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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: The White Tablet
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 Within the minute that case was to be immeasurably strengthened. An exclamation1 broke from Hanaud. He sprang to his feet and turned on the light of a green-shaded reading lamp, which stood upon the ledge2 of the bureau. He was holding now under the light a small drawer, which he had removed from the front of the bureau. Very gingerly he lifted some little thing out of it, something that looked like a badge that men wear in their buttonholes. He laid it down upon the blotting3 paper; and in that room of death laughed harshly.
 
He beckoned4 to Jim.
 
"Come and look!"
 
What Jim saw was a thin, small, barbed iron dart6, with an iron stem. He had no need to ask its nature, for he had seen its likeness7 that morning in the Treatise8 of the Edinburgh Professor. This was the actual head of Simon Harlowe's poison-arrow.
 
"You have found it!" said Jim in a voice that shook.
 
"Yes."
 
Hanaud gave it a little push, and said thoughtfully:
 
"A negro thousands of miles away sits outside his hut in the Kombe country and pounds up his poison seed and mixes it with red clay, and smears9 it thick and slab11 over the shaft12 of his fine new arrow, and waits for his enemy. But his enemy does not come. So he barters13 it, or gives it to his white friend the trader on the Shire river. And the trader brings it home and gives it to Simon Harlowe of the Maison Crenelle. And Simon Harlowe lends it to a professor in Edinburgh, who writes about it in a printed book and sends it back again. And in the end, after all its travels, it comes to the tenement14 of Jean Cladel in a slum of Dijon, and is made ready in a new way to do its deadly work."
 
For how much longer Hanaud would have moralised over the arrow in this deplorable way, no man can tell. Happily Jim Frobisher was reprieved15 from listening to him by the shutting of a door below and the noise of voices in the passage.
 
"The Commissary!" said Hanaud, and he went quickly down the stairs.
 
Jim heard him speaking in a low tone for quite a long while, and no doubt was explaining the position of affairs. For when he brought the Commissary and the doctor up into the room he introduced Jim as one about whom they already knew.
 
"This is that Monsieur Frobisher," he said.
 
The Commissary, a younger and more vivacious16 man than Girardot, bowed briskly to Jim and looked towards the contorted figure of Jean Cladel.
 
Even he could not restrain a little gesture of repulsion. He clacked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.
 
"He is not pretty, that one!" he said. "Most certainly he is not pretty."
 
Hanaud crossed again to the bureau and carefully folded the dart around with paper.
 
"With your permission, Monsieur," he said ceremoniously to the Commissary, "I shall take this with me. I will be responsible for it." He put it away in his pocket and looked at the doctor, who was stooping by the side of Jean Cladel. "I do not wish to interfere17, but I should be glad to have a copy of the medical report. I think that it might help me. I think it will be found that this murder was committed in a way peculiar18 to one man."
 
"Certainly you shall have a copy of the report, Monsieur Hanaud," replied the young Commissary in a police and formal voice.
 
Hanaud laid a hand on Jim's arm.
 
"We are in the way, my friend. Oh, yes, in spite of Monsieur le Commissaire's friendly protestations. This is not our affair. Let us go!" He conducted Jim to the door and turned about. "I do not wish to interfere," he repeated, "but it is possible that the shutters19 and the window will bear the traces of the murderer's fingers. I don't think it probable, for that animal had taken his precautions. But it is possible, for he left in a great hurry."
 
The Commissary was overwhelmed with gratitude20.
 
"Most certainly we will give our attention to the shutters and the window-sill."
 
"A copy of the finger-prints, if any are found?" Hanaud suggested.
 
"Shall be at Monsieur Hanaud's disposal as early as possible," the Commissary agreed.
 
Jim experienced a pang21 of regret that Monsieur Bex was not present at the little exchange of civilities. The Commissary and Hanaud were so careful not to tread upon one another's toes and so politely determined22 that their own should not be trodden upon. Monsieur Bex could not but have revelled23 in the correctness of their deportment.
 
Hanaud and Frobisher went downstairs into the street The neighbourhood had not been aroused. A couple of sergents-de-ville stood in front of the door. The street of Gambetta was still asleep and indifferent to the crime which had taken place in one of its least respectable houses.
 
"I shall go to the Prefecture," said Hanaud. "They have given me a little office there with a sofa. I want to put away the arrow head before I go to my hotel."
 
"I shall come with you," said Jim. "It will be a relief to walk for a little in the fresh air, after that room."
 
The Prefecture lay the better part of a mile away across the city. Hanaud set off at a great pace, and reaching the building conducted Jim into an office with a safe set against the wall.
 
"Will you sit down for a moment? And smoke, please," he said.
 
He was in a mood of such deep dejection; he was so changed from his mercurial24 self; that only now did Jim Frobisher understand the great store he had set upon his interview with Jean Cladel. He unlocked the safe and brought over to the table a few envelopes of different sizes, the copy of the Treatise and his green file. He seated himself in front of Jim and began to open his envelopes and range their contents in a row, when the door was opened and a gendarme25 saluted26 and advanced. He carried a paper in his hand.
 
"A reply came over the telephone from Paris at nine o'clock to-night, Monsieur Hanaud. They say that this may be the name of the firm you want. It was established in the Rue27 de Batignolles, but it ceased to exist seven years ago."
 
"Yes, that would have happened," Hanaud answered glumly28, as he took the paper. He read what was written upon it. "Yes—yes. That's it. Not a doubt."
 
He took an envelope from a rack upon the table and put the paper inside it and stuck down the flap. On the front of the envelope, Jim saw him write an illuminating29 word. "Address."
 
Then he looked at Jim with smouldering eyes.
 
"There is a fatality30 in all this," he cried. "We become more and more certain that murder was committed and how it was committed. We get a glimpse of possible reasons why. But we are never an inch nearer to evidence—real convincing evidence—who committed it. Fatality? I am a fool to use such words. It's keen wits and audacity31 and nerve that stop us at the end of each lane and make an idiot of me!"
 
He struck a match viciously and lit a cigarette. Frobisher made an effort to console him.
 
"Yes, but it's the keen wits and the audacity and the nerve of more than one person."
 
Hanaud glanced at Frobisher sharply.
 
"Explain, my friend."
 
"I have been thinking over it ever since we left the street of Gambetta. I no longer doubt that Mrs. Harlowe was murdered in the Maison Crenelle. It is impossible to doubt it. But her murder was part of the activities of a gang. Else how comes it that Jean Cladel was murdered too to-night?"
 
A smile drove for a moment the gloom from Hanaud's face.
 
"Yes. You have been quite fifteen minutes in the bull-ring," he said.
 
"Then you agree with me?"
 
"Yes!" But Hanaud's gloom had returned. "But we can't lay our hands upon the gang. We are losing time, and I am afraid that we have no time to lose." Hanaud shivered like a man suddenly chilled. "Yes, I am very troubled now. I am very—frightened."
 
His fear peered out of him and entered into Frobisher. Frobisher did not understand it, he had no clue to what it was that Hanaud feared, but sitting in that brightly-lit office in the silent building, he was conscious of evil presences thronging32 about the pair of them, presences grotesque33 and malevolent34 such as some old craftsman35 of Dijon might have carved on the pillars of a cathedral He, too, shivered.
 
"Let us see, now!" said Hanaud.
 
He took the end of the arrow shaft from one envelope, and the barb5 from his pocket, and fitted them together. The iron barb was loose now because the hole to receive it at the top of the arrow shaft had been widened to take a nib36. But the spoke37 was just about the right length. He laid the arrow down upon the table, and opened his green file. A small square envelope, such as chemists use, attracted Jim's notice. He took it up. It seemed empty, but as he shook it out, a square tablet of some hard white substance rolled on to the table. It was soiled with dust, and there was a smear10 of green upon it; and as Jim turned it over, he noticed a cut or crack in its surface, as though something sharp had struck it.
 
"What in the world has this to do with the affair?" he asked.
 
Hanaud looked up from his file. He reached out his hand swiftly to take the tablet away from Jim, and drew his hand in again.
 
"A good deal perhaps. Perhaps nothing," he said gravely. "But it is interesting—that tablet. I shall know more about it to-morrow."
 
Jim could not for the life of him remember any occasion which had brought this tablet into notice. It certainly had not been discovered in Jean Cladel's house, for it was already there in the safe in the office. Jim had noticed the little square envelope as Hanaud fetched it out of the safe. The tablet looked as if it had been picked up from the road like Monsieur Bex's famous match-box. Or—yes, there was that smear of green—from the grass. Jim sat up straight in his chair. They had all been together in the garden this morning. Hanaud, himself, Betty and Ann Upcott. But at that point Frobisher's conjectures38 halted. Neither his memory nor deduction39 could connect that tablet with the half-hour the four of them had passed in the shade of the sycamores. The only thing of which he was quite sure was the great importance which Hanaud attached to it. For all the time that he handled and examined it Hanaud's eyes never left him, never once. They followed each little movement of finger tip and thumb with an extraordinary alertness, and when Jim at last tilted40 it off his palm back into its little envelope, the detective undoubtedly41 drew a breath of relief.
 
Jim Frobisher laughed good-humouredly. He was getting to know his man. He did not invite any "Aha's" and "Oho's" by vain questionings. He leaned across the table and took up his own memorandum42 which Hanaud had just laid aside out of his file. He laid it on the table in front of him and added two new questions to those which he had already written out. Thus:
 
(5) What was the exact message telephoned from Paris to the Prefecture and hidden away in an envelope marked by Hanaud: "Address"?
 
(6) When and where and why was the white tablet picked up, and what, in the name of all the saints, does it mean?
 
 
 
With another laugh Frobisher tossed the memorandum back to Hanaud. Hanaud, however, read them slowly and thoughtfully. "I had hoped to answer all your questions to-night," he said dispiritedly. "But you see! We break down at every corner, and the question must wait."
 
He was fitting methodically the memorandum back into the file when a look of extreme surprise came over Frobisher's face. He pointed43 a finger at the file.
 
"That telegram!"
 
There was a telegram pinned to the three anonymous44 letters which Hanaud had in the file—the two which Hanaud had shown to Frobisher in Paris and the third which Betty Harlowe had given to him that very afternoon. And the telegram was pieced together by two strips of stamp-paper in a cross.
 
"That's our telegram. The telegram sent to my firm by Miss Harlowe on Monday—yes, by George, this last Monday."
 
It quite took Jim's breath away, so crowded had his days been with fears and reliefs, excitements and doubts, discoveries and disappointments, to realise that this was only the Friday night; that at so recent a date as Wednesday he had never seen or spoken with Betty Harlowe. "The telegram announcing to us in London that you were engaged upon the case."
 
Hanaud nodded in assent45.
 
"Yes. You gave it to me."
 
"And you tore it up."
 
"I did. But I picked it out of the waste-paper basket afterwards and stuck it together." Hanaud explained, in no wise disconcerted by Jim Frobisher's attack of perspicacity46. "I meant to make some trouble here with the Police for letting out the secret. I am very glad now that I did pick it out. You yourself must have realised its importance the very next morning before I even arrived at the Maison Crenelle, when you told Mademoiselle that you had shown it to me."
 
Jim cast his memory back. He had a passion for precision and exactness which was very proper in one of his profession.
 
"It was not until you came that I learnt Miss Harlowe had the news by an anonymous letter," he said.
 
"Well, that doesn't matter," Hanaud interposed a trifle quickly. "The point of importance to me is that when the case is done with, and I have a little time to devote to these letters, the telegram may be of value."
 
"Yes, I see," said Jim. "I see that," he repeated, and he shifted uncomfortably in his chair; and opened his mouth and closed it again; and remained suspended between speech and silence, whilst Hanaud read through his file and contemplated47 his exhibits and found no hope in them.
 
"They lead me nowhere!" he cried violently; and Jim Frobisher made up his mind.
 
"Monsieur Hanaud, you do not share your thoughts with me," he said rather formally, "but I will deal with you in a better way; apart from this crime in the Maison Crenelle, you have the mystery of these anonymous letters to solve. I can help you to this extent. Another of them has been received."
 
"When?"
 
"To-night, whilst we sat at dinner."
 
"By whom?"
 
"Ann Upcott."
 
"What!"
 
Hanaud was out of his chair with a cry, towering up, his face white as the walls of the room, his eyes burning upon Frobisher. Never could news have been so unexpected, so startling.
 
"You are sure?" he asked.
 
"Quite. It came by the evening post—with others. Gaston brought them into the dining-room. There was one for me from my firm in London, a couple for Betty, and this one for Ann Upcott. She opened it with a frown, as though she did not know from whom it came. I saw it as she unfolded it. It was on the same common paper—typewritten in the same way—with no address at the head of it. She gasped48 as she looked at it, and then she read it again. And then with a smile she folded it and put it away."
 
"With a smile?" Hanaud insisted.
 
"Yes. She was pleased. The colour came into her face. The distress49 went out of it."
 
"She didn't show it to you, then?"
 
"No."
 
"Nor to Mademoiselle Harlowe?"
 
"No."
 
"But she was pleased, eh?" It seemed that to Hanaud this was the most extraordinary feature of the whole business. "Did she say anything?"
 
"Yes," answered Jim. "She said 'He has been always right, hasn't he?'"
 
"She said that! 'He has been always right, hasn't he?'" Hanaud slowly resumed his seat, and sat like a man turned into stone. He looked up in a little while.
 
"What happened then?" he asked.
 
"Nothing until dinner was over. Then she picked up her letter and beckoned with her head to Miss Betty, who said to me: 'We shall have to leave you to take your coffee alone.' They went across the hall to Betty's room. The treasure-room. I was a little nettled50. Ever since I have been in Dijon one person after another has pushed me into a corner with orders to keep quiet and not interfere. So I came to find you at the Grande Taverne."
 
At another moment Jim's eruption51 of injured vanity would have provoked Hanaud to one of his lamentable52 exhibitions, but now he did not notice it at all.
 
"They went away to talk that letter over together," said Hanaud. "And that young lady was pleased, she who was so distressed53 this afternoon. A way out, then!" Hanaud was discussing his problem with himself, his eyes upon the table. "For once the Scourge54 is kind? I wonder! It baffles me!" He rose to his feet and walked once or twice across the room. "Yes, I the old bull of a hundred corridas, I, Hanaud, am baffled!"
 
He was not posturing55 now. He was frankly56 and simply amazed that he could be so utterly57 at a loss. Then, with a swift change of mood, he came back to the table.
 
"Meanwhile, Monsieur, until I can explain this strange new incident to myself, I beg of you your help," he pleaded very earnestly and even very humbly58. Fear had returned to his eyes and his voice. He was disturbed beyond Jim's comprehension. "There is nothing more important. I want you—how shall I put it so that I may persuade you? I want you to stay as much as you can in the Maison Crenelle—to—yes—to keep a little watch on this pretty Ann Upcott, to——"
 
He got no further with his proposal. Jim Frobisher interrupted him in a very passion of anger.
 
"No, no, I won't," he cried. "You go much too far, Monsieur. I won't be your spy. I am not here for that. I am here for my client. As for Ann Upcott, she is my countrywoman. I will not help you against her. So help me God, I won't!"
 
Hanaud looked across the table at the flushed and angry face of his "junior colleague," who now resigned his office and, without parley59, accepted his defeat.
 
"I don't blame you," he answered quietly. "I could, indeed, hope for no other reply. I must be quick, that's all. I must be very quick!"
 
Frobisher's anger fell away from him like a cloak one drops. He saw Hanaud sitting over against him with a white, desperately60 troubled face and eyes in which there shone unmistakeably some gleam of terror.
 
"Tell me!" he cried in an exasperation61. "Be frank with me for once! Is Ann Upcott guilty? She's not alone, of course, anyway. There's a gang. We're agreed upon that. Waberski's one of them, of course? Is Ann Upcott another? Do you believe it?"
 
Hanaud slowly put his exhibits together. There was a struggle going on within him. The strain of the night had told upon them both, and he was tempted62 for once to make a confidant, tempted intolerably. On the other hand, Jim Frobisher read in him all the traditions of his service; to wait upon facts, not to utter suspicions; to be fair. It was not until he had locked everything away again in the safe that Hanaud yielded to the temptation. And even then he could not bring himself to be direct.
 
"You want to know what I believe of Ann Upcott?" he cried reluctantly, as though the words were torn from him. "Go to-morrow to the Church of Notre Dame63 and look at the façade. There, since you are not blind, you will see."
 
He would say no more; that was clear. Nay64, he stood moodily65 before Frobisher, already regretting that he had said so much. Frobisher picked up his hat and stick.
 
"Thank you," he said. "Good night."
 
Hanaud let him go to the door. Then he said:
 
"You are free to-morrow. I shall not go to the Maison Crenelle. Have you any plans?"
 
"Yes. I am to be taken for a motor-drive round the neighbourhood."
 
"Yes. It is worth while," Hanaud answered listlessly. "But remember to telephone to me before you go. I shall be here. I will tell you if I have any news. Good night."
 
Jim Frobisher left him standing66 in the middle of the room. Before he had closed the door Hanaud had forgotten his presence. For he was saying to himself over and over again, almost with an accent of despair: "I must be quick! I must be very quick!"
 
 
 
Frobisher walked briskly down to the Place Ernest Renan and the Rue de la Liberté, dwelling67 upon Hanaud's injunction to examine the façade of Notre Dame. He must keep that in mind and obey it in the morning. But that night was not yet over for him.
 
As he reached the mouth of the little street of Charles-Robert he heard a light, quick step a little way behind him—a step that seemed familiar. So when he turned into the street he sauntered and looked round. He saw a tall man cross the entrance of the street very quickly and disappear between, the houses on the opposite side. The man paused for a second under the light of a street lamp at the angle of the street, and Jim could have sworn that it was Hanaud. There were no hotels, no lodgings68 in this quarter of the city. It was a quarter of private houses. What was Hanaud seeking there?
 
Speculating upon this new question, he forgot the façade of Notre Dame; and upon his arrival at the Maison Crenelle a little incident occurred which made the probability that he would soon remember it remote. He let himself into the house with a latchkey which had been given to him, and turned on the light in the hall by means of a switch at the side of the door. He crossed the hall to the foot of the stairs, and was about to turn off the light, using the switch there to which Ann Upcott had referred, when the door of the treasure-room opened. Betty appeared in the doorway69.
 
"You are still up?" he said in a low voice, half pleased to find her still afoot and half regretful that she was losing her hours of sleep.
 
"Yes," and slowly her face softened70 to a smile. "I waited up for my lodger71."
 
She held the door open, and he followed her back into the room.
 
"Let me look at you," she said, and having looked, she added: "Jim, something has happened to-night."
 
Jim nodded.
 
"What?" she asked.
 
"Let it wait till to-morrow, Betty!"
 
Betty smiled no longer. The light died out of her dark, haunting eyes. Lassitude and distress veiled them.
 
"Something terrible, then?" she said in a whisper.
 
"Yes," and she stretched out a hand to the back of a chair and steadied herself.
 
"Please tell me, now, Jim! I shall not sleep to-night unless you do; and oh, I am so tired!"
 
There was so deep a longing72 in her voice, so utter a weariness in the pose of her young body that Jim could not but yield.
 
"I'll tell you, Betty," he said gently. "Hanaud and I went to find Jean Cladel to-night. We found him dead. He had been murdered—cruelly."
 
Betty moaned and swayed upon her feet. She would have fallen had not Jim caught her in his arms.
 
"Betty!" he cried.
 
Betty buried her face upon his shoulder. He could feel the heave of her bosom73 against his heart.
 
"It's appalling74!" she moaned. "Jean Cladel! ... No one ever had heard of him till this morning ... and now he's swept into this horror—like the rest of us! Oh, where will it end?"
 
Jim placed her in a chair and dropped on his knees beside her.
 
She was sobbing75 now, and he tried to lift her face up to his.
 
"My dear!" he whispered.
 
But she would not raise her head.
 
"No," she said in a stifled76 voice, "no," and she pressed her face deeper into the crook77 of his shoulder and clung to him with desperate hands.
 
"Betty!" he repeated, "I am so sorry.... But it'll all come right. I'm sure it will. Oh, Betty!" And whilst he spoke he cursed himself for the banality78 of his words. Why couldn't he find some ideas that were really fine with which to comfort her? Something better than these stupid commonplaces of "I am sorry" and "It will all straighten out"? But he couldn't, and it seemed that there was no necessity that he should. For her arms crept round his neck and held him close.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 exclamation onBxZ     
n.感叹号,惊呼,惊叹词
参考例句:
  • He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
  • The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号,以引起读者的注意。
2 ledge o1Mxk     
n.壁架,架状突出物;岩架,岩礁
参考例句:
  • They paid out the line to lower him to the ledge.他们放出绳子使他降到那块岩石的突出部分。
  • Suddenly he struck his toe on a rocky ledge and fell.突然他的脚趾绊在一块突出的岩石上,摔倒了。
3 blotting 82f88882eee24a4d34af56be69fee506     
吸墨水纸
参考例句:
  • Water will permeate blotting paper. 水能渗透吸水纸。
  • One dab with blotting-paper and the ink was dry. 用吸墨纸轻轻按了一下,墨水就乾了。
4 beckoned b70f83e57673dfe30be1c577dd8520bc     
v.(用头或手的动作)示意,召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He beckoned to the waiter to bring the bill. 他招手示意服务生把账单送过来。
  • The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over. 那个坐在角落里的人向我招手让我过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 barb kuXzG     
n.(鱼钩等的)倒钩,倒刺
参考例句:
  • The barb of his wit made us wince.他那锋芒毕露的机智使我们退避三舍。
  • A fish hook has a barb to prevent the fish from escaping after being hooked.鱼钩上都有一个倒钩以防上了钩的鱼逃走。
6 dart oydxK     
v.猛冲,投掷;n.飞镖,猛冲
参考例句:
  • The child made a sudden dart across the road.那小孩突然冲过马路。
  • Markov died after being struck by a poison dart.马尔科夫身中毒镖而亡。
7 likeness P1txX     
n.相像,相似(之处)
参考例句:
  • I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
  • She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。
8 treatise rpWyx     
n.专著;(专题)论文
参考例句:
  • The doctor wrote a treatise on alcoholism.那位医生写了一篇关于酗酒问题的论文。
  • This is not a treatise on statistical theory.这不是一篇有关统计理论的论文。
9 smears ff795c29bb653b3db2c08e7c1b20f633     
污迹( smear的名词复数 ); 污斑; (显微镜的)涂片; 诽谤
参考例句:
  • His evidence was a blend of smears, half truths and downright lies. 他的证词里掺杂着诽谤、部份的事实和彻头彻尾的谎言。
  • Anything written with a soft pencil smears easily. 用软铅笔写成的东西容易污成一片。
10 smear 6EmyX     
v.涂抹;诽谤,玷污;n.污点;诽谤,污蔑
参考例句:
  • He has been spreading false stories in an attempt to smear us.他一直在散布谎言企图诽谤我们。
  • There's a smear on your shirt.你衬衫上有个污点。
11 slab BTKz3     
n.平板,厚的切片;v.切成厚板,以平板盖上
参考例句:
  • This heavy slab of oak now stood between the bomb and Hitler.这时笨重的橡木厚板就横在炸弹和希特勒之间了。
  • The monument consists of two vertical pillars supporting a horizontal slab.这座纪念碑由两根垂直的柱体构成,它们共同支撑着一块平板。
12 shaft YEtzp     
n.(工具的)柄,杆状物
参考例句:
  • He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
  • This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。
13 barters 548806c4429f9e069ed7d988dcd7f74d     
n.物物交换,易货( barter的名词复数 )v.作物物交换,以货换货( barter的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
14 tenement Egqzd5     
n.公寓;房屋
参考例句:
  • They live in a tenement.他们住在廉价公寓里。
  • She felt very smug in a tenement yard like this.就是在个这样的杂院里,她觉得很得意。
15 reprieved 0584c4b1a4d09db1e4f8ea95691f7353     
v.缓期执行(死刑)( reprieve的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • 70 jobs have been reprieved until next April. 有70个职位暂时保留到明年四月份。
  • We were reprieved from the danger for a time. 我们暂免危险。 来自辞典例句
16 vivacious Dp7yI     
adj.活泼的,快活的
参考例句:
  • She is an artless,vivacious girl.她是一个天真活泼的女孩。
  • The picture has a vivacious artistic conception.这幅画气韵生动。
17 interfere b5lx0     
v.(in)干涉,干预;(with)妨碍,打扰
参考例句:
  • If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话,可能弊多利少。
  • When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件,棘手的事情就来了。
18 peculiar cinyo     
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的
参考例句:
  • He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
  • He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。
19 shutters 74d48a88b636ca064333022eb3458e1f     
百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 ); (照相机的)快门
参考例句:
  • The shop-front is fitted with rolling shutters. 那商店的店门装有卷门。
  • The shutters thumped the wall in the wind. 在风中百叶窗砰砰地碰在墙上。
20 gratitude p6wyS     
adj.感激,感谢
参考例句:
  • I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
  • She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。
21 pang OKixL     
n.剧痛,悲痛,苦闷
参考例句:
  • She experienced a sharp pang of disappointment.她经历了失望的巨大痛苦。
  • She was beginning to know the pang of disappointed love.她开始尝到了失恋的痛苦。
22 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的;有决心的
参考例句:
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
23 revelled 3945e33567182dd7cea0e01a208cc70f     
v.作乐( revel的过去式和过去分词 );狂欢;着迷;陶醉
参考例句:
  • The foreign guests revelled in the scenery of the lake. 外宾们十分喜爱湖上的景色。 来自辞典例句
  • He revelled in those moments of idleness stolen from his work. 他喜爱学习之余的闲暇时刻。 来自辞典例句
24 mercurial yCnxD     
adj.善变的,活泼的
参考例句:
  • He was of a mercurial temperament and therefore unpredictable.他是个反复无常的人,因此对他的行为无法预言。
  • Our desires and aversions are mercurial rulers.我们的欲望与嫌恶是变化无常的统治者。
25 gendarme DlayC     
n.宪兵
参考例句:
  • A gendarme was crossing the court.一个宪兵正在院子里踱步。
  • While he was at work,a gendarme passed,observed him,and demanded his papers.正在他工作时,有个警察走过,注意到他,便向他要证件。
26 saluted 1a86aa8dabc06746471537634e1a215f     
v.欢迎,致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 );赞扬,赞颂
参考例句:
  • The sergeant stood to attention and saluted. 中士立正敬礼。
  • He saluted his friends with a wave of the hand. 他挥手向他的朋友致意。 来自《简明英汉词典》
27 rue 8DGy6     
n.懊悔,芸香,后悔;v.后悔,悲伤,懊悔
参考例句:
  • You'll rue having failed in the examination.你会悔恨考试失败。
  • You're going to rue this the longest day that you live.你要终身悔恨不尽呢。
28 glumly glumly     
adv.忧郁地,闷闷不乐地;阴郁地
参考例句:
  • He stared at it glumly, and soon became lost in thought. 他惘然沉入了瞑想。 来自子夜部分
  • The President sat glumly rubbing his upper molar, saying nothing. 总统愁眉苦脸地坐在那里,磨着他的上牙,一句话也没有说。 来自辞典例句
29 illuminating IqWzgS     
a.富于启发性的,有助阐明的
参考例句:
  • We didn't find the examples he used particularly illuminating. 我们觉得他采用的那些例证启发性不是特别大。
  • I found his talk most illuminating. 我觉得他的话很有启发性。
30 fatality AlfxT     
n.不幸,灾祸,天命
参考例句:
  • She struggle against fatality in vain.她徒然奋斗反抗宿命。
  • He began to have a growing sense of fatality.他开始有一种越来越强烈的宿命感。
31 audacity LepyV     
n.大胆,卤莽,无礼
参考例句:
  • He had the audacity to ask for an increase in salary.他竟然厚着脸皮要求增加薪水。
  • He had the audacity to pick pockets in broad daylight.他竟敢在光天化日之下掏包。
32 thronging 9512aa44c02816b0f71b491c31fb8cfa     
v.成群,挤满( throng的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Architects from around the world are thronging to Beijing theacross the capital. 来自世界各地的建筑师都蜂拥而至这座处处高楼耸立的大都市——北京。 来自互联网
  • People are thronging to his new play. 人们成群结队地去看他那出新戏。 来自互联网
33 grotesque O6ryZ     
adj.怪诞的,丑陋的;n.怪诞的图案,怪人(物)
参考例句:
  • His face has a grotesque appearance.他的面部表情十分怪。
  • Her account of the incident was a grotesque distortion of the truth.她对这件事的陈述是荒诞地歪曲了事实。
34 malevolent G8IzV     
adj.有恶意的,恶毒的
参考例句:
  • Why are they so malevolent to me?他们为什么对我如此恶毒?
  • We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。
35 craftsman ozyxB     
n.技工,精于一门工艺的匠人
参考例句:
  • A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。
  • The craftsman is working up the mass of clay into a toy figure.艺人把一团泥捏成玩具形状。
36 nib jGjxG     
n.钢笔尖;尖头
参考例句:
  • The sharp nib scratched through the paper.钢笔尖把纸戳穿了。
  • I want to buy a pen with a gold nib.我要金笔。
37 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
38 conjectures 8334e6a27f5847550b061d064fa92c00     
推测,猜想( conjecture的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • That's weighing remote military conjectures against the certain deaths of innocent people. 那不过是牵强附会的军事假设,而现在的事实却是无辜者正在惨遭杀害,这怎能同日而语!
  • I was right in my conjectures. 我所猜测的都应验了。
39 deduction 0xJx7     
n.减除,扣除,减除额;推论,推理,演绎
参考例句:
  • No deduction in pay is made for absence due to illness.因病请假不扣工资。
  • His deduction led him to the correct conclusion.他的推断使他得出正确的结论。
40 tilted 3gtzE5     
v. 倾斜的
参考例句:
  • Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
  • She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。
41 undoubtedly Mfjz6l     
adv.确实地,无疑地
参考例句:
  • It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
  • He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。
42 memorandum aCvx4     
n.备忘录,便笺
参考例句:
  • The memorandum was dated 23 August,2008.备忘录上注明的日期是2008年8月23日。
  • The Secretary notes down the date of the meeting in her memorandum book.秘书把会议日期都写在记事本上。
43 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
44 anonymous lM2yp     
adj.无名的;匿名的;无特色的
参考例句:
  • Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
  • The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。
45 assent Hv6zL     
v.批准,认可;n.批准,认可
参考例句:
  • I cannot assent to what you ask.我不能应允你的要求。
  • The new bill passed by Parliament has received Royal Assent.议会所通过的新方案已获国王批准。
46 perspicacity perspicacity     
n. 敏锐, 聪明, 洞察力
参考例句:
  • Perspicacity includes selective code, selective comparing and selective combining. 洞察力包括选择性编码、选择性比较、选择性联合。
  • He may own the perspicacity and persistence to catch and keep the most valuable thing. 他可能拥有洞察力和坚忍力,可以抓住和保有人生中最宝贵的东西。
47 contemplated d22c67116b8d5696b30f6705862b0688     
adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式
参考例句:
  • The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform. 医生仔细地考虑他所要做的棘手的手术。
  • The government has contemplated reforming the entire tax system. 政府打算改革整个税收体制。
48 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
49 distress 3llzX     
n.苦恼,痛苦,不舒适;不幸;vt.使悲痛
参考例句:
  • Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
  • Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。
50 nettled 1329a37399dc803e7821d52c8a298307     
v.拿荨麻打,拿荨麻刺(nettle的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • My remarks clearly nettled her. 我的话显然惹恼了她。
  • He had been growing nettled before, but now he pulled himself together. 他刚才有些来火,但现在又恢复了常态。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
51 eruption UomxV     
n.火山爆发;(战争等)爆发;(疾病等)发作
参考例句:
  • The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
  • The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。
52 lamentable A9yzi     
adj.令人惋惜的,悔恨的
参考例句:
  • This lamentable state of affairs lasted until 1947.这一令人遗憾的事态一直持续至1947年。
  • His practice of inebriation was lamentable.他的酗酒常闹得别人束手无策。
53 distressed du1z3y     
痛苦的
参考例句:
  • He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑,无法回答他们的问题。
  • The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。
54 scourge FD2zj     
n.灾难,祸害;v.蹂躏
参考例句:
  • Smallpox was once the scourge of the world.天花曾是世界的大患。
  • The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient.新老板来了以后,不称职的人就遭殃了。
55 posturing 1785febcc47e6193be90be621fdf70d9     
做出某种姿势( posture的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • She was posturing a model. 她正在摆模特儿的姿势。
  • She says the President may just be posturing. 她说总统也许只是在做样子而已。
56 frankly fsXzcf     
adv.坦白地,直率地;坦率地说
参考例句:
  • To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说,我一点也不赞成这个主意。
  • Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说,我不反对改革。
57 utterly ZfpzM1     
adv.完全地,绝对地
参考例句:
  • Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民,把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
  • I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。
58 humbly humbly     
adv. 恭顺地,谦卑地
参考例句:
  • We humbly beg Your Majesty to show mercy. 我们恳请陛下发发慈悲。
  • "You must be right, Sir,'said John humbly. “你一定是对的,先生,”约翰恭顺地说道。
59 parley H4wzT     
n.谈判
参考例句:
  • The governor was forced to parley with the rebels.州长被迫与反叛者谈判。
  • The general held a parley with the enemy about exchanging prisoners.将军与敌人谈判交换战俘事宜。
60 desperately cu7znp     
adv.极度渴望地,绝望地,孤注一掷地
参考例句:
  • He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
  • He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。
61 exasperation HiyzX     
n.愤慨
参考例句:
  • He snorted with exasperation.他愤怒地哼了一声。
  • She rolled her eyes in sheer exasperation.她气急败坏地转动着眼珠。
62 tempted b0182e969d369add1b9ce2353d3c6ad6     
v.怂恿(某人)干不正当的事;冒…的险(tempt的过去分词)
参考例句:
  • I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚,但还是没开口。
  • I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。
63 dame dvGzR0     
n.女士
参考例句:
  • The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
  • If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会,你就要跟那个夫人结婚。
64 nay unjzAQ     
adv.不;n.反对票,投反对票者
参考例句:
  • He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的,不,应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。
  • Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章,不,应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。
65 moodily 830ff6e3db19016ccfc088bb2ad40745     
adv.喜怒无常地;情绪多变地;心情不稳地;易生气地
参考例句:
  • Pork slipped from the room as she remained staring moodily into the distance. 阿宝从房间里溜了出来,留她独个人站在那里瞪着眼睛忧郁地望着远处。 来自辞典例句
  • He climbed moodily into the cab, relieved and distressed. 他忧郁地上了马车,既松了一口气,又忧心忡忡。 来自互联网
66 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
67 dwelling auzzQk     
n.住宅,住所,寓所
参考例句:
  • Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
  • He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。
68 lodgings f12f6c99e9a4f01e5e08b1197f095e6e     
n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍
参考例句:
  • When he reached his lodgings the sun had set. 他到达公寓房间时,太阳已下山了。
  • I'm on the hunt for lodgings. 我正在寻找住所。
69 doorway 2s0xK     
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径
参考例句:
  • They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
  • Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
70 softened 19151c4e3297eb1618bed6a05d92b4fe     
(使)变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 ); 缓解打击; 缓和; 安慰
参考例句:
  • His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。
  • The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。
71 lodger r8rzi     
n.寄宿人,房客
参考例句:
  • My friend is a lodger in my uncle's house.我朋友是我叔叔家的房客。
  • Jill and Sue are at variance over their lodger.吉尔和休在对待房客的问题上意见不和。
72 longing 98bzd     
n.(for)渴望
参考例句:
  • Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
  • His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。
73 bosom Lt9zW     
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的
参考例句:
  • She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
  • A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。
74 appalling iNwz9     
adj.骇人听闻的,令人震惊的,可怕的
参考例句:
  • The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions.恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
  • Nothing can extenuate such appalling behaviour.这种骇人听闻的行径罪无可恕。
75 sobbing df75b14f92e64fc9e1d7eaf6dcfc083a     
<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的
参考例句:
  • I heard a child sobbing loudly. 我听见有个孩子在呜呜地哭。
  • Her eyes were red with recent sobbing. 她的眼睛因刚哭过而发红。
76 stifled 20d6c5b702a525920b7425fe94ea26a5     
(使)窒息, (使)窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 ); 镇压,遏制; 堵
参考例句:
  • The gas stifled them. 煤气使他们窒息。
  • The rebellion was stifled. 叛乱被镇压了。
77 crook NnuyV     
v.使弯曲;n.小偷,骗子,贼;弯曲(处)
参考例句:
  • He demanded an apology from me for calling him a crook.我骂他骗子,他要我向他认错。
  • She was cradling a small parcel in the crook of her elbow.她用手臂挎着一个小包裹。
78 banality AP4yD     
n.陈腐;平庸;陈词滥调
参考例句:
  • Neil's ability to utter banalities never ceased to amaze me.每次我都很惊讶,尼尔怎么能讲出这么索然无味的东西。
  • He couldn't believe the banality of the question.他无法相信那问题竟如此陈腐。


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