Chapter XVI

 It was Martin Valliant who prayed for the soul of Gilbert Dale, and not Mellis his sister.

 

She was bitter and fierce, and wounded.

 

“I will not ask God or the saints for anything—no, nor Mother Mary. My brother had no sin 

 

upon him. Let them look to their own.”

 

So Martin tolled¹ the bell, lit candles, and chanted a death Mass, yet all the while he was 

 

thinking of the rebel woman out yonder and of the despair in her eyes. Nature was striking 

 

shrewd blows at Martin’s simplicity², using the lecherous³ treachery of Geraint and the 

 

bloody⁴ heartlessness of the Lord of Troy to prove to him that there are great violences on 

 

earth, lusts⁵ and cruelties and loves that no mere⁶ saint can conquer. Even Mellis’s wild 

 

words of revolt sounded more real and human than the patter of his prayers. He knelt a long 

 

while in silence, wondering, asking himself grim questions. How would his father, old 

 

Valliant, have acted? Would he have put up a prayer, or donned harness and taken the sword?

 

Mellis would not enter the chapel⁷ or kneel before the altar. She went wandering over the 

 

moor⁸, recklessly, with that fever of anguish⁹ and hatred¹⁰ burning in her blood. She wanted to 

 

hurt those men who had killed her brother. She wanted to take the Lord of Troy and give him 

 

to some strong man to be throttled¹¹. All the love and tenderness that were in her were like 

 

perfumes thrown upon the flames.

 

Wearied at last, she came back to the great cross, passed under its shadow, and entering 

 

the rest-house, lay down upon her bed. The room was cool and silent, with its massive walls 

 

of stone and thickly thatched roof, and not a sound disturbed her; but she could neither 

 

sleep nor rest because of the knowledge of the peril¹² that threatened her. Mellis felt 

 

herself betrayed, hunted, and her instincts warned her that she would be shown no mercy. 

 

She did not believe that her brother’s death had come about casually¹³, or that he had been 

 

stabbed wantonly or in error. The shadow of Troy Castle loomed¹⁴ over her. She was fey that 

 

morning; the Forest whispered a warning.

 

About noon Martin Valliant took his spade and went out to dig in the garden. He was shy of 

 

Mellis, shy of her despair, and the new manhood that had been born in him chafed¹⁵ and raged 

 

at the vows¹⁶ that held it. The blood of old Roger Valliant was alive in him; he was more the 

 

son of his father than he knew.

 

The garden hedge shut Martin in upon himself, and he could see nothing of the moor, so that 

 

one of Noble Vance’s archers¹⁷ was able to come scouting¹⁹ right to the foot of the great 

 

cross and creep away again unnoticed. The fellow went back to a heathy hollow where the 

 

Forest Warden²⁰ waited, sitting on his black horse in the sun.

 

“The woman is there, lording. I saw her in the doorway²¹ of the rest-house.”

 

“And the monk²²?”

 

“I heard the sound of a spade in the garden.”

 

“Good. Now listen to me, you men. There is no cause to be too gentle with the jade²³; they 

 

say she is a fierce wench, and may carry a knife, and a knife in an angry woman’s hands is 

 

not to be despised.”

 

“Will you take her, or shall we, lording?”

 

“We’ll see what we shall see.”

 

Martin Valliant was just turning a new spit when he heard a sound that made him raise his 

 

head and listen. A horse was moving somewhere; he heard the thudding of hoofs²⁴ and the 

 

jingle²⁵ of a bridle²⁶. The horse came on at a canter, and a man’s voice shouted an order.

 

“A view—a view! Run, Jack²⁷; head her off, or she’ll have the door shut in our faces.”

 

Then Martin heard Mellis cry out.

 

“Martin Valliant—Martin Valliant!”

 

Something seemed to twist itself in his head and snap like a broken bowstring. He plucked 

 

his spade out of the ground and went running, his nostrils²⁸ agape, his eyes hard as blue 

 

glass.

 

And this was what Martin saw when he pushed through the gate and rounded the corner of the 

 

thorn hedge. Mellis had her back to the wall of the rest-house, and a light dagger²⁹ in her 

 

hand. A man in red was sucking a bloody wrist, and two archers were crouching³⁰ behind him 

 

like dogs waiting to be let loose.

 

Martin saw the man in red raise the butt³¹ of his riding whip and strike at Mellis, shouting 

 

savagely³²:

 

“Break the jade—break her!”

 

Then Martin Valliant went mad. He was no more than the male thing answering the wild call 

 

of its mate. He saw Noble Vance’s whip strike Mellis’s arm.

 

It was all over in twenty seconds, for that spade was a grim weapon whirled like a battle-

 

ax by old Valliant’s son. The two archers had stood and gaped³³, too astonished to think of 

 

bending a bow. One of them, indeed, had plucked out a knife, but he was dead before he 

 

could use it.

 

Vance the Forest Warden lay all huddled³⁴ up, grinning horribly, gashed³⁵ to the brain pulp³⁶. 

 

The other archer¹⁸ had taken to his heels, mounted his master’s horse, and galloped³⁷ off with 

 

the fear of God in him. And Martin Valliant was standing³⁸ leaning on his spade, his face 

 

deathly white, his eyes staring at the dead men on the grass.

1 tolled   

鸣钟（toll的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Bells were tolled all over the country at the King's death. 全国为国王之死而鸣钟。
• The church bell tolled the hour. 教堂的钟声报时。

2 simplicity   

n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯

参考例句：

• She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
• The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。

3 lecherous   

adj.好色的；淫邪的

参考例句：

• Her husband was described in court as a lecherous scoundrel.她的丈夫在法庭上被描绘成一个好色的无赖。
• Men enjoy all the beautiful bones,but do not mistake him lecherous.男人骨子里全都喜欢美女，但千万别误以为他好色。

4 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

5 lusts   

贪求（lust的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• A miser lusts for gold. 守财奴贪财。
• Palmer Kirby had wakened late blooming lusts in her. 巴穆·柯比在她心中煽动起一片迟暮的情欲。

6 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

7 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

8 moor   

n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊

参考例句：

• I decided to moor near some tourist boats.我决定在一些观光船附近停泊。
• There were hundreds of the old huts on the moor.沼地上有成百上千的古老的石屋。

9 anguish   

n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼

参考例句：

• She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时，她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
• The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。

10 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

11 throttled   

v.扼杀( throttle的过去式和过去分词 )；勒死；使窒息；压制

参考例句：

• He throttled the guard with his bare hands. 他徒手掐死了卫兵。
• The pilot got very low before he throttled back. 飞行员减速之前下降得很低。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

13 casually   

adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地

参考例句：

• She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
• I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。

14 loomed   

v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• A dark shape loomed up ahead of us. 一个黑糊糊的影子隐隐出现在我们的前面。
• The prospect of war loomed large in everyone's mind. 战事将起的庞大阴影占据每个人的心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 chafed   

v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的过去式 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒

参考例句：

• Her wrists chafed where the rope had been. 她的手腕上绳子勒过的地方都磨红了。
• She chafed her cold hands. 她揉搓冰冷的双手使之暖和。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

16 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

17 archers   

n.弓箭手，射箭运动员( archer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The next evening old Mr. Sillerton Jackson came to dine with the Archers. 第二天晚上，西勒顿？杰克逊老先生来和阿切尔家人一起吃饭。 来自辞典例句
• Week of Archer: Double growth for Archers and Marksmen. 射手周：弓箭手与弩手（人类）产量加倍。 来自互联网

18 archer   

n.射手，弓箭手

参考例句：

• The archer strung his bow and aimed an arrow at the target.弓箭手拉紧弓弦将箭瞄准靶子。
• The archer's shot was a perfect bull's-eye.射手的那一箭正中靶心。

19 scouting   

守候活动，童子军的活动

参考例句：

• I have people scouting the hills already. 我已经让人搜过那些山了。
• Perhaps also from the Gospel it passed into the tradition of scouting. 也许又从《福音书》传入守望的传统。 来自演讲部分

20 warden   

n.监察员，监狱长，看守人，监护人

参考例句：

• He is the warden of an old people's home.他是一家养老院的管理员。
• The warden of the prison signed the release.监狱长签发释放令。

21 doorway   

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。

22 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

23 jade   

n.玉石；碧玉；翡翠

参考例句：

• The statue was carved out of jade.这座塑像是玉雕的。
• He presented us with a couple of jade lions.他送给我们一对玉狮子。

24 hoofs   

n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The stamp of the horse's hoofs on the wooden floor was loud. 马蹄踏在木头地板上的声音很响。 来自辞典例句
• The noise of hoofs called him back to the other window. 马蹄声把他又唤回那扇窗子口。 来自辞典例句

25 jingle   

n.叮当声，韵律简单的诗句；v.使叮当作响，叮当响，押韵

参考例句：

• The key fell on the ground with a jingle.钥匙叮当落地。
• The knives and forks set up their regular jingle.刀叉发出常有的叮当声。

26 bridle   

n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒

参考例句：

• He learned to bridle his temper.他学会了控制脾气。
• I told my wife to put a bridle on her tongue.我告诉妻子说话要谨慎。

27 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

28 nostrils   

鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her nostrils flared with anger. 她气得两个鼻孔都鼓了起来。
• The horse dilated its nostrils. 马张大鼻孔。

29 dagger   

n.匕首，短剑，剑号

参考例句：

• The bad news is a dagger to his heart.这条坏消息刺痛了他的心。
• The murderer thrust a dagger into her heart.凶手将匕首刺进她的心脏。

30 crouching   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• a hulking figure crouching in the darkness 黑暗中蹲伏着的一个庞大身影
• A young man was crouching by the table, busily searching for something. 一个年轻人正蹲在桌边翻看什么。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

31 butt   

n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶

参考例句：

• The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。
• He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。

32 savagely   

adv. 野蛮地，残酷地

参考例句：

• The roses had been pruned back savagely. 玫瑰被狠狠地修剪了一番。
• He snarled savagely at her. 他向她狂吼起来。

33 gaped   

v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的过去式和过去分词 )；张开，张大

参考例句：

• A huge chasm gaped before them. 他们面前有个巨大的裂痕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The front door was missing. A hole gaped in the roof. 前门不翼而飞，屋顶豁开了一个洞。 来自辞典例句

34 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

35 gashed   

v.划伤，割破( gash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He gashed his hand on a sharp piece of rock. 他的手在一块尖石头上划了一个大口子。
• He gashed his arm on a piece of broken glass. 他的胳膊被玻璃碎片划了一个大口子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

36 pulp   

n.果肉，纸浆；v.化成纸浆，除去...果肉，制成纸浆

参考例句：

• The pulp of this watermelon is too spongy.这西瓜瓤儿太肉了。
• The company manufactures pulp and paper products.这个公司制造纸浆和纸产品。

37 galloped   

（使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事

参考例句：

• Jo galloped across the field towards him. 乔骑马穿过田野向他奔去。
• The children galloped home as soon as the class was over. 孩子们一下课便飞奔回家了。

38 standing   

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。