"But I am Lady Branwin's daughter," said Audrey, softly, so that the crowd might not hear, "and they say that Lady Branwin is dead."
"Very sorry, miss," said the constable7, not answering directly, "but my orders are to admit no one."
Audrey's eyes began to glitter with ill-concealed anger, and Ralph hastily intervened.
"Who is in charge of this case, officer?"
"Then pass my card into him, and--"
"Are you a relative of the deceased, sir?"
"No. But I am engaged to Miss Branwin here, and she--"
"I'll send in the card," interrupted the policeman, quickly; then raised his voice to rebuke9 the crowd. "Keep back there; keep back!"
Audrey remained silent, holding her feelings well under, while Ralph rapidly scribbled10 her name on his card. The constable knocked at the door and gave the message to the policeman who opened it. Then the door was closed again, and the lovers remained on the step anxiously waiting to see what would come of their application. The mob of people whispered and pointed11, and looked askance at the young couple, evidently wondering why they were there. The position was highly unpleasant, and Audrey felt a great sense of relief when she was permitted to enter with her lover. In a moment they passed through the jealously-guarded door, and it was closed again the minute they were inside.
"Wait here, please," said the constable who received them. "Inspector Lanton is upstairs with Madame Coralie, and will be down shortly."
Audrey laid a detaining hand on his sleeve as he moved away. "Can you tell me if Lady Branwin--"
"I am not allowed to answer any questions, miss," he replied, and went away in a stolid12 manner, as though the business in hand were an everyday occurrence.
"Won't you sit down, darling?" whispered Ralph, tenderly. "You must keep up your strength, as there is much to be done."
"My poor mother!" Audrey sank down on to a stool with a gasp13. "Who could have killed her? How was she killed? When did the murder take place? Oh, it's too awful! Perhaps"--she looked pleadingly up into her lover's face--"perhaps it is not true."
"It is true, Miss Branwin," said a soft voice before Ralph could reply; and out of a near alcove14 came a pretty girl with red eyes and a tear-stained face. "It's quite true and very terrible."
"Who are you?" asked Audrey, lifting her white face. "How do you come to know my name?"
"I am Badoura, the forewoman of Madame Coralie," was the reply, "and I saw you yesterday when you came here with your mother. Poor Lady Branwin! It is awful to think that she should have been strangled in--"
"Strangled!" interrupted Audrey, with another gasp. "Who strangled her?"
"No one knows," said Badoura, shuddering15. "Madame found her dead in her bed when she went at seven this morning to see how she had passed the night. I heard her say that Lady Branwin had been strangled, and then she sent for the police at once. It's really dreadful," added the girl, mournfully, "as everything is upset, and we don't know what is going to happen. See here!" and she swept aside the pink silk curtain which was draped over the Moorish16 arch of the alcove whence she had emerged.
Here Audrey beheld17 the other assistants huddled18 together on the divan19, with tear-stained faces and terror-stricken looks. The catastrophe20 had disorganised the whole establishment, and the girls feared lest the scandal, which certainly would arise from the fact of the murder, might result in the closing of the shop. This was a very probable contingency21 indeed, and none of them could face with equanimity22 the dismal23 prospect24 of losing her employment. They had been driven like sheep into the alcove by the police, and waited developments with strained nerves. As yet not one of the three had been examined.
Badoura, having full possession of her senses, was the most composed, and seemed glad to find someone to talk to, less upset than her three friends, "It will ruin Madame's business," she wailed25.
"Please tell us exactly what happened," said Ralph, who was anxious to get at the facts of the case.
"There's nothing to tell, sir. Lady Branwin came with this young lady yesterday about five, and retired26 to a back bedroom on the ground floor almost immediately with Madame, who wished to see what could be done by way of treatment. Lady Branwin had not even made up her mind to stop; but after Madame had given her opinion she decided27 to remain for the night, and Madame told you, Miss Branwin, that such was the case, when--"
"When I called here on my way to the theatre," finished Audrey, whose face was colourless but wonderfully composed. "I remember. When did Madame Coralie last see my mother?"
"Shortly before eight o'clock, miss. She left her quite comfortable for the night after she had taken a light supper. We all went to bed about nine, as we were all so tired with a busy day. Then at seven this morning Madame came to me while I was tidying up the shop, and told me that Lady Branwin was dead. She could scarcely speak." Badoura paused for a moment, then added, as an after-thought: "The window was open."
"The window?" repeated Ralph, fastening his eyes on her face searchingly.
"The window of the back bedroom on the ground floor," explained the girl, readily. "It looks out on to a closed court, which has a high wall round it."
"Then you think that the assassin entered and left by the window?"
"I didn't say that, for I do not know," replied Badoura, quickly. "All Madame said was that the bedroom window was open, although she had closed it on the previous night. But even if the assassin did get into the room in that way, I don't see how he could leave the court. The door in the wall of the court is locked, and the key is lost."
"He could climb over the wall, perhaps?" suggested Audrey, thoughtfully.
"It's a difficult, smooth wall to climb, miss."
"What is on the other side of the wall?" asked Shawe, sharply.
"Then if the assassin could get over the wall, he could easily escape?"
"Oh, yes, sir; but the wall is difficult to climb."
"Is there no other entrance into the court?"
"Only from the house. There is a door which is kept locked, as no one ever goes into the court at the back. Besides, no one was in the house last night but myself, the three girls, Madame, Lady Branwin and a lady customer."
"What is her name?"
"I can't tell you," said Badoura, hesitating. "Only Madame knows; as many ladies don't care to give their names, save to Madame, when under treatment."
"Tell me," said Ralph, waiving29 this point for the time being, "you call the assassin 'he.' What reason have you to believe that a man strangled Lady Branwin?"
Badoura looked surprised. "I only think so, sir, as, of course, I know nothing. But surely, sir, only a man would have the strength to strangle?"
Audrey shook her head. "A strong woman could do that also. Especially as my mother was stout30 and rather apoplectic31. Very little pressure on her throat would have killed her, I am certain. And then--"
Here Audrey's conjectures32 were cut short by the entrance of a tall, soldierly-looking man in uniform. His eyes were grey and steady, and he looked sharply at the young couple, who rose to meet him. It was Lanton.
"Miss Branwin and Mr. Ralph Shawe," said the inspector, glancing at the barrister's card, which he held in his hand. "How is it that you are here?"
"Let me explain," said Audrey, stopping her lover from speaking. "I met Mr. Shawe in Kensington Gardens this morning early, as we are engaged, and called with him to see how my mother was this morning. We learnt--" Her face worked with emotion, and she sat down again.
"I understand--I understand," said Lanton, comprehending her feelings. "It is very sad, Miss Branwin, and must have been a great shock to you."
"Is my mother really dead?"
"Yes," answered the inspector, promptly33. "The doctor who examined the body declares that she was strangled at eight o'clock last night--that is, a few minutes before or after. If you would like to see the body--"
"No, no," interposed Ralph, hurriedly. "Miss Branwin is not strong enough to--"
Audrey rose to her feet, and braced34 herself with an effort. "Yes, I am," she declared. "It is necessary for me to see my poor mother's remains35. Take me to the room, Mr. Inspector."
"You are a brave young lady," muttered the officer, and led the way out of the shop without further comment.
The trio--for Shawe naturally went with Audrey--walked along a narrow corridor, which ran the whole length of the building. It divided the shop, which likewise stretched from wall to wall of the house, from four bedrooms, the windows of which looked out on to the closed court mentioned by Badoura. At the end of the passage, to the right--looking from the shop--was a door which led into a right-of-way opening on to Walpole Lane. But this right-of-way did not afford any access to the court, its upper-end being blocked by a high brick wall with broken glass on top. The only two ways of gaining admittance to the court were by the house-door, and the door in the wall of the court itself. These, as Badoura had said, and as Inspector Lanton had ascertained36 from Madame Coralie, were always kept locked. The court was narrow and paved with flagstones, and had a disused air, which was very natural since no one ever entered it.
Lanton conducted the couple into one of the bedrooms, and here they found Madame Coralie in her quaint6 Turkish dress, and wearing the filmy black yashmak. She was seated near the door, apparently37 guarding the dead from the prying38 curiosity of anyone in the house. The room was of no great size, but was luxuriously39 furnished in green and silver. There was only one window, draped with curtains, which looked out on to the court, and the lower sash of this was wide open. In a far corner, with its head against the inner wall, stood the bed, and on this, under a sheet, the dead woman was stiffly stretched out. Owing to the absence of sunlight and the presence of the dead, there was a chill feeling in the room, and Audrey shivered.
"Can you go through with it?" asked Ralph, anxiously.
"Yes, I must," she replied, in a low tone; and walking towards the bed she lifted the sheet.
Madame Coralie had risen, and with tightly-clasped hands watched the girl's every action. Her black eyes peering above the yashmak were less hard, and the red rims40 round them showed that she had been weeping. She had every reason to, for what had happened might ruin her trade.
"Is it Lady Branwin?" asked Lanton, softly, since Audrey did not speak.
"Yes," she replied, with a sigh, and apparently could scarcely stand. On seeing this, Ralph slipped his arm round her waist. "I won't give way," she added firmly, and withdrew from his support. "Yes, Mr. Inspector, this is my mother's body. I see from the black marks on her neck that she has been strangled. Who murdered her, and why?"
Madame Coralie replied. "Ah, my dear young lady," she said, in a choking voice, "that is what we wish to find out. It will ruin my business."
"I don't see that," said Lanton, quietly; "you have always conducted your business respectably."
"It's the first time that I have ever had the police in my house," murmured Madame Coralie, in despair. "But a murder!--oh, what lady will ever come and pass the night here for treatment, when she may be murdered? I wish I knew the villain41 who killed poor Lady Branwin"--Madame Coralie shook her fist in the air--"I should have him hanged."
"We'll hunt him down yet," said Lanton, confidentially42.
"Do you think that the assassin is a man?" asked Ralph, putting the same question to the inspector as he had done to Badoura.
Lanton looked taken aback. "In the absence of all proof, I believe the assassin to be a man--unless Lady Branwin had a woman enemy."
"Mamma had no enemies at all," said Audrey, in a firm voice. "Madame, where were you when my mother was murdered?"
"Upstairs in the still-room," said the woman, quietly. "At about eight o'clock the murder took place, according to the doctor. I was with my girls--that is, Badoura, Parizade and Zobeide were in the still-room, and Peri Banou in the shop. My husband was also there. He went away, and then I came down to tell you at the door that Lady Branwin would stop for the night."
"She must have been dead then," muttered Audrey, shivering. "You heard no noise, or--"
"I heard nothing, neither did my husband or Badoura. I left Lady Branwin quite comfortable shortly before eight o'clock. The assassin must have opened the window and murdered her almost immediately after I left."
"But why was she murdered?" asked Shawe, insistently43.
"I can't say, sir, no more than I can say how the assassin managed to enter the court. Why," added Madame Coralie, quickly, "so sure am I that the court cannot be entered that the windows of the bedrooms are never fastened. It would, therefore, not be difficult for the assassin to enter. I expect that he found Lady Branwin asleep, and--"
"So quickly after you left?" interrupted the inspector.
"I gave Lady Branwin a sleeping-draught," explained Madame Coralie, "as her nerves were bad and she could not rest. For the treatment which I intended to give her it was necessary that her nerves should be in better order."
Audrey nodded. "I remember," she said, gravely, "mamma was very much agitated44 when she came here, and very restless."
"Why?" asked Lanton, sharply.
"On account of her desire for this treatment, which she feared Madame Coralie would not give her. Mamma explained that to me. Then, of course, there were the diamonds--oh!"--Audrey started--"where are the diamonds?"
Inspector Lanton pricked45 up his ears, and looked at Madame Coralie. "The diamonds!" he repeated. "Where are the diamonds?"
Madame Coralie started back and wrung46 her hands. "Oh, here is another trouble--another trouble!" she wailed. "I never knew that Lady Branwin brought any diamonds. Are you sure--are you certain?"
"Quite sure," said Audrey, excitedly. "Mamma had two thousand pounds' worth of diamonds in a red morocco bag. She intended to take them to a jeweller and get them reset47, but as she stopped here she took the bag out of the motor and carried it into this house with her."
"I saw the red bag," said Madame Coralie, much agitated, "but I swear that I did not know that it contained diamonds. Lady Branwin did not mention what the bag contained. I paid no attention to it."
"Is the bag in this room?" asked Lanton, looking round.
"It must be--it must be," said Madame Coralie, beginning to search. "She had such a bag with her. I remember that; but I did not notice what she did with it. Why should I, not knowing it contained diamonds?"
A thorough search was made, but without result. Audrey again described the bag, and mentioned that her mother had attached a small label to it, so that its owner should be known if it were lost. Inspector Lanton seized on the last word: "Did she expect it to be lost?"
"No; certainly not. She intended, I understood from her own lips, to take the diamonds to the jeweller; but, because she remained here, she took the bag in with her. It must be somewhere."
"In the hands of the assassin, probably," remarked Shawe, nodding.
"Yes, I do, since the diamonds are missing. Else why should Lady Branwin, who had no enemies, be strangled? The assassin must have known that she had the jewels with her, and must have climbed the wall of the court to gain entrance by the window. Are there no footmarks?" "I have not searched the court," muttered Lanton, doubtfully; "but this mention of the diamonds puts a different complexion49 on the case." He paused for a moment, then scrambled50 through the window, and crossed the court. At the foot of the wall, near the closed door, he picked up a scrap51 of paper. "It's the label," he called out triumphantly52. "Evidently the string became loose, and it fell off while the thief was making off with his plunder53." He then turned to examine the door, and uttered a cry as he peered down to look through the key-hole. "This door has been opened," he declared loudly; "the key is in the lock on the outside."
"Ah!" said Ralph, with satisfaction, "now we are on the trail of the assassin."
"Catch him!" screamed Madame Coralie, fiercely. "Catch him and hang him!"
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1
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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constable
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| n.(英国)警察，警官 | |
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inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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scribbled
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| v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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stolid
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| adj.无动于衷的，感情麻木的 | |
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gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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alcove
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| n.凹室 | |
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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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moorish
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| adj.沼地的，荒野的，生[住]在沼地的 | |
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beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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divan
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| n.长沙发；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集 | |
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catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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contingency
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| n.意外事件，可能性 | |
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equanimity
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| n.沉着，镇定 | |
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dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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wailed
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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alley
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| n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路 | |
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waiving
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| v.宣布放弃( waive的现在分词 )；搁置；推迟；放弃（权利、要求等） | |
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apoplectic
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| adj.中风的；愤怒的；n.中风患者 | |
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conjectures
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| 推测，猜想( conjecture的名词复数 ) | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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braced
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| adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来 | |
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35
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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prying
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| adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开 | |
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luxuriously
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| adv.奢侈地，豪华地 | |
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rims
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| n.（圆形物体的）边( rim的名词复数 )；缘；轮辋；轮圈 | |
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41
villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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confidentially
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| ad.秘密地，悄悄地 | |
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insistently
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| ad.坚持地 | |
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agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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pricked
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| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
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46
wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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47
reset
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| v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物 | |
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48
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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49
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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50
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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51
scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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52
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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53
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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