long that I experienced a slow growth of compunction. Just as I was on the point of slightly receding53 from my position, she gave me another shock.
"Don't you think it would be awfully convenient if you had a telephone put in, Mr. Smart?" she said. "It is such a nuisance to send Max or Rudolph over to town every whip-stitch on errands when a telephone—in your name, of course—would be so much more satisfactory."
"Circumstances make it quite unwise for me to have a telephone in my own name, but you could have one in yours without creating the least suspicion. You are—"
"Madam," I cried, and got no farther.
"—perfectly free to have a telephone if you want one," she continued. "The doctor came this evening and it really wasn't necessary. Don't you see you could have telephoned for me and saved him the trip?"
It was due to the most stupendous exertion61 of self-restraint on my part that I said: "Well, I'll be—jiggered," instead of something a little less unique. Her audacity62 staggered me. (I was not prepared at that time to speak of it as superciliousness63.)
"Madam," I exploded, "will you be good enough to listen to me? I am not to be trifled with. To-morrow sometime I shall enter the east wing of this building if I have to knock down all the doors on the place. Do you understand, madam?"
"I do hope, Mr. Smart, you can arrange to break in about five o'clock. It will afford me a great deal of pleasure to give you some tea. May I expect you at five—or thereabouts?"
Her calmness exasperated64 me. I struck the stone balustrade an emphatic65 blow with my fist, sorely peeling the knuckles66, and ground out:
"For two cents I'd do it to-night!"
"Oh, dear,—oh, dear!" she cried mockingly.
"You must be a dreadful woman," I cried out. "First, you make yourself at home in my house; then you succeed in stopping my workmen, steal my cook and men-servants, keep us all awake with a barking dog, defying me to my very face—"
"How awfully stern you are!"
"I don't believe a word you say about a sick baby,—or a doctor! It's all poppy-cock. To-morrow you will find yourself, bag and baggage, sitting at the bottom of this hill, waiting for—"
"Wait!" she cried. "Are you really, truly in earnest?"
"Most emphatically!"
"Then I—I shall surrender," she said, very slowly,—and seriously, I was glad to observe.
"That's more like it," I cried, enthusiastically.
"On one condition," she said. "You must agree in advance to let me stay on here for a month or two. It—it is most imperative68, Mr. Smart."
"I shall be the sole judge of that, madam," I retorted, with some dignity. "By the way," I went on, knitting my brows, "how am I to get into your side of the castle? Schmick says he's lost the keys."
A good deal depended on her answer.
"They shall be delivered to you to-morrow morning, Mr. Smart," she said, soberly. "Good night."
The little window closed with a snap and I was left alone in the smiling moonlight. I was vastly excited, even thrilled by the prospect of a sleepless69 night. Something told me I wouldn't sleep a wink70, and yet I, who bitterly resent having my sleep curtailed71 in the slightest degree, held no brief against circumstances. In fact, I rather revelled72 in the promise of nocturnal distraction73. Fearing, however, that I might drop off to sleep at three or four o'clock and thereby74 run the risk of over sleeping, I dashed off to the head of the stairs and shouted for Britton.
"Britton," I said. "I want to be called at seven o'clock sharp in the morning." Noting his polite struggle to conceal his astonishment, I told him of my second encounter with the lady across the way.
"She won't be expecting you at seven, sir," he remarked. "And, as for that, she may be expecting to call on you, instead of the other way round."
"Right!" said I, considerably dashed.
"Besides, sir, would it not be safer to wait till the tourist party has come and gone?"
"No tourists enter this place to-morrow or any other day," I declared, firmly.
"Well, I'd suggest waiting just the same, sir," said he, evidently inspired.
He hesitated for a moment near the door.
"Will you put in the telephone, sir?" he asked, respectfully.
"It really wouldn't be a bad idea, Britton," I said, startled into committing myself. "Save us a great deal of legging it over town and all that sort of thing, eh?"
"Yes, sir. What I was about to suggest, sir, is that while we're about it we might as well have a system of electric bells put in. That is to say, sir, in both wings of the castle. Very convenient, sir, you see, for all parties concerned."
"I see," said I, impressed. And then repeated it, a little more impressed after reflection. "I see. You are a very resourceful fellow, Britton. I am inclined to bounce all of the Schmicks. They have known about this from the start and have lied like thieves. By Jove, she must have an extraordinary power over them,—or claim,—or something equally potent78. Now I think of it, she mentioned a grandfather. That would go to prove she's related in some way to some one, wouldn't it?"
"I should consider it to be more than likely, sir," said Britton, with a perfectly straight face. He must have been sorely tried in the face of my inane79 maunderings. "Pardon me, sir, but wouldn't it be a tip-top idea to have it out with the Schmicks to-night? Being, sir, as you anticipate a rather wakeful night, I only make so bold as to suggest it in the hopes you may 'ave some light on the subject before you close your eyes. In other words, sir, so as you won't be altogether in the dark when morning comes. See wot I mean?"
"Excellent idea, Britton. We'll have them up in my study."
He went off to summon my double-faced servitors, while I wended my way to the study. There I found. Mr. Poopendyke, sound asleep in a great arm-chair, both his mouth and his nose open and my first novel also open in his lap.
Conrad and Gretel appeared with Britton after an unconscionable lapse80 of time, partially81 dressed and grumbling82.
"Where are your sons?" I demanded, at once suspicious.
Conrad shook his sparsely83 covered head and mumbled84 something about each being his brother's keeper, all of which was Greek to me until Britton explained that they were not to be found in their customary quarters,—that is to say, in bed. Of course it was quite clear to me that my excellent giants were off somewhere, serving the interests of the bothersome lady in the east wing.
"Conrad," said I, fixing the ancient with a stern, compelling gaze, "this has gone quite far enough."
"Yes, mein herr?"
"Do you serve me, or do you serve the lady in the east wing?"
"I do," said he, with a great deal more wit than I thought he possessed85. For a moment I was speechless, but not for the reason you may suspect. I was trying to fix my question and his response quite clearly in my memory so that I might employ them later in the course of a conversation between characters in my forthcoming novel.
"I have been talking with the lady this evening," said I.
"Yes, mein herr; I know," said he.
"Oh, you do, eh? Well, will you be good enough to tell me what the devil is the meaning of all this two-faced, underhanded conduct on your part?"
He lowered his head, closed his thin lips and fumbled87 with the hem6 of his smock in a significantly sullen88 manner. It was evident that he meant to defy me. His sharp little eyes sent a warning look at Gretel, who instantly ceased her mutterings and gave over asking God to bear witness to something or other. She was always dragging in the Deity89.
"Now, see here, Conrad, I want the truth from you. Who is this woman, and why are you so infernally set upon shielding her? What crime has she committed? Tell me at once, or, by the Lord Harry90, out you go to-morrow,—all of you."
"I am a very old man," he whined91, twisting his gnarled fingers, a suggestion of tears in his voice. "My wife is old, mein herr. You would not be cruel. We have been here for sixty years. The old baron92—"
"Enough!" I cried resolutely93. "Out with it, man. I mean all that I say."
He was still for a long time, looking first at the floor and then at me; furtive95, appealing, uncertain little glances from which he hoped to derive96 comfort by catching97 me with a twinkle in my eye. I have a stupid, weak way of letting a twinkle appear there even when I am trying to be harsh and domineering. Britton has noticed it frequently, I am sure, and I think he rather depends upon it. But now I realised, if never before, that to betray the slightest sign of gentleness would be to forever forfeit98 my standing99 as master in my own house. Conrad saw no twinkle. He began to weaken.
"To-morrow, mein herr, to-morrow," he mumbled, in a final plea. I shook my head. "She will explain everything to-morrow," he went on eagerly. "I am sworn to reveal nothing, mein herr. My wife, too, and my sons. We may not speak until she gives the word. Alas100! we shall be turned out to die in our—"
"And still are, I suspect," I cried angrily.
Conrad almost resorted to the expediency104 of grovelling105. "Forgive! forgive!" he groaned106. "I have done only what was best."
"Produce the keys, sir!"
"But not to-night, not to-night," he pleaded. "She will be very angry. She will not like it, mein herr. Ach, Gott! She will drive us out, she will shame us all! Ach, and she who is so gentle and so unhappy and so—so kind, to all of us! I—I cannot—I cannot! No!"
Mr. Poopendyke's common sense came in very handily at this critical juncture107. He counselled me to let the matter rest until the next morning, when, it was reasonable to expect, the lady herself would explain everything. Further appeal to Schmick was like butting108 one's head against a stone wall, he said. Moreover, Conrad's loyalty109 to the lady was most commendable110.
Conrad and Gretel beamed on Poopendyke. They thanked him so profoundly, that I couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for myself, a tyrant111 without a backbone112.
"Jah, jah!" Conrad cried gladly. "To-morrow she will explain. Time enough, Herr Poopendyke. Time enough, eh?"
"Well," said I, somewhat feebly, "where do I come in?"
They caught the note of surrender in my voice and pounced113 upon their opportunity. Before they had finished with me, it was quite thoroughly114 established that I was not to come in at all until my neighbour was ready to admit me. They convinced me that I was a meek115, futile116 suppliant117 and not the master of a feudal118 stronghold. Somehow I was made to feel that if I didn't behave myself I stood in considerable danger of being turned off the place. However, we forced something out of Schmick before his stalwart sons came tramping up the stairs to rescue him. The old man gave us a touch of inside history concerning Schloss Rothhoefen and its erstwhile powerful barons119, not to minimise in the least sense the peculiar120 prowess of the present Amazon who held forth86 to-night in the east wing and who, I had some reason to suspect, was one of the family despite the unmistakable flavour of Fifth Avenue and Newport.
About the middle of the nineteenth century the last of the real barons,—the powerful, land-owning, despotic barons, I mean,—came to the end of his fourscore years and ten, and was laid away with great pomp and glee by the people of the town across the river. He was the last of the Rothhoefens, for he left no male heir. His two daughters had married Austrian noblemen, and neither of them produced a male descendant. The estate, already in a state of financial as well as physical disintegration121, fell into the hands of women, and went from bad to worse so rapidly that long before the last quarter of the century was fairly begun the castle and the reduced holdings slipped away from the Rothhoefens altogether and into the control of the father of the Count from whom I purchased the property. The Count's father, it appears, was a distiller of great wealth in his day, and a man of action. Unfortunately he died before he had the chance to carry out his projects in connection with the rehabilitation122 of Schloss Rothhoefen, even then a deserted123, ramshackle resort for paying tourists and a Mecca for antique and picture dealers124.
The new Count—my immediate125 predecessor—was not long in dissipating the great fortune left by his father, the worthy126 distiller. He had run through with the bulk of his patrimony127 by the time he was twenty-five and was pretty much run down at the heel when he married in the hope of recouping his lost fortune.
The Schmicks did not like him. They did not approve of him as lord and master, nor was it possible for them to resign themselves to the fate that had put this young scapegrace into the shoes, so to speak, of the grim old barons Rothhoefen, who whatever else they may have been in a high-handed sort of way were men to the core. This pretender, this creature without brains or blood, this sponging reprobate128, was not to their liking129, if I am to quote Conrad, who became quite forceful in his harangue130 against the recent order of things.
He, his wife and his sons, he assured me, were full of rejoicing when they learned that the castle had passed from Count Hohendahl's hands into mine. I, at least, would pay them their wages and I might, in a pinch, be depended upon to pension them when they got too old to be of any use about the castle.
At any rate, it seems, I was a distinct improvement over the Count, who had been their master for a dozen very lean and unprofitable years. Things might be expected to look up a bit, with me at the head of the house. Was it not possible for a new and mighty131 race to rise and take the place of the glorious Rothhoefens? A long line of Baron Schmarts? With me as the prospective132 root of a thriving family tree! At least, that is what Conrad said, and I may be pardoned for quoting him.
I am truly sorry the old rascal put it into my head.
But the gist133 of the whole matter was this: There are no more Rothhoefens, and soon, God willing, there would be no more Hohendahls. Long live the Schmarts! Conrad invariably pronounced my name with the extra consonants134 and an umlaut.
All attempts on my part to connect the lady in the east wing with the history of the extinct Rothhoefens were futile. He would not commit himself.
"Well," said I, yawning in helpless collusion with the sleepy Gretel, "we'll let it go over till morning. Call me at seven, Britton."
Conrad made haste to assure me that the lady would not receive me before eleven o'clock. He begged me to sleep till nine, and to have pleasant dreams.
I went to bed but not to sleep. It was very clear to me that my neighbour was a disturber in every sense of the word. She wouldn't let me sleep. For two hours I tried to get rid of her, but she filtered into my brain and prodded135 my thoughts into the most violent activity. She wouldn't stay put.
My principal thoughts had to do with her identity. Somehow I got it into my head that she was one of the female Rothhoefens, pitiable nonentities136 if Conrad's estimate is to be accepted. A descendant of one of those girl-bearing daughters of the last baron! It sounded very agreeable to my fancy's ear, and I cuddled the hope that my surmise137 was not altogether preposterous138.
My original contention139 that she was a poor relation of old Schmick and somewhat dependent upon him for charity—to say the least—had been set aside for more reliable convictions. Instead of being dependent upon the Schmicks, she seemed to be in an exalted140 position that gave her a great deal more power over them than even I possessed: they served her, not me. From time to time there occurred to me the thought that my own position in the household was rather an ignoble141 one, and that I was a very weak and incompetent142 successor to baronial privileges, to say nothing of rights. A real baron would have had her out of there before you could mention half of Jack143 Robinson, and there wouldn't have been any sleep lost over distracting puzzles. I deplored144 my lack of bad manners.
It was quite reasonable to assume that she was young, but the odds145 were rather against her being beautiful. Pretty women usually adjure146 such precautions as veils. Still, this was speculation147, and my reasoning is not always sound, for which I sometimes thank heaven. She had a baby. At least, I suppose it was hers. If not, whose? This set me off on a new and apparently148 endless round of speculation, obviously silly and sentimental149.
Now I have humbly150 tried to like babies. My adolescent friends and acquaintances have done their best to educate me along this particular line, with the result that I suppose I despise more babies than any man in the world. My friends, it would appear, are invariably married to each other and they all have babies for me to go into false ecstasies151 over. No doubt babies are very nice when they don't squawk or pull your nose or jab you in the eye, but through some strange and prevailing152 misfortune I have never encountered one when it was asleep. If they are asleep, the parents compel me to walk on tip-toe and speak in whispers at long range; the instant they awake and begin to yawp, I am ushered153 into the presence, or vice28 versa, and the whole world grows very small and congested and is carried about in swaddling clothes.
There is but one way for a bachelor to overcome his horror of babies, and he shouldn't wait too long.
My contact with the one hundred and sixty-nine sight-seers was brief but exceedingly convincing. They invaded the castle before I was out of bed, having—as I afterwards heard—the breweries154, an art gallery and the Zoological gardens to visit before noon and therefore were required to make an early start. The cathedral, which is always open to visitors and never has any one sleeping in it, was reserved for the afternoon.
I was aroused from my belated sleep by the sound of mighty cataracts155 and the tread of countless156 elephants. Too late I realised that the tourists were upon me! Too late I remembered that the door to my room had been left unlocked! The hundred and sixty-nine were huddled157 outside my door, drinking in the monotonous158 drivel of the guide who had a shrill159, penetrating160 voice and not the faintest notion of a conscience.
I listened in dismay for a moment, and then, actuated by something more than mere56 fury, leaped out of bed and prepared for a dash across the room to lock the door. On the third stride I whirled and made a flying leap into the bed, scuttling161 beneath the covers with the speed and accuracy of a crawfish. Just in time, too, for the heavy door swung slowly open a second later, and the shrill, explanatory voice was projected loudly into my lofty bed chamber162.
"Come a little closer, please," said the morose163 man with the cap. "This room was occupied for centuries by the masters of Schloss Rothhoefen. It is a bed chamber. See the great baronial bed. It has not been slept in for more than two hundred years. The later barons refused to sleep in it because one of their ancestors had been assassinated164 between its sheets at the tender age of six. He was stabbed by a step-uncle who played him false. This room is haunted. Observe the curtains of the bed. They are of the rarest silk and have been there for three hundred years, coming from Damascus in the year 1695. Now we will pass on to the room occupied by all of the great baronesses165 up to the nineteenth—"
"If you choose, madam. But we must waste no time."
"I do so want to see where the old barons slept."
"Please do not handle the bedspreads and curtains. They will fall to pieces—"
I heard no more, for the vanguard had pushed him aside and was swooping167 down upon me. A sharp-nosed lady led the way. She was within three feet of the bed and was stretching out her hand to touch the proscribed168 fabrics169 when I sat bolt upright and yelled:
"Get out!"
Afterwards I was told that the guide was the first to reach the bottom of the stairs and that he narrowly escaped death in the avalanche170 of horrified171 humanity that piled after him, pursued by the puissant172 ghost of a six-year-old ancestor.
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considerably
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Augmented
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prodigality
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noisome
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needy
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spoke
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nourishment
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lament
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enquired
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placid
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courteously
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discrepancy
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dictated
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severely
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lookout
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imploring
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corps
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enjoined
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20
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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21
lizard
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| n.蜥蜴，壁虎 | |
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22
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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23
trepidation
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| n.惊恐，惶恐 | |
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24
sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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25
slabs
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| n.厚板，平板，厚片( slab的名词复数 )；厚胶片 | |
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26
besieged
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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27
locusts
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| n.蝗虫( locust的名词复数 )；贪吃的人；破坏者；槐树 | |
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28
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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29
swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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30
feat
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| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
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31
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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32
pedagogues
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| n.教师，卖弄学问的教师( pedagogue的名词复数 ) | |
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33
trespass
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| n./v.侵犯，闯入私人领地 | |
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34
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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35
illuminating
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| a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的 | |
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36
homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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37
contriving
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| （不顾困难地）促成某事( contrive的现在分词 )； 巧妙地策划，精巧地制造（如机器）； 设法做到 | |
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38
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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39
facetious
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| adj.轻浮的，好开玩笑的 | |
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40
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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41
haughtiness
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| n.傲慢；傲气 | |
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42
attenuated
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| v.（使）变细( attenuate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）变薄；（使）变小；减弱 | |
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43
quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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44
liar
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| n.说谎的人 | |
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45
poltroon
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| n.胆怯者；懦夫 | |
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46
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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47
fixtures
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| （房屋等的）固定装置( fixture的名词复数 )； 如（浴盆、抽水马桶）； 固定在某位置的人或物； （定期定点举行的）体育活动 | |
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48
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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49
plaintively
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| adv.悲哀地，哀怨地 | |
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50
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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51
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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52
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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53
receding
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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54
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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55
subsisting
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| v.（靠很少的钱或食物）维持生活，生存下去( subsist的现在分词 ) | |
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56
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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57
discommode
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| v.使失态，使为难 | |
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58
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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59
awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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60
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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61
exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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62
audacity
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| n.大胆，卤莽，无礼 | |
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63
superciliousness
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| n.高傲，傲慢 | |
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64
exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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65
emphatic
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| adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的 | |
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66
knuckles
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| n.（指人）指关节( knuckle的名词复数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝v.（指人）指关节( knuckle的第三人称单数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝 | |
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67
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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68
imperative
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| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
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69
sleepless
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| adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的 | |
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70
wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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71
curtailed
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| v.截断，缩短( curtail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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72
revelled
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| v.作乐( revel的过去式和过去分词 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
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73
distraction
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| n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐 | |
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74
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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75
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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76
presentiment
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| n.预感，预觉 | |
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77
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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78
potent
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| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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79
inane
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| adj.空虚的，愚蠢的，空洞的 | |
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80
lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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81
partially
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|
| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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82
grumbling
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|
| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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83
sparsely
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|
| adv.稀疏地；稀少地；不足地；贫乏地 | |
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84
mumbled
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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85
possessed
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|
| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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86
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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87
fumbled
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| （笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下 | |
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88
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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89
deity
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| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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90
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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91
whined
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| v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 )；哀诉，诉怨 | |
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92
baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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93
resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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94
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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95
furtive
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| adj.鬼鬼崇崇的，偷偷摸摸的 | |
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96
derive
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| v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自 | |
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97
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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98
forfeit
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| vt.丧失；n.罚金，罚款，没收物 | |
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99
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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100
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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101
sobbed
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| 哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说 | |
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102
perturbed
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| adj.烦燥不安的v.使（某人）烦恼，不安( perturb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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103
rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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104
expediency
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| n.适宜；方便；合算；利己 | |
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105
grovelling
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| adj.卑下的，奴颜婢膝的v.卑躬屈节，奴颜婢膝( grovel的现在分词 )；趴 | |
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106
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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107
juncture
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| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
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108
butting
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| 用头撞人（犯规动作） | |
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109
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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110
commendable
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| adj.值得称赞的 | |
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111
tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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112
backbone
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| n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气 | |
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113
pounced
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| v.突然袭击( pounce的过去式和过去分词 )；猛扑；一眼看出；抓住机会（进行抨击） | |
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114
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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115
meek
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| adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的 | |
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116
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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117
suppliant
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| adj.哀恳的；n.恳求者，哀求者 | |
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118
feudal
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| adj.封建的，封地的，领地的 | |
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119
barons
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| 男爵( baron的名词复数 )； 巨头； 大王； 大亨 | |
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120
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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121
disintegration
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| n.分散，解体 | |
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122
rehabilitation
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| n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位 | |
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123
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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124
dealers
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| n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者 | |
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125
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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126
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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127
patrimony
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| n.世袭财产，继承物 | |
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128
reprobate
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| n.无赖汉；堕落的人 | |
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129
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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130
harangue
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| n.慷慨冗长的训话，言辞激烈的讲话 | |
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131
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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132
prospective
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| adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的 | |
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133
gist
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| n.要旨；梗概 | |
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134
consonants
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| n.辅音，子音( consonant的名词复数 )；辅音字母 | |
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135
prodded
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| v.刺，戳( prod的过去式和过去分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳 | |
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136
nonentities
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| n.无足轻重的人( nonentity的名词复数 )；蝼蚁 | |
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137
surmise
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| v./n.猜想，推测 | |
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138
preposterous
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| adj.荒谬的，可笑的 | |
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139
contention
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| n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张 | |
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140
exalted
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| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
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141
ignoble
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| adj.不光彩的，卑鄙的；可耻的 | |
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142
incompetent
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| adj.无能力的，不能胜任的 | |
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143
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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144
deplored
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| v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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145
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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adjure
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| v.郑重敦促(恳请) | |
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speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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sentimental
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| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
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humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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151
ecstasies
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| 狂喜( ecstasy的名词复数 )； 出神； 入迷； 迷幻药 | |
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prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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153
ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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154
breweries
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| 酿造厂，啤酒厂( brewery的名词复数 ) | |
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155
cataracts
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| n.大瀑布( cataract的名词复数 )；白内障 | |
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156
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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157
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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158
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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penetrating
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| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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161
scuttling
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| n.船底穿孔，打开通海阀（沉船用）v.使船沉没( scuttle的现在分词 )；快跑，急走 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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morose
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| adj.脾气坏的，不高兴的 | |
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assassinated
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| v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏 | |
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165
baronesses
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| n.女男爵( baroness的名词复数 )；男爵夫人[寡妇] | |
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166
beholder
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| n.观看者，旁观者 | |
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swooping
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| 俯冲，猛冲( swoop的现在分词 ) | |
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168
proscribed
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| v.正式宣布（某事物）有危险或被禁止( proscribe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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169
fabrics
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| 织物( fabric的名词复数 )； 布； 构造； （建筑物的）结构（如墙、地面、屋顶）：质地 | |
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170
avalanche
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| n.雪崩，大量涌来 | |
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171
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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172
puissant
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| adj.强有力的 | |
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