"How stands the hour-glass?" the governor of the feast, who was frequently also the governor of the company, would roar out in stentorian4 tones, that made themselves heard above the drunken brawl5.
Thereupon, another grain was picked from the jar, another flagon tossed down and the revel1 went on. This was a usual occurrence before and after the conflict with the Nor'-Westers. But the night that I climbed the stairs of the main warehouse8 and, mustering9 up assurance, stepped into the hall as if I belonged to the fort, or the fort belonged to me, there was a different scene. A wounded man lay on a litter at the end of the long, low room; and the traders sitting on the[Pg 164] benches against the walls, or standing10 aimlessly about, were talking in suppressed tones. Scotchmen, driven from their farms by the Bois-Brulés, hung around in anxious groups. The lanterns, suspended on iron hooks from mid-rafter, gave but a dusky light, and I vainly scanned many faces for Eric Hamilton. That he was wounded, I knew. I was stealing stealthily towards the stretcher at the far end of the place, when a deep voice burred rough salutation in my ear.
"Hoo are ye, gillie?" It was a shaggy-browed, bluff12 Scotchman, who evidently took me in my tartan disguise for a Highland13 lad. Whether he meant, "How are you," or "Who are you," I was not certain. Afraid my tongue might betray me, I muttered back an indistinct response. The Scot was either suspicious, or offended by my churlishness. I slipped off quickly to a dark corner, but I saw him eying me closely. A youth brushed past humming a ditty, which seemed strangely out of place in those surroundings. He stood an elbow's length from me and kicked moccasined heels against the floor in the way of light-headed lads. Both the air and figure of the young fellow vaguely14 recalled somebody, but his back was towards me. I was measuring my comrade, wondering if I might inquire where Hamilton could be found, when the lad turned, and I was face to face with the whiskered babe of Fort William. He gave a long, low whistle.
"Gad15!" he gasped16. "Do my eyes tell lies? As I live, 'tis your very self! Hang it, now, I[Pg 165] thought you were one of those solid bodies wouldn't do any turn-coating——"
"One of those dray-horse, old reliables, wouldn't kick over the traces, not if the boss pumped his arms off licking you! Hang it! I'm not that sort! By gad, I'm not! I've got too many oats! I can't stand being jawed18 and gee-hawed by Dunc. Cameron; so when the old Gov. threatened to dock me for being full, I just kicked up my heels and came. But say! I didn't think you would, Gillespie!"
"No?" said I, keeping my own counsel and waiting for the Nor'-West deserter to proceed.
"What 'd y' do it for, Gillespie? You're as sober as cold water! Was it old Cameron?"
"You're not talking straight, babe," said I. "You know Cameron doesn't nag19 his men. What did you do it for?"
"Eh?" and the lad gave a laugh over my challenge of his veracity20. "See here, old pal21, I'll tell you if you tell me."
"Go ahead with your end of the contract!"
"Well, then, look here. We're not in this wilderness22 for glory. I knock down to the highest bidder23——"
"Hudson's Bay is not the highest bidder."
"Not unless you happen to have information they want."
"Oh! That's the way of it, is it?" So the boy was selling Nor'-Westers' secrets.
"You can bet your last beaver-skin it is! Do[Pg 166] you think I was old Cam's private secretary for nothin'? Not I! I say—get your wares24 as you may and sell 'em to the highest bidder. So here I am, snugly25 berthed26, with nothing to do but twiddle my thumbs, all through judicious—distribution—of—information." And the boy gurgled with pleasure over his own cleverness. "And say, Gillespie, I'm in regular clover! The Little Statue's here, all alone! Dad's gone to Pembina to the buffalo27 hunt. I've got ahead of all you fellows. I'm going to introduce a French-chap, a friend of mine."
"You'd much better break his bones," was my advice. It needed no great speculation28 to guess who the Frenchman was; and in the hands of that crafty29 rake this prattling30 babe would be as putty.
"Pah! You're jealous, Gillespie! We're right on the inside track!"
"Lots of confidential31 talks with her, I suppose?"
"Talks! Pah! You gross fatty! Why, Gillespie, what do you know of such things? Laplante can win a girl by just looking at her—French way, you know—he can pose better than a poem!"
"Blockhead," I ground out between my teeth, a feeling taking possession of me, which is designated "indignation" in the first person but jealousy32 in the second and third. "You stupid simpleton, that Laplante is a villain33 who will turn your addled34 pate35 and work you as an old wife kneads dough36."[Pg 167]
"What do you know about Laplante?" he demanded hotly.
"I know he is an accomplished37 blackguard," I answered quietly, "and if you want to spoil your chances with the Little Statue, just prance38 round in his company."
The lad was too much surprised to speak.
"Where's Hamilton?" I asked.
"Find him for yourself," said he, going off in a huff.
I edged cautiously near enough the wounded man to see that he was not Hamilton. Near the litter was a group of clerks.
"They're fools," one clerk was informing the others. "Cameron sent word he'd have McDonell dead or alive. If he doesn't give himself up, this fort'll go and the whole settlement be massacred."
"Been altogether too high-handed anyway," answered another. "I'm loyal to my company; but Lord Selkirk can't set up a military despotism here. Been altogether better if we'd left the Nor'-Westers alone."
"It's all the fault of that cocky little martinet," declared a third.
"I say," exclaimed a man joining the group, "d' y' hear the news? All the chiefs in there—" jerking his thumb towards a side door—"are advising Captain McDonell to give himself up and save the fort."
"Good thing. Who'll miss him? He'll only get a free trip to Montreal," remarked one of the[Pg 168] aggressives in this group. "I tell you, men, both companies have gone a deal too far in this little slap-back game to be keen for legal investigation39. Why, at Souris, everybody knows——"
He lowered his voice and I unconsciously moved from my dark corner to hear the rest.
"Hoo are ye, gillie?" said the burly Scot in my ear.
Turning, I found the canny40 swain had followed me on an investigating tour. Again I gave him an inarticulate reply and lost myself among other coteries41. Was the man spying on me? I reflected that if "the chiefs"—as the Hudson's Bay man had called them—were in the side room, Eric Hamilton would be among these conferring with the governor. As I approached the door, I noticed my Scotch11 friend had taken some one into his confidence and two men were now on my tracks. Lifting the latch42, I gave a gentle, cautious push and the hinges swung so quietly I had slipped into the room before those inside or out could prevent me. I found myself in the middle of a long apartment with low, sloping ceiling, and deep window recesses43. It had evidently been partitioned off from the main hall; for the wall, ceiling and floor made an exact triangle. At one end of the place was a table. Round this was a group of men deeply engrossed45 in some sort of conference. Sitting on the window sills and lounging round the box stove behind the table were others of our rival's service. I saw at once it would be difficult to have access[Pg 169] to Hamilton. He was lying on a stretcher within talking range of the table and had one arm in a sling46. Now, I hold it is harder for the unpractised man to play the spy with everything in his favor, than for the adept47 to act that rôle against the impossible. One is without the art that foils detection. The other can defy detection. So I stood inside with my hand on the door lest the click of the closing latch should rouse attention, but had no thought of prying48 into Hudson's Bay secrets.
"Your Honor," began Hamilton in a lifeless manner, which told me his search had been bootless, and he turned languidly towards a puffy, crusty, military gentleman, whom, from the respect shown him, I judged to be Governor McDonell. "Duncan Cameron's warrant for the arrest is perfectly49 legal. If Your Honor should surrender yourself, you will save Fort Douglas for the Hudson's Bay Company. Besides, the whole arrest will prove a farce50. The law in Lower Canada provides no machinery51 for the trial of cases occurring——" Here Hamilton came to a blank and unexpected stop, for his eyes suddenly alighted on me with a look that forbade recognition, and fled furtively52 back to the group it the table. I understood and kept silent.
"For the trial of cases occurring?" asked the governor sharply.
"Occurring—here," added Hamilton, shooting out the last word as if his arm had given him a sudden twinge. "And so I say, Your Honor[Pg 170] will lose nothing by giving yourself up to the Nor'-Westers, and will save Fort Douglas for the Hudson's Bay."
"The doctor tells me it's a compound fracture. You'll find it painful, Mr. Hamilton," said Governor McDonell sympathetically, and he turned to the papers over which the group were conferring. "I'm no great hand in winning victories by showing the white flag," began the gallant54 captain, "but if a free trip from here to Montreal satisfies those fools, I'll go."
"Well said! Bravo! Your Honor," exclaimed a shaggy member of the council, bringing his fist down on the table with a thud. "I call that diplomacy55, outmanœuvring the enemy! Your Honor sets an example for abiding56 by the law; you obey the warrant. They must follow the example and leave Fort Douglas alone."
"Besides, I can let His Lordship know from Montreal just what reinforcements are needed here," continued Captain McDonell, with a curious disregard for the law which he professed57 to be obeying, and a faithful zeal58 for Lord Selkirk.
Hamilton was looking anxiously at me with an expression of warning which I could not fully59 read. Then I felt, what every one must have felt at some time, that a third person was watching us both. Following Eric's glance to a dark window recess44 directly opposite the door where I stood, I was horrified60 and riveted61 by the beady, glistening62, insolent63 eyes of Louis Laplante,[Pg 171] gazing out of the dusk with an expression of rakish amusement, the amusement of a spider when a fly walks into its web. Taken unawares I have ever been more or less of what Mr. Jack64 MacKenzie was wont65 to call "a stupid loon66!" On discovering Laplante I promptly67 sustained my reputation by letting the door fly to with a sharp click that startled the whole room-full. Whereat Louis Laplante gave a low, soft laugh.
"What do you want here, man?" demanded Governor McDonell's sharp voice.
"My man, Your Honor," interjected Eric quietly. "Come here, Rufus," he commanded, motioning me to his side with the hauteur69 of a master towards a servant. And Louis Laplante rose and tip-toed after me with a tigerish malice70 that recalled the surly squaw.
"Oh, Eric!" I cried out eagerly. "Are you hurt, and at such a time?" Unconsciously I was playing into Louis' hands, for he stood by the stove, laughing nonchalantly.
Thereupon Eric ground out some imprecation at my stupidity.
"There's been a shuffling71 of allegiance, I hear," he said with a queer misleading look straight at Laplante. "We've recruits from Fort Gibraltar."
Eric's words, curiously72 enough, banished73 triumph from Laplante's face and the Frenchman's expression was one of puzzled suspicion. From Eric's impassive features, he could read nothing. What Hamilton was driving at, I should presently[Pg 172] learn; but to find out I would no more take my eyes from Laplante's than from a tiger about to spring. At once, to get my attention, Hamilton brought a stick down on my toes with a sharpness that made me leap. By all the codes of nudges and kicks and such signaling, it is a principle that a blow at one end of human anatomy74 drives through the density75 of the other extremity76. It dawned on me that Eric was trying to persuade Laplante I had deserted77 Nor'-Westers for the Hudson's Bay. The ethics78 of his attempt I do not defend. It was after the facile fashion of an intriguing79 era. A sharper weapon was presently given us against Louis Laplante; for when I grasped Eric's stick to stay the raps against my feet, I felt the handle rough with carving80.
"What are these carvings81, may I inquire, Sir?" I asked, assuming the strangeness, which Eric's signals had directed, but never moving my eyes from Laplante. The villain who had befooled me in the gorge82 and eluded83 me in the forest, and now tormented85 Frances Sutherland, winced86 under my watchfulness87.
"The carvings!" answered Eric, annoyed that I did not return his plain signals and determined88 to get my eye. "Pray look for yourself! Where are your eyes?"
"I can't see in this poor light, Sir; but I also have a strangely carved thing—a spear-head. Now if this head has no handle and this handle has no head—they might fit," I went on watching[Pg 173] Laplante, whose saucy89 assurance was deserting him.
"Spear-head!" exclaimed Hamilton, beginning to understand I too had my design. "Where did you find it?"
"Trying to bury itself in my head." I returned. At this, Laplante, the knave90, smiled graciously in my very face.
"But it didn't succeed?" asked Hamilton.
"No—it mistook me for a tree, missed the mark and went into the tree; just as another friend of mine mistook me for a tree, hit the mark and ran into me," and I smiled back at Laplante. His face clouded. That reference to the scene on the beach, where his Hudson's Bay despatches were stolen, was too much for his hot blood. "Here it is," I continued, pulling the spear-head out of my plaid. I had brought it to Hamilton, hoping to identify our enemy, and we did. "Please see if they fit, Sir? We might identify our—friends!" and I searched the furtive53, guilty eyes of the Frenchman.
"Dat frien'," muttered Louis with a threatening look at me, "dat frien' of Mister Hamilton he spike91 good English for Scot' youth."
Now Louis, as I remembered from Laval days, never mixed his English and French, except when he was in passion furious beyond all control.
"Fit!" cried Hamilton. "They're a perfect fit, and both carved the same, too."
"With what?"
"Eagles," answered Eric, puzzled at my drift,[Pg 174] and Louis Laplante wore the last look of the tiger before it springs.
"And eagles," said I, defying the spring, "signify that both the spear-head and the spear-handle belong to the Sioux chief whose daughter"—and I lowered my voice to a whisper which only Laplante and Hamilton could hear—"is married—to Le—Grand—Diable!"
And Louis Laplante staggered back in the dark as if we had struck him.
"Laplante! Laplante! Where's that Frenchman? Bring him up here!" called Governor McDonell's fussy93, angry tones.
Coming when it did, this demand was to Louis a bolt of judgment94; and he joined the conference with a face as gray as ashes.
"Now about those stolen despatches! We want to know the truth! Were you drunk, or were you not? Who has them?" Captain McDonell arraigned95 the Frenchman with a fire of questions that would have confused any other culprit but Louis.
"Eric," I whispered, taking advantage of the respite96 offered by Louis' examination. "We found Laplante at Pointe a la Croix. He was drunk. He confessed Miriam is held by Diable's squaw. Then we discovered someone was listening to the confession97 and pursued the eavesdropper98 into the bush. When we came back, Laplante had been carried off. I found one of[Pg 175] my canoemen had your lost fowling-piece, and it was he who had listened and carried off the drunk sot and tried to send that spear-head into me at the Sault. 'Twas Diable, Eric! Father Holland, a priest in our company, told me of the white woman on Lake Winnipeg. Did you find this—" indicating the spear handle—"there?"
Eric, cold, white and trembling, only whispered an affirmative.
"Was that all?"
"All," he answered, a strange, fierce look coming over his face, as the full import of my news forced home on him. "Was—was—Laplante—in that?" he asked, gripping my arm in his unwounded hand with foreboding force.
"Not that we know of. Only Diable. But Louis is friendly with the Sioux, and if we only keep him in sight we may track them."
"I'll—keep—him—in sight," muttered Hamilton in low, slow words.
"He's asking leave to go trapping in the Sioux country. Can you go as trader for your people? To the buffalo hunt first, then, south? I'll watch here, if he stays; you, there, if he goes, and he shall tell us all he knows or—"
"Hush, man," I urged. "Listen!"
"Where," Governor McDonell was thundering at Laplante, "where are the parties that stole those despatches?"[Pg 176]
The question brought both Hamilton and myself to the table. We went forward where we could see Laplante's face without being seen by his questioners.
"If I answer, Your Honor," began the Frenchman, taking the captain's bluster100 for what it was worth and holding out doggedly101 for his own rights, "I'll be given leave to trap with the Sioux?"
"Certainly, man. Speak out."
"The parties—that stole—those despatches," Laplante was answering slowly. At this stage he looked at his interlocutor as if to question the sincerity102 of the guarantee and he saw me standing screwing the spear-head on the tell-tale handle. I patted the spear-head, smiled blandly103 back, and with my eyes dared him to go on. He paused, bit his lip and flushed.
"No lies, no roguery, or I'll have you at the whipping-post," roared the governor. "Speak up. Where are the parties?"
I was betrayed! Betrayed and trapped; but he should not go free! I would have shouted out, but Hamilton's hand silenced me.
"Here!" exclaimed the astounded106 governor. "Go call that young Nor'-Wester! If he backs up y'r story, he was Cameron's secretary, you can go to the buffalo hunt."
That response upset Louis' bearings. He had expected the governor would refer to me; but[Pg 177] the command let him out of an awkward place and he darted107 from the room, as Hamilton and I supposed,—simpletons that we were with that rogue104!—to find the young Nor'-Wester. This turn of affairs gave me my chance. If the young Nor'-Wester and Laplante came together, my disguise as Highlander108 and turn-coat would be stripped from me and I should be trapped indeed.
"Good-by, old boy!" and I gripped Hamilton's hand. "If he stays, he's your game. When he goes, he's mine. Good luck to us both! You'll come south when you're better."
Then I bolted through the main hall thinking to elude84 the canny Scots, but saw both men in the stairway waiting to intercept109 me. When I ran down a flight of side stairs, they dashed to trap me at the gate. At the doorway110 a man lounged against me. The lantern light fell on a pointed111 beard. It was Laplante, leaning against the wall for support and shaking with laughter.
"You again, old tombstone! Whither away so fast?" and he made to hold me. "I'm in a hurry myself! My last night under a roof, ha! ha! Wait till I make my grand farewell! We both did well, did the grand, ho! ho! But I must leave a fair demoiselle!"
"Let go," and I threw him off.
"Take that, you ramping112 donkey, you Anglo-Saxon animal," and he aimed a kick in my direction. Though I could ill spare the time to do it, I turned. All the pent-up strength, from the walk[Pg 178] with Frances Sutherland rushed into my clenched113 fist and Louis Laplante went down with a thud across the doorway. There was the sish-rip of a knife being thrust through my boot, but the blade broke and I rushed past the prostrate114 form.
Certain of waylaying115 me, the Scots were dodging116 about the gate; but by running in the shadow of the warehouse to the rear of the court, I gave both the slip. I had no chance to reconnoitre, but dug my hunting-knife into the stockade117, hoisted118 myself up the wooden wall, got a grip of the top and threw myself over, escaping with no greater loss than boots pulled off before climbing the palisade, and the Highland cap which stuck fast to a picket119 as I alighted below. At dawn, bootless and hatless, I came in sight of Fort Gibraltar and Father Holland, who was scanning the prairie for my return, came running to greet me.
"The tip-top o' the mornin' to the renegade! I thought ye'd been scalped—and so ye have been—nearly—only they mistook y'r hat for the wool o' y'r crown. Boots gone too! Out wid your midnight pranks120."
A succession of welcoming thuds accompanied the tirade121. As breath returned, I gasped out a brief account of the night.
"And now," he exclaimed triumphantly122, "I have news to translate ye to a sivinth hiven! Och! But it's clane cracked ye'll be when ye hear it. Now, who's appointed to trade with the buffalo hunters but y'r very self?"[Pg 179]
It was with difficulty I refrained from embracing the bearer of such good tidings.
"Be easy," he commanded. "Ye'll need these demonstrations123, I'm thinkin'—huntin' one lass and losin' y'r heart to another."
We arranged he should go to Fort Douglas for Frances Sutherland and I was to set out later. They were to ride along the river-path south of the forks where I could join them. I, myself, picked out and paid for two extra horses, one a quiet little cayuse with ambling124 action, the other, a muscular broncho. I had the satisfaction of seeing Father Holland mounted on the latter setting out for Fort Douglas, while the Indian pony125 wearing an empty side-saddle trotted126 along in tow.
The information I brought back from Fort Douglas delayed any more hostile demonstrations against the Hudson's Bay. That very morning, before I had finished breakfast, Governor McDonell rode over to Fort Gibraltar, and on condition that Fort Douglas be left unmolested gave himself up to the Nor'-Westers. At noon, when I was riding off to the buffalo hunt and the Missouri, I saw the captain, smiling and debonair127, embarking—or rather being embarked—with North-West brigades, to be sent on a free trip two thousand five hundred miles to Montreal.
"A safe voyage to ye," said Duncan Cameron, commander of Nor'-Westers, as the ex-governor of Red River settled himself in a canoe. "A safe voyage to ye, mon!"[Pg 180]
"Sure now, Rufus," said Father Holland to me a year afterwards, "'twas a prosperous return he had!"
Fortunately, I had my choice of scouts129, and, by dangling130 the prospects131 of a buffalo hunt before La Robe Noire and Little Fellow, tempted132 them to come with me.
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1
revel
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| vi.狂欢作乐，陶醉；n.作乐，狂欢 | |
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revels
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| n.作乐( revel的名词复数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉v.作乐( revel的第三人称单数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
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quaff
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| v.一饮而尽；痛饮 | |
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stentorian
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| adj.大声的，响亮的 | |
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brawl
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| n.大声争吵，喧嚷；v.吵架，对骂 | |
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bout
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| n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛 | |
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bawl
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| v.大喊大叫，大声地喊，咆哮 | |
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warehouse
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| n.仓库；vt.存入仓库 | |
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mustering
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的现在分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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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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scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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highland
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| n.(pl.)高地，山地 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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gad
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| n.闲逛；v.闲逛 | |
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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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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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jawed
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| adj.有颌的有颚的 | |
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nag
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| v.(对…)不停地唠叨；n.爱唠叨的人 | |
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veracity
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| n.诚实 | |
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pal
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| n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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bidder
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| n.(拍卖时的)出价人，报价人，投标人 | |
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wares
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| n. 货物, 商品 | |
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snugly
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| adv.紧贴地；贴身地；暖和舒适地；安适地 | |
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berthed
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| v.停泊( berth的过去式和过去分词 )；占铺位 | |
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buffalo
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| n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛 | |
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speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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crafty
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| adj.狡猾的，诡诈的 | |
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prattling
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| v.（小孩般）天真无邪地说话( prattle的现在分词 )；发出连续而无意义的声音；闲扯；东拉西扯 | |
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confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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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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addled
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| adj.（头脑）糊涂的，愚蠢的；（指蛋类）变坏v.使糊涂( addle的过去式和过去分词 )；使混乱；使腐臭；使变质 | |
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35
pate
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| n.头顶；光顶 | |
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36
dough
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| n.生面团；钱，现款 | |
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37
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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38
prance
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| v.（马）腾跃，(人)神气活现地走 | |
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39
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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40
canny
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| adj.谨慎的，节俭的 | |
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41
coteries
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| n.（有共同兴趣的）小集团( coterie的名词复数 ) | |
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42
latch
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| n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁 | |
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43
recesses
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| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
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44
recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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45
engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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46
sling
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| vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓 | |
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47
adept
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| adj.老练的，精通的 | |
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48
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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49
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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50
farce
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| n.闹剧，笑剧，滑稽戏；胡闹 | |
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51
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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52
furtively
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| adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地 | |
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53
furtive
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| adj.鬼鬼崇崇的，偷偷摸摸的 | |
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54
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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55
diplomacy
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| n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕 | |
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56
abiding
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| adj.永久的，持久的，不变的 | |
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57
professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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58
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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59
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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60
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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61
riveted
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| 铆接( rivet的过去式和过去分词 )； 把…固定住； 吸引； 引起某人的注意 | |
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62
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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63
insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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64
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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65
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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66
loon
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| n.狂人 | |
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67
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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68
saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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69
hauteur
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| n.傲慢 | |
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70
malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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71
shuffling
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| adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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72
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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73
banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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74
anatomy
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| n.解剖学，解剖；功能，结构，组织 | |
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75
density
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| n.密集，密度，浓度 | |
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76
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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77
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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78
ethics
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| n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准 | |
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79
intriguing
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| adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心 | |
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80
carving
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| n.雕刻品，雕花 | |
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81
carvings
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| n.雕刻( carving的名词复数 )；雕刻术；雕刻品；雕刻物 | |
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82
gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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83
eluded
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| v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到 | |
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84
elude
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| v.躲避，困惑 | |
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85
tormented
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| 饱受折磨的 | |
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86
winced
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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87
watchfulness
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| 警惕，留心； 警觉（性） | |
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88
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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89
saucy
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| adj.无礼的；俊俏的；活泼的 | |
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90
knave
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| n.流氓；（纸牌中的）杰克 | |
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91
spike
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| n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效 | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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93
fussy
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| adj.为琐事担忧的，过分装饰的，爱挑剔的 | |
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94
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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95
arraigned
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| v.告发( arraign的过去式和过去分词 )；控告；传讯；指责 | |
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96
respite
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| n.休息，中止，暂缓 | |
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97
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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98
eavesdropper
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| 偷听者 | |
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99
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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100
bluster
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| v.猛刮；怒冲冲的说；n.吓唬，怒号；狂风声 | |
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101
doggedly
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| adv.顽强地，固执地 | |
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102
sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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103
blandly
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| adv.温和地，殷勤地 | |
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104
rogue
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| n.流氓；v.游手好闲 | |
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105
stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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106
astounded
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| v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶 | |
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107
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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108
highlander
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| n.高地的人，苏格兰高地地区的人 | |
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109
intercept
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| vt.拦截，截住，截击 | |
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110
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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111
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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112
ramping
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| 土堤斜坡( ramp的现在分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯 | |
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113
clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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114
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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115
waylaying
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| v.拦截，拦路( waylay的现在分词 ) | |
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116
dodging
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| n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避 | |
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117
stockade
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| n.栅栏，围栏；v.用栅栏防护 | |
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118
hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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119
picket
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| n.纠察队；警戒哨；v.设置纠察线；布置警卫 | |
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120
pranks
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| n.玩笑，恶作剧( prank的名词复数 ) | |
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121
tirade
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| n.冗长的攻击性演说 | |
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122
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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123
demonstrations
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| 证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威 | |
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124
ambling
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| v.（马）缓行( amble的现在分词 )；从容地走，漫步 | |
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125
pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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126
trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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127
debonair
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| adj.殷勤的，快乐的 | |
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128
ironical
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| adj.讽刺的，冷嘲的 | |
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129
scouts
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| 侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员 | |
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130
dangling
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| 悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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131
prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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132
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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