'What see you there
That hath so cowarded and chased your blood
Out of appearance?'
The weather, which had been beautifully fine and mild for the time of year during October and the first half of November, kept up for Peggy's birthday on the twenty-first. By good luck that important occasion fell on a Saturday, so there was no tiresome1 school to interfere2 with the festivities. As the Vaughan family was more rich in goodwill3 than in coin of the realm, the presents were mostly of a kind which I am afraid either Maud Middleton or Phyllis and Marjorie Norton would have scorned, but to Peggy they gave the utmost satisfaction. There was the much-longed-for guinea-pig from Father, which had been smuggled4 up in a hamper5, and kept with elaborate care in a remote portion of the barn (a secret which Bobby found the utmost difficulty in preserving); a nightdress case worked by Lilian's neat fingers; a cork6 frame from Bobby, made under Archie's supervision7; a round pink-and-white wool mat, which Nancy had crocheted8 at odd times during the evenings; and a little mug from Joe, with a Welshwoman in a tall hat on one side, and 'A present from Llandrindod' on the[194] other, bought on a visit to the famous wells which he had paid in company with the church choir9. Archie came up during the morning bearing a pretty writing-case, an offering from himself and Miss Forster, while a parcel had arrived from India, containing the loveliest carved sandal-wood box, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, to show that Aunt Helen had not forgotten her little niece.
As the birthday was not so very long after the fifth of November, they had decided10 to keep any Guy Fawkes celebrations until then, and had been busy for some days collecting sticks for a bonfire. The party consisted solely11 of themselves and Archie, for Father's suggestion of the five Miss Davenports was received with howls of indignation; and Lilian and Nancy's combined efforts had produced a cake with twelve tiny coloured wax candles stuck into icing-sugar on the top, one for every year of Peggy's life, and which had to be blown out in turns by the assembled company for good luck.
The bonfire was held in the stubble field beyond the stackyard, and roared up like a fiery12 furnace, making quite a red glow in the sky, while its red ashes roasted potatoes and chestnuts13 to a turn. Archie had even contrived14 to manufacture a few fireworks, having shut himself up in a room over the stables at the Willows15, a combination of peculiar16 odours and a singed17 eyebrow18 alone testifying to his occupation. To be sure, the catherine-wheel stuck, and utterly19 refused to turn, in spite of all pokings and proddings, and the rockets only fizzled off near the ground, instead of shooting up as they ought to have done; but the squibs and crackers20 were quite effective, and a train of gunpowder21, laid down to represent a fiery serpent, blazed away in fine style. The fire-balloon,[195] however, was the success of the evening, for it shot straight up, and floated across the sky like a beautiful meteor, its pink and green sides giving a charming effect, till at length it dwindled22 away and became a mere23 speck24 in the distance, leaving the children more full of admiration25 than ever for Archie's talents.
After the birthday the weather broke and a foretaste of winter arrived, with cold winds and gray, murky26 skies and occasional falls of snow. Archie caught a severe chill hunting for microscopical27 specimens28 in the pond, and was in bed for some weeks, nursed by his doting29 aunt, consoling himself for his enforced idleness by planning such improvements at both the Willows and the Abbey as were calculated to make their owners' hair stand on end.
As the long evenings closed in, Joe, ever timorous30 with regard to the supernatural, became the prey31 of superstitious32 fears. He saw shrouds33 in the candle and corpse-lights in the churchyard. Rollo's howling filled him with forebodings, and a screech-owl flying over the orchard34 sent him into a panic. He heard ghostly footfalls among the ruins and mysterious taps on the stable-window when he was suppering the horses, which, in spite of Lilian's reassurances35, he persisted in regarding as a warning, though for which of his numerous relatives it was intended kept him in a state of perpetual doubt and uneasiness. The worst of it was that he infected Nancy with his alarms to such an extent that she could scarcely be persuaded to put her nose out at the back-door after dusk (except on her evening out, when her sweetheart came to fetch her), which was distinctly inconvenient36 if a pail of water were wanted during the evening, or she happened to have left the coal-box standing37 in the yard. The Abbey boasted the reputation of maintaining what[196] Peggy called 'a real, live, genuine ghost,' though none of the family had ever caught a glimpse of it, it seeming to prefer to manifest itself to Joe and to chance visitors from the village who came up to the house on dark evenings. The washerwoman's little girl had heard footsteps behind her on the drive and a distinct clanking as of chains, while old Betty Carson swore on her Bible oath that she had seen something white moving about among the ruins, which groaned38 as in the expression of the keenest mental anguish39; and when Mr. Vaughan suggested it might prove nothing worse than a young bullock with indigestion, she had dismissed the idea as almost profane40.
Beyond the fact that a lady in white was supposed to haunt both the ruins and the oak-wood, weeping and wringing41 her hands in orthodox ghostly fashion, the children had not been able to learn much of the story, for there were so many and divergent accounts of it, all told with uncertainty42 as to names and dates, and in that very oracular—not to say muddled—style sometimes indulged in by rustic43 historians. But one wet afternoon, finding David alone in the harness-room, where the old man had lighted a fire to make some wonderful decoction of foxgloves wherewith to doctor a cow with a strained leg, they seated themselves on a sack of potatoes in front of the cheerful blaze, and with the aid of a little judicious44 flattery and coaxing45 managed to cajole him into a true and circumstantial account of the family ghost.
Although he was somewhat crusty to begin with, old David, like all who have the gift of narrative46, enjoyed telling a story, and he soon warmed to his work.
'It were my father as told me,' he began, 'and he had it from his father, and his'n afore him, for it be a[197] powerful long time ago, it be. Ay, time do pass by quick, for sure!'
'When did it happen?' asked Peggy, hastily, hoping to nip in the bud one of the old fellow's rambling47 divergences48 from the point.
'In the reign49 of King Henry the Sixth, so they say. Ay, it were Henry, for it were the same name, I mind me, as the old Squire50.'
'I don't know who he married; it weren't nothing to do with marryin'. It were fightin' first in those days, though I suppose they married, too, like other folk, when they found time.'
'Who were fighting?' inquired Bobby.
'Why, it was the Wars of the Roses, of course,' answered Peggy crushingly.
'Nay52, it weren't no wars of roses, I can tell you. It was real bloody53 battles they fought then, with swords and pikes and spears and the like; for there was two Kings, both with a notion of reignin', and when Kings falls out, it's their subjects has to do the fightin' for them, I takes it.'
'Henry VI. and Edward IV.,' put in Peggy. 'Please go on, David.'
'There was Vaughans at the Abbey then, just as there is Vaughans at the Abbey now,' continued the old man, staring meditatively54 into his foxglove brew55, as though he could see a mental picture in the pot. 'And him as had it then was Sir Richard Vaughan, the one as lies under the cracked old monument in the corner at church.'
'Well, this Sir Richard Vaughan, he favoured King[198] Henry of Lancaster, and went out to fight for him with forty gentlemen and yeomen at his back, to say naught57 of lesser58 folk. They met Duke Edward of York, him as afterwards became King, at Mortimer's Cross, which ain't so far from here, neither, for I went once myself when I were a lad with my aunt's cousin, who drove a good horse and gig. Let me see: how many years will it be agone?'
'Oh, David, never mind! Do go on with the story! What happened at the battle?'
'He were killed, for sure, were Sir Richard, and his head took by they Yorkists, and kicked about like a football afore they nailed it up over Hereford gate. You'd ne'er find his skull59 if you looked inside the old monument—naught but the rest of his bones.'
'How awful! Then is it his ghost?'
'Oh no, Bobby! It is the White Lady, you know!'
David took advantage of these interruptions to lift his pot from the fire and examine its contents, but finding them not yet to his liking60, put it on again, and continued:
'It weren't enough for they Yorkists to get Sir Richard's head; they wanted his lands along of it, and they marched across country (a set of blood-thirsty ruffians they was) and laid siege to the Abbey. Dame61 Eleanor, a widow new-made, as you might say, couldn't hold it above two days, for the pick of the men had all gone with her husband, and the best part of they lay stretched out stiff at Mortimer's Cross. So she lets them in at last, sore agin her will, and gives up the keys to Lord Grey of Wigmore. You'd a' thought that would a' satisfied them, but they wanted more.'
'What did they want?' said Peggy, for David seemed disposed to rest from his labours and attend to his cookery.
[199]'Sir Richard had left a son behind him, a young lad of nine or ten or thereabouts, and he were the heir. It were him as Lord Grey wanted—told a fine tale as how he'd take him up to London, and get him put as page to the great Earl of Warwick, which were as good as makin' his fortune.'
'Did he go?'
'Nay, his mother were no fool, neither, and she knowed full well she'd ne'er see him again, no more than you'd see a duck if you gave it in charge of the fox. She'd sent him away safe out of the Abbey by that passage to the cave, most like, where you very near lost your lives last summer, and she weren't going to let on where he were, not to no one.'
'Did she tell? Did he get off safe? What happened?'
'Let me tell my tale in my own way,' said David testily62. 'They was brutes63 in those days, and had no respect for God or man, let alone woman. So they clapped a thumbscrew on Dame Eleanor, to sharpen her wits.'
'Oh, poor thing! She didn't tell, did she?' cried the children, who could not forbear comments.
'Tell! Not she, though her thumb was crushed to a jelly. And when they see'd it weren't no manner of use, they let her go. But that Lord Grey of Wigmore was a disciple64 of Old Nick himself, and what does he do but catch hold of Dame Eleanor's daughter, which weren't more' an a little maid like Miss Peggy there, and put the screw on her thumb, thinkin' it would loosen her mother's tongue to hear her shriek65. There's things that women can bear up to a certain pass, but touch their young uns, and they'll let you know. At the first cry as was raised by that child Dame Eleanor went clean off her head, and, breakin' away from them[200] as held her, she seized up a dagger66 and stabbed herself through the breast, with a awful shout of laughter, shuttin' her lips for ever from them as would wrest67 the secret from her.'
'And what became of the poor little boy and girl?'
'Lord Grey felt a bit 'shamed, like, when he see'd what were done, and he sent the girl home to his wife, who brought her up kind. And the boy had been took away by that time to them as was his friends. He grew up to manhood and learned to fight, like everyone else in they times, and then King Henry came to his own again, and he got back the Abbey.'
'But King Henry didn't stay long on the throne, did he? I thought the history-book said that "King Edward landed at Ravenspur and fought the Battle of Barnet." We learnt it in our dates last Monday.'
'I know naught of books. It's what my father told me, and his father afore him. There have been a many Kings since then, I reckon, but the Vaughans have held the Abbey in spite of 'em.'
'But, David, you haven't told us about the ghost yet, and that's the most important part of all.'
'The ghost! Oh, that be Dame Eleanor, for sure. They say she walks round the ruins of the Abbey and across to the oak-wood. Whiles she goes away, and no one sees her for long enough, and whiles she comes back; and they do say,' said David, lowering his voice, 'that if there's a death in the family, or any evil hangin' over the Vaughans, that she be there shriekin' and wringin' her hands to give warnin' of what be to come.'
The children were beginning to feel quite delightfully68 creepy, and would have liked a further continuation of the spirit portion of the story; but David's decoction being now ready, his thoughts were with his[201] invalid69 in the cow-house, and nothing could bring them back to Dame Eleanor's wraith70. So, in spite of all entreaties71 for more, he departed, bearing his steaming can with him, and declaring that one good cow was worth all the ghosts and ghostesses in the kingdom, 'for you might do some good to she, but as to they, they was naught but hearsay72, after all.'
After this, Peggy and Bobby were determined73 to try and obtain a sight of their ancestress, and with much screwing up of their courage stole out one evening, and crept fearfully round the ruins, clutching each other's hands very tightly, and jumping at every sound. There was a fitful moon, and it was just light enough to see the outlines of the old walls and the pieces of broken stair and column, with very dark places between, where the shadows fell. It was an ideal spot for a ghost. It really seemed as if these old relics74 of bygone days must be haunted, so strong were the cords which bound them to the past. A cloud had come over the moon, and as they groped their way round the corner of what had been the refectory, Peggy caught Bobby's arm.
'Listen!' she said in a thrilling whisper.
The children clung together tighter than ever and held their breath, for there certainly was the most extraordinary noise to be heard—a kind of mixture between groaning75 and sighing, with a rattling76 sound as of dragging chains. It seemed coming in their direction, too, and they shrank into a niche77 in the wall, with their hair almost standing on end. Something gleamed white in the faint moonlight, and a terrific sound suddenly boomed in their ears. Frightened almost out of their wits, the children shrieked78 and ran, but stopped before they had gone twenty yards, for the noise had developed into a very[202] decided 'Hee-haw!' and the moon, bursting through the clouds, revealed the long nose and twirling ears of the tinker's broken-winded old donkey, who, dragging a clog79 on his leg, was giving vent80 to his feelings in his own peculiar fashion, his master having turned him into the ruins for a stolen feed during the night, no doubt with the intention of fetching him in the morning before anyone was up and about. It was such bathos after the overwrought state of their feelings that they sat down and laughed till the tears ran down their cheeks, treasuring the joke to tell to Archie when he should be well enough to receive visitors, and holding it up as a model to relieve Nancy's fears.
But seeing how easy it was to imagine a ghost out of really every-day materials, the children plotted mischief81 next Saturday, and determined to give Joe a fright. About half a mile from the house lay the oak-wood, which was also the supposed scene of Dame Eleanor's walk. Through this wood ran a road, which was the shortest way to Middlehead, a little market-town in the opposite direction to Warford. Knowing that Joe had gone for a holiday, with some other lads from the village, to a fair which was being held that day at Middlehead, they decided to construct a ghost and fix it up in the wood, to alarm him and his companions as they returned. They kept their secret to themselves, and retired82 to the barn to fashion a figure of Dame Eleanor according to their own notions of what a phantom83 should be. Taking a large turnip84, they scooped85 out the inside till there was nothing left but a hollow shell, cutting holes in it for eyes, nose, and mouth, and fixing a candle inside, so that when the light shone through it should resemble a horrible, grinning face. At dusk they stole away with the rest[203] of their materials to the oak-wood, and set to work. The spot chosen was a grassy86 corner, where a gate across the road formed an angle with the wall which bounded the wood upon one side. It was a specially87 dark and shady place, for the tall trees shut out the sky, and even in the daytime it looked gloomy and still. They first planted a stout88 broomstick in the ground, and fixed89 the turnip head firmly upon the top of it; two branches of trees tied on like cross-bars made a pair of shoulders and arms, and when covered with a sheet stolen from the linen-cupboard, it appeared as if the white figure were stretching out its imploring90 hands in a vain appeal for mercy. When Peggy lighted the candle inside the effect was so terrific that the conspirators91 felt quite eerie92 themselves, and with a last look to see that all was steady, and the candle not likely to fall over, they left Dame Eleanor in her corner, and fled home over the fields with a rather guilty feeling, wondering what would happen.
To do Peggy justice, I do not think she would have tried to play such a trick on poor Joe if she had imagined he were returning alone; but knowing he would have the company of several of his friends to support him, she thought he might rather enjoy the joke than otherwise.
The dusk soon fell, and Peggy sat by the fire in the Rose Parlour reading 'Ivanhoe' in much warmth and content. Lilian was playing snatches of her favourite Chopin, but somehow the music did not go well to-night, for the musician's heart was not in her fingers.
'What's the matter, Lilian?' asked Peggy, tearing herself away from Friar Tuck and the Black Knight93 to realize that her sister had got up for the fifth time[204] from the piano to peep out through the window into the dark beyond.
'I wish Father would come home, that's all. I always feel so uneasy when he goes to Middlewood'—pacing restlessly round the room, and looking again at the clock.
'Why?'
'Because he drives home through the oak-wood, and it's really so dangerous. There's no fence on the side next to the river, and Prince is so frisky94, if he were to shy there by the wall nothing could save them from going straight down the bank. I've often begged Father to have it railed in, but he only laughs at me. Why, Peggy, where are you going?'
For without a word of explanation Peggy had flung down her book and fled from the room. Hatless, and in her thin house-shoes, she rushed out of the house, and tore over the fields as fast as her shaking legs could carry her. In her plan to give Joe a fright, she had never thought of Father, who returned by the same road; and now that horrible white object was stationed just in the very danger-spot where a plunging95 horse might mean a matter of almost certain death, for the wall of the five-acre field abutted96 the road on one side, and on the other there was only a narrow patch of grass between the steep bank which shelved down sheer into the river, while the closed gate stopped any chance of a dash forward. Peggy's heart was beating like a sledge-hammer as she flew through the wood. Already she heard a distant rumbling97 of wheels, and putting on a last desperate spurt98, she reached the gate. She could never afterwards tell exactly what happened at that moment, except that the gig-lamps flashed suddenly in her eyes, 'Whoa, my lad!' shouted Father's voice, and Prince's rearing,[205] kicking form loomed99 large before her as he backed persistently100 towards the bank. It took Peggy just one instant to open the gate, and catching101 up her ghost to hurl102 the whole wretched thing over the wall, and in another she had seized the horse by the rein103, and, soothing104 him with her well-known voice, dragged him forward with all the strength of her wiry little arms. She was barely in time, for already one wheel was over the edge, but, the object of his fear being removed, Prince allowed himself to be cajoled into the road again, where he stood, panting and trembling in every limb.
'Why, my little Peggy!' cried Father, leaning down to see where the lamp-light flashed on the face of his rescuer.
But the strain was too much for Peggy, and she plumped down on the dead leaves by the roadside in such a tempest of tears that Father had to climb out of the gig and pick her up to comfort her; but as he could not get a word of sense, he popped her in the vacant place by his side and drove on, while she clung to his arm, still shaking with sobs105, till they reached the Abbey, where he helped her down, such a miserable106 little tear-stained picture of woe107, gulping108 out the confession109 of her escapade, that he had not the heart to scold her, though he had a word of warning to say afterwards upon the danger of such heedless practical jokes.
Dame Eleanor's remains110 were fished out of the corner of the five-acre field on Monday morning by Joe himself, who kicked her turnip head as ruthlessly as the Yorkists had used her husband's at Mortimer's Cross, and brought back the broomstick to the stable and the sheet to Nancy's wash-tub. In all the valour of daylight he assured the children that 'it wouldn't[206] have scared he, not it. He'd made a many o' they turnip lanterns in his time, and knowed 'em too well to be took in so easy.'
But his faith in the genuine phantom remained unshaken all the same, and I do not think he would have ventured alone into the ruins after dark for the amount of his weekly wages, and money meant a good deal to poor hard-working Joe.
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1
tiresome
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| adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的 | |
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2
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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3
goodwill
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| n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉 | |
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smuggled
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| 水货 | |
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hamper
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| vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子 | |
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cork
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| n.软木，软木塞 | |
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supervision
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| n.监督，管理 | |
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crocheted
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| v.用钩针编织( crochet的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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choir
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| n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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chestnuts
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| n.栗子( chestnut的名词复数 )；栗色；栗树；栗色马 | |
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contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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willows
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| n.柳树( willow的名词复数 )；柳木 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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singed
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| v.浅表烧焦( singe的过去式和过去分词 )；（毛发）燎，烧焦尖端[边儿] | |
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eyebrow
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| n.眉毛，眉 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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crackers
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| adj.精神错乱的，癫狂的n.爆竹( cracker的名词复数 )；薄脆饼干；（认为）十分愉快的事；迷人的姑娘 | |
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gunpowder
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| n.火药 | |
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dwindled
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| v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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speck
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| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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murky
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| adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗 | |
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microscopical
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| adj.显微镜的，精微的 | |
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specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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doting
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| adj.溺爱的，宠爱的 | |
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timorous
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| adj.胆怯的，胆小的 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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shrouds
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| n.裹尸布( shroud的名词复数 )；寿衣；遮蔽物；覆盖物v.隐瞒( shroud的第三人称单数 )；保密 | |
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orchard
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| n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场 | |
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reassurances
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| n.消除恐惧或疑虑( reassurance的名词复数 )；恢复信心；使人消除恐惧或疑虑的事物；使人恢复信心的事物 | |
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inconvenient
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| adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的 | |
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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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groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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profane
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| adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污 | |
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wringing
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| 淋湿的，湿透的 | |
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uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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rustic
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| adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬 | |
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judicious
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| adj.明智的，明断的，能作出明智决定的 | |
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45
coaxing
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| v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的现在分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱；“锻炼”效应 | |
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46
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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47
rambling
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| adj.[建]凌乱的，杂乱的 | |
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48
divergences
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| n.分叉( divergence的名词复数 )；分歧；背离；离题 | |
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49
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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50
squire
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| n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 | |
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51
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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52
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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53
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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54
meditatively
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| adv.冥想地 | |
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55
brew
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| v.酿造，调制 | |
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56
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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57
naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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58
lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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59
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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60
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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61
dame
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| n.女士 | |
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62
testily
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| adv. 易怒地, 暴躁地 | |
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63
brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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64
disciple
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| n.信徒，门徒，追随者 | |
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65
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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66
dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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67
wrest
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| n.扭，拧，猛夺；v.夺取，猛扭，歪曲 | |
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delightfully
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| 大喜，欣然 | |
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69
invalid
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| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
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wraith
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| n.幽灵；骨瘦如柴的人 | |
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71
entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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72
hearsay
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| n.谣传，风闻 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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groaning
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| adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
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76
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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77
niche
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| n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等) | |
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shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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clog
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| vt.塞满，阻塞；n.[常pl.]木屐 | |
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vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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81
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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82
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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83
phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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84
turnip
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| n.萝卜，芜菁 | |
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85
scooped
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| v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等） | |
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86
grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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imploring
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| 恳求的，哀求的 | |
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conspirators
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| n.共谋者，阴谋家( conspirator的名词复数 ) | |
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92
eerie
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| adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的 | |
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93
knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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94
frisky
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| adj.活泼的，欢闹的；n.活泼，闹着玩；adv.活泼地，闹着玩地 | |
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plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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96
abutted
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| v.（与…）邻接( abut的过去式和过去分词 )；（与…）毗连；接触；倚靠 | |
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97
rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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98
spurt
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| v.喷出；突然进发；突然兴隆 | |
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99
loomed
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| 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 | |
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100
persistently
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| ad.坚持地；固执地 | |
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101
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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102
hurl
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| vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂 | |
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103
rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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104
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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105
sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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106
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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107
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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108
gulping
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| v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的现在分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住 | |
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109
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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110
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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