It was late in the evening ere we reached the shelf in the high glens which was the headquarters of the Indian host. I rode on a horse, between Onotawah and Shalah, as if I were a chief and no prisoner. On the road we met many bands of Indians hastening to the trysting-place, for the leader had flung his outposts along the whole base of the range, and the chief warriors1 returned to the plateau for the last ritual. No man spoke2 a word, and when we met other companies the only greeting was by uplifted hands.
The shelf was lit with fires, and there was a flare3 of torches in the centre. I saw an immense multitude of lean, dark faces—how many I cannot tell, but ten thousand at the least. It took all my faith to withstand the awe4 of the sight. For these men were not the common Indian breed, but a race nurtured5 and armed for great wars, disciplined to follow one man, and sharpened to a needle-point in spirit. Perhaps if I had been myself a campaigner I should have been less awed6 by the spectacle; but having nothing with which to compare it, I judged this a host before which the scattered7 Border stockades8 and Nicholson's scanty9 militia10 would go down like stubble before fire.
At the head of the plateau, just under the brow of the hill, and facing the half-circle of level land, stood a big tent of skins. Before it was a square pile of boulders12 about the height of a man's waist, heaped on the top with brushwood so that it looked like a rude altar. Around this the host had gathered, sitting mostly on the ground with knees drawn13 to the chin, but some few standing14 like sentries15 under arms. I was taken to the middle of the half-circle, and Shalah motioned me to dismount, while a stripling led off the horses. My legs gave under me, for they were still very feeble, and I sat hunkered up on the sward like the others. I looked for Shalah and Onotawah, but they had disappeared, and I was left alone among those lines of dark, unknown faces.
I waited with an awe on my spirits against which I struggled in vain. The silence of so vast a multitude, the sputtering17 torches, lighting18 the wild amphitheatre of the hills, the strange clearing with its altar, the mystery of the immense dusky sky, and the memory of what I had already endured—all weighed on me with the sense of impending19 doom20. I summoned all my fortitude21 to my aid. I told myself that Ringan believed in me, and that I had the assurance that God would not see me cast down. But such courage as I had was now a resolve rather than any exhilaration of spirits. A brooding darkness lay on me like a cloud.
Presently the hush22 grew deeper, and from the tent a man came. I could not see him clearly, but the flickering23 light told me that he was very tall, and that, like the Indians, he was naked to the middle. He stood behind the altar, and began some incantation.
It was in the Indian tongue which I could not understand. The voice was harsh and discordant24, but powerful enough to fill that whole circle of hill. It seemed to rouse the passion of the hearers, for grave faces around me began to work, and long-drawn sighs came from their lips.
Then at a word from the figure four men advanced, bearing something between them, which they laid on the altar. To my amazement25 I saw that it was a great yellow panther, so trussed up that it was impotent to hurt. How such a beast had ever been caught alive I know not. I could see its green cat's eyes glowing in the dark, and the striving of its muscles, and hear the breath hissing26 from its muzzled27 jaws28.
The figure raised a knife and plunged29 it into the throat of the great cat. The slow lapping of blood broke in on the stillness. Then the voice shrilled30 high and wild. I could see that the man had marked his forehead with blood, and that his hands were red and dripping. He seemed to be declaiming some savage31 chant, to which my neighbours began to keep time with their bodies. Wilder and wilder it grew, till it ended in a scream like a seamew's. Whoever the madman was, he knew the mystery of Indian souls, for in a little he would have had that host lusting32 blindly for death. I felt the spell myself, piercing through my awe and hatred33 of the spell-weaver, and I won't say but that my weary head kept time with the others to that weird34 singing.
A man brought a torch and lit the brushwood on the altar. Instantly a flame rose to heaven, through which the figure of the magician showed fitfully like a mountain in mist. That act broke the wizardry for me. To sacrifice a cat was monstrous35 and horrible, but it was also uncouthly36 silly. I saw the magic for what it was, a maniac's trickery. In the revulsion I grew angry, and my anger heartened me wonderfully. Was this stupendous quackery37 to bring ruin to the Tidewater? Though I had to choke the life with my own hands out of that warlock's throat, I should prevent it.
Then from behind the fire the voice began again. But this time I understood it. The words were English. I was amazed, for I had forgotten that I knew the wizard to be a white man.
"Thus saith the Lord God," it cried, "Woe38 to the bloody39 city! I will make the pile great for fire. Heap on wood, kindle40 the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned."
He poked41 the beast on the altar, and a bit of burning yellow fur fell off and frizzled on the ground.
It was horrid42 beyond words, lewd43 and savage and impious, and desperately44 cruel. And the strange thing was that the voice was familiar.
"O thou that dwellest upon many waters," it went on again, "abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness45. The Lord of Hosts hath sworn by Himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men as with caterpillars…."
With that last word there came over me a flood of recollection. It was spoken not in the common English way, but in the broad manner of my own folk…. I saw in my mind's eye a wet moorland, and heard a voice inveighing46 against the wickedness of those in high places…. I smelled the foul47 air of the Canongate Tolbooth, and heard this same man testifying against the vanity of the world…. "Cawterpillars!" It was the voice that had once bidden me sing "Jenny Nettles48."
Harsh and strident and horrible, it was yet the voice I had known, now blaspheming Scripture49 words behind that gruesome sacrifice. I think I laughed aloud. I remembered the man I had pursued my first night in Virginia, the man who had raided Frew's cabin. I remembered Ringan's tale of the Scots redemptioner that had escaped from Norfolk county, and the various strange writings which had descended50 from the hills. Was it not the queerest fate that one whom I had met in my boyish scrapes should return after six years and many thousand miles to play once more a major part in my life! The nameless general in the hills was Muckle John Gib, once a mariner51 of Borrowstoneness, and some time leader of the Sweet-Singers. I felt the smell of wet heather, and the fishy52 odours of the Forth53; I heard the tang of our country speech, and the swirl54 of the gusty55 winds of home.
But in a second all thought of mirth was gone, and a deep solemnity fell upon me. God had assuredly directed my path, for He had brought the two of us together over the widest spaces of earth. I had no fear of the issue. I should master Muckle John as I had mastered him before. My awe was all for God's mysterious dealing56, not for that poor fool posturing57 behind his obscene sacrifice. His voice rose and fell in eldritch screams and hollow moans. He was mouthing the words of some Bible Prophet.
"A Sword is upon her horses, and upon her chariots, and upon all the mingled58 people that are in the midst of her, and they shall become as women. A Sword is upon her treasures, and they shall be robbed; a drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols59."
Every syllable60 brought back some memory. He had the whine61 and sough in his voice that our sectaries prized, and I could shut my eyes and imagine I was back in the little kirk of Lesmahagow on a hot summer morn. And then would come the scream of madness, the high wail62 of the Sweet-Singer.
"Thus saith the Lord God: Behold63, I will bring a King of kings from the north, with horses and with chariots, and with horsemen and companies and muck people. He shall slay64 with the sword thy daughters in the field…."
"Fine words," I thought; "but Elspeth laid her whip over your shoulders, my man."
"… With the hoofs65 of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets. He shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons66 shall go down to the ground…. And I will cause the music of thy songs to cease, and the sound of thy harps67 shall no more be heard."
I had a vision of Elspeth's birthday party when we sat round the Governor's table, and I had wondered dismally68 how long it would be before our pleasant songs would be turned to mourning.
The fires died down, the smoke thinned, and the full moon rising over the crest69 of the hills poured her light on us. The torches flickered70 insolently71 in that calm radiance. The voice, too, grew lower and the incantation ceased. Then it began again in the Indian tongue, and the whole host rose to their feet. Muckle John, like some old priest of Diana, flung up his arms to the heavens, and seemed to be invoking72 his strange gods. Or he may have been blessing73 his flock—I know not which. Then he turned and strode back to his tent, just as he had done on that night in the Cauldstaneslap….
A hand was laid on my arm and Onotawah stood by me. He motioned me to follow him, and led me past the smoking altar to a row of painted white stones around the great wigwam. This he did not cross, but pointed74 to the tent door, I pushed aside the flap and entered.
An Indian lamp—a wick floating in oil—stood on a rough table. But its thin light was unneeded, for the great flood of moonshine, coming through the slits75 of the skins, made a clear yellow twilight76. By it I marked the figure of Muckle John on his knees.
"Good evening to you, Mr. Gib," I said.
The figure sprang to its feet and strode over to me.
"Who are ye," it cried, "who speaks a name that is no more spoken on earth?"
"Just a countryman of yours, who has forgathered with you before. Have you no mind of the Cauldstaneslap and the Canongate Tolbooth?"
He snatched up the lamp and peered into my face, but he was long past recollection.
"I know ye not. But if ye be indeed one from that idolatrous country of Scotland, the Lord hath sent you to witness the triumph of His servant, Know that I am no longer the man John Gib, but the chosen of the Lord, to whom He hath given a new name, even Jerubbaal, saying let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar."
"That's too long a word for me to remember, Mr. Gib, so by your leave
I'll call you as you were christened."
I had forced myself to a slow coolness, and my voice seemed to madden him.
"Ye would outface me," he cried. "I see ye are an idolater from the tents of Shem, on whom judgment77 will be speedy and surprising. Know ye not what the Lord hath prepared for ye? Down in your proud cities ye are feasting and dicing78 and smiling on your paramours, but the writing is on the wall, and in a little ye will be crying like weaned bairns for a refuge against the storm of God. Your strong men shall be slain79, and your virgins80 shall be led captive, and your little children shall be dashed against a stone. And in the midst of your ruins I, even I, will raise a temple to the God of Israel, and nations that know me not will run unto me because of the Lord my God."
I had determined81 on my part, and played it calmly.
"And what will you do with your Indian braves?" I asked.
"Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place to lie down in, for my people that have sought me," he answered.
"A bonny spectacle," I said. "Man, if you dare to cross the Border you will be whipped at a cart-tail and clapped into Bedlam82 as a crazy vagabond."
It took all my courage to play my game. I stood motionless, looking at him, and his head fell. Had I moved he would have struck, but to his mad eyes my calmness was terrifying.
"It sticks in my mind," I said, "that there is a commandment, Do no murder. You call yourself a follower84 of the Lord. Let me tell you that you are no more than a bloody-minded savage, a thousandfold more guilty than those poor creatures you are leading astray. You serve Baal, not God, John Gib, and the devil in hell is banking86 his fires and counting on your company."
He gibbered at me like a bedlamite, but I knew what I was doing. I raised my voice, and spoke loud and clear, while my eyes held his in that yellow dusk.
"Priest of Baal," I cried, "lying prophet! Go down on your knees and pray for mercy. By the living God, the flames of hell are waiting for you. The lightnings tremble in the clouds to scorch87 you up and send your black soul to its own place."
His hands pawed at my throat, but the horror was descending88 on him. He shrieked like a wild beast, and cast fearful eyes behind him. Then he rushed into the dark corners, stabbing with his knife, crying that the devils were loosed. I remember how horribly he frothed at the mouth.
"Avaunt," he howled. "Avaunt, Mel and Abaddon! Avaunt, Evil-Merodach and Baal-Jezer! Ha! There I had ye, ye muckle goat. The stink89 of hell is on ye, but ye shall not take the elect of the Lord."
He crawled on his belly90, stabbing his knife into the ground. I easily avoided him, for his eyes saw nothing but his terrible phantoms91. Verily Shalah had spoken truth when he said that this man had bodily converse92 with the devils.
Then I threw him—quite easily, for his limbs were going limp in the extremity93 of his horror. He lay gasping94 and foaming95, his eyes turning back in his head, while I bound his arms to his sides with my belt. I found some cords in the tent, and tied his legs together. He moaned miserably96 for a little, and then was silent.
* * * * *
I think I must have sat by him for three hours. The world was very still, and the moon set, and the only light was the flickering lamp. Once or twice I heard a rustle97 by the tent door. Some Indian guard was on the watch, but I knew that no Indian dared to cross the forbidden circle.
I had no thoughts, being oppressed with a great stupor98 of weariness. I may have dozed99 a little, but the pain of my legs kept me from slumbering100.
Once or twice I looked at him, and I noticed that the madness had gone out of his face, and that he was sleeping peacefully. I wiped the froth from his lips, and his forehead was cool to my touch.
By and by, as I held the lamp close, I observed that his eyes were open. It was now time for the gamble I had resolved on. I remembered that morning in the Tolbooth, and how the madness had passed, leaving him a simple soul. I unstrapped the belt, and cut the cords about his legs.
"Do you feel better now, Mr. Gib?" I asked, as if it were the most ordinary question in the world.
He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Was it a dwam?" he inquired. "I get them whiles."
"It was a dwam, but I think it has passed."
He still rubbed his eyes, and peered about him, like a big collie dog that has lost its master.
"One who is well acquaint with Borrowstoneness and the links of Forth," said I.
I spoke in the accent of his own country-side, and it must have woke some dim chord in his memory, I made haste to strike while the iron was hot.
"There was a woman at Cramond…" I began.
He got to his feet and looked me in the face. "Ay, there was," he said, with an odd note in his voice. "What about her?" I could see that his hand was shaking.
"I think her name was Alison Steel."
"What ken ye of Alison Steel?" he asked fiercely. "Quick, man, what word have ye frae Alison?"
"You sent me with a letter to her. D'you not mind your last days in
Edinburgh, before they shipped you to the Plantations101?"
"It comes back to me," he cried. "Ay, it comes back. To think I should live to hear of Alison! What did she say?"
"Just this. That John Gib was a decent man if he would resist the devil of pride. She charged me to tell you that you would never be out of her prayers, and that she would live to be proud of you. 'John will never shame his kin11,' quoth she."
"Said she so?" he said musingly102. "She was aye a kind body. We were to be married at Martinmas, I mind, if the Lord hadna called me."
"You've need of her prayers," I said, "and of the prayers of every Christian103 soul on earth. I came here yestereen to find you mouthing blasphemies104, and howling like a mad tyke amid a parcel of heathen. And they tell me you're to lead your savages105 on Virginia, and give that smiling land to fire and sword. Think you Alison Steel would not be black ashamed if she heard the horrid tale?"
"'Twas the Lord's commands," he said gloomily, but there was no conviction in his words.
I changed my tone. "Do you dare to speak such blasphemy106?" I cried. "The Lord's commands! The devil's commands! The devil of your own sinful pride! You are like the false prophets that made Israel to sin. What brings you, a white man, at the head of murderous savages?"
"Israel would not hearken, so I turned to the Gentiles," said he.
"And what are you going to make of your Gentiles? Do you think you've put much Christianity into the heart of the gentry107 that were watching your antics last night?"
"They have glimmerings of grace," he said.
"Glimmerings of moonshine! They are bent108 on murder, and so are you, and you call that the Lord's commands. You would sacrifice your own folk to the heathen hordes109. God forgive you, John Gib, for you are no Christian, and no Scot, and no man."
"Virginia is an idolatrous land," said he; but he could not look up at me.
"And are your Indians not idolaters? Are you no idolater, with your burnt offerings and heathen gibberish? You worship a Baal and a Moloch worse than any Midianite, for you adore the devils of your own rotten heart."
The big man, with all the madness out of him, put his towsy head in his hands, and a sob110 shook his great shoulders.
"Listen to me, John Gib. I am come from your own country-side to save you from a hellish wickedness, I know the length and breadth of Virginia, and the land is full of Scots, men of the Covenant111 you have forsworn, who are living an honest life on their bits of farms, and worshipping the God you have forsaken112. There are women there like Alison Steel, and there are men there like yourself before you hearkened to the devil. Will you bring death to your own folk, with whom you once shared the hope of salvation113? By the land we both have left, and the kindly114 souls we both have known, and the prayers you said at your mother's knee, and the love of Christ who died for us, I adjure115 you to flee this great sin. For it is the sin against the Holy Ghost, and that knows no forgiveness."
The man was fairly broken down. "What must I do?" he cried. "I'm all in a creel. I'm but a pipe for the Lord to sound through."
"Take not that Name in vain, for the sounding is from your own corrupt116 heart. Mind what Alison Steel said about the devil of pride, for it was that sin by which the angels fell."
"But I've His plain commands," he wailed117. "He hath bidden me cast down idolatry, and bring the Gentiles to His kingdom."
"Did He say anything about Virginia? There's plenty idolatry elsewhere in America to keep you busy for a lifetime, and you can lead your Gentiles elsewhere than against your own kin. Turn your face westward118, John Gib. I, too, can dream dreams and see visions, and it is borne in on me that your road is plain before you. Lead this great people away from the little shielings of Virginia, over the hills and over the great mountains and the plains beyond, and on and on till you come to an abiding119 city. You will find idolaters enough to dispute your road, and you can guide your flock as the Lord directs you. Then you will be clear of the murderer's guilt85 who would stain his hands in kindly blood."
He lifted his great head, and the marks of the sacrifice were still on his brow.
"D'ye think that would be the Lord's will?" he asked innocently.
"I declare it unto you," said I. "I have been sent by God to save your soul. I give you your marching orders, for though you are half a madman you are whiles a man. There's the soul of a leader in you, and I would keep you from the shame of leading men to hell. To-morrow morn you will tell these folk that the Lord has revealed to you a better way, and by noon you will be across the Shenandoah. D'you hear my word?"
"Ay," he said. "We will march in the morning."
"Can you lead them where you will?"
"They will follow where I bid. There's no a man of them dare cheep at what I tell them."
"My work is done," I said. "I go to whence I came. And some day I shall go to Cramond and tell Alison that John Gib is no disgrace to his kin."
"Would you put up a prayer?" he said timidly. "I would be the better of one."
Then for the first and last time in my life I spoke aloud to my Maker121 in another's presence, and it was surely the strangest petition ever offered.
"Lord," I prayed, "Thou seest Thy creature, John Gib, who by the perverseness122 of his heart has come to the edge of grievous sin. Take the cloud from his spirit, arrange his disordered wits, and lead him to a wiser life. Keep him in mind of his own land, and of her who prays for him. Guide him over hills and rivers to an enlarged country, and make his arm strong against his enemies, so be they are not of his own kin. And if ever he should hearken again to the devil, do Thou blast his body with Thy fires, so that his soul may be saved."
"Amen," said he, and I went out of the tent to find the grey dawn beginning to steal up the sky.
Shalah was waiting at the entrance, far inside the white stones. 'Twas the first time I had ever seen him in a state approaching fear.
"The Tidewater is safe. This day they march westwards to look for their new country."
"Thy magic is as the magic of Heaven," he said reverently124. "My heart all night has been like water, for I know no charm which hath prevailed against the mystery of the Panther."
"'Twas no magic of mine," said I. "God spoke to him through my lips in the night watches."
We took our way unchallenged through the sleeping host till we had climbed the scarp of the hills.
"What brought you to the tent door?" I asked.
"I abode125 there through the night, I heard the strife126 with the devils, and my joints127 were loosened. Also I heard thy voice, brother, but I knew not thy words."
"But what did you mean to do?" I asked again.
"It was in my mind to do my little best to see that no harm befell thee. And if harm came, I had the thought of trying my knife on the ribs128 of yonder magician."
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1
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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spoke
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| 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 | |
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flare
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| v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发 | |
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awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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nurtured
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| 养育( nurture的过去式和过去分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长 | |
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awed
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| adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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stockades
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| n.（防御用的）栅栏，围桩( stockade的名词复数 ) | |
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scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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militia
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| n.民兵，民兵组织 | |
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kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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boulders
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| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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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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sentries
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| 哨兵，步兵( sentry的名词复数 ) | |
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ken
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| n.视野，知识领域 | |
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sputtering
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| n.反应溅射法；飞溅；阴极真空喷镀；喷射v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的现在分词 )；发劈啪声；喷出；飞溅出 | |
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lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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fortitude
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hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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flickering
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discordant
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| adj.不调和的 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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muzzled
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| 给（狗等）戴口套( muzzle的过去式和过去分词 )； 使缄默，钳制…言论 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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shrilled
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| （声音）尖锐的，刺耳的，高频率的( shrill的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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lusting
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| 贪求（lust的现在分词形式） | |
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33
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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34
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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35
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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36
uncouthly
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37
quackery
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| n.庸医的医术，骗子的行为 | |
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38
woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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39
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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40
kindle
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| v.点燃，着火 | |
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41
poked
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| v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
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42
horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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43
lewd
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| adj.淫荡的 | |
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44
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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45
covetousness
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46
inveighing
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| v.猛烈抨击，痛骂，谩骂( inveigh的现在分词 ) | |
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47
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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48
nettles
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| n.荨麻( nettle的名词复数 ) | |
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49
scripture
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| n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段 | |
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50
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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51
mariner
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| n.水手号不载人航天探测器，海员，航海者 | |
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52
fishy
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| adj. 值得怀疑的 | |
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53
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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54
swirl
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| v.(使)打漩，(使)涡卷；n.漩涡，螺旋形 | |
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55
gusty
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| adj.起大风的 | |
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56
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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57
posturing
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| 做出某种姿势( posture的现在分词 ) | |
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58
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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59
idols
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| 偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像 | |
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60
syllable
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| n.音节；vt.分音节 | |
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61
whine
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| v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣 | |
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62
wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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63
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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64
slay
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| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
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65
hoofs
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| 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 ) | |
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66
garrisons
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| 守备部队，卫戍部队( garrison的名词复数 ) | |
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67
harps
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| abbr.harpsichord 拨弦古钢琴n.竖琴( harp的名词复数 ) | |
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68
dismally
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| adv.阴暗地，沉闷地 | |
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69
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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70
flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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71
insolently
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| adv.自豪地，自傲地 | |
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72
invoking
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| v.援引( invoke的现在分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求 | |
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73
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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74
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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75
slits
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| n.狭长的口子，裂缝( slit的名词复数 )v.切开，撕开( slit的第三人称单数 )；在…上开狭长口子 | |
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76
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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77
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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78
dicing
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| n.掷骰子，（皮革上的）菱形装饰v.将…切成小方块，切成丁（ dice的现在分词 ） | |
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79
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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80
virgins
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| 处女，童男( virgin的名词复数 )； 童贞玛利亚（耶稣之母） | |
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81
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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82
bedlam
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| n.混乱，骚乱；疯人院 | |
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83
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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84
follower
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| n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒 | |
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85
guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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86
banking
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| n.银行业，银行学，金融业 | |
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87
scorch
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| v.烧焦，烤焦；高速疾驶；n.烧焦处，焦痕 | |
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88
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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89
stink
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| vi.发出恶臭；糟透，招人厌恶；n.恶臭 | |
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90
belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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91
phantoms
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| n.鬼怪，幽灵( phantom的名词复数 ) | |
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92
converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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93
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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94
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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95
foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
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96
miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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97
rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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98
stupor
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| v.昏迷；不省人事 | |
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99
dozed
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| v.打盹儿，打瞌睡( doze的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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100
slumbering
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| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式） | |
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101
plantations
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| n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 ) | |
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102
musingly
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| adv.沉思地，冥想地 | |
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103
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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104
blasphemies
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| n.对上帝的亵渎，亵渎的言词[行为]( blasphemy的名词复数 )；侮慢的言词（或行为） | |
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105
savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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106
blasphemy
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| n.亵渎，渎神 | |
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107
gentry
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| n.绅士阶级，上层阶级 | |
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108
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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109
hordes
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| n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 )；部落 | |
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110
sob
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| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
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111
covenant
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| n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约 | |
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112
Forsaken
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| adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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113
salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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114
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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115
adjure
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| v.郑重敦促(恳请) | |
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116
corrupt
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| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
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117
wailed
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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118
westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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119
abiding
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| adj.永久的，持久的，不变的 | |
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120
stiffened
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| 加强的 | |
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121
maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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122
perverseness
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| n. 乖张, 倔强, 顽固 | |
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123
chattered
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| （人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤 | |
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124
reverently
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| adv.虔诚地 | |
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125
abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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126
strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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127
joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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128
ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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