On a day early in the summer of the present year Miss Dinah Groom1 was found lying dead off a field-path of the little obscure Wiltshire village which she had named her "rest and be thankful." At the date of her decease she was not an old woman, though any one marking her white hair and much-furrowed features might have supposed her one. The hair, however, was ample in quantity, the wrinkles rather so many under-scores of energy than evidences of senility; and until the blinds were down over her soul, she had looked into and across the world with a pair of eyes that seemed to reflect the very blue and white of a June sky. No doubt she had thought to breast the hills and sail the seas again in some renaissance2 of vigour3. No doubt her "retreat," like a Roman Catholic's, was designed to be merely temporary. She aped the hermit4 for the sake of a sojourn5 in the hermitage. She came to her island of Avalon to be restored of her weary limbs and her blistered6 feet, so to speak; and there her heart, too weak for her spirit, failed her, and she fell amongst the young budding poppies, and died.
I use the word "heart" literally7, and in no sentimental8 sense. To talk of associations of sentiment in connection with this lady would be misleading. She herself would not have repudiated9 any responsibility for the term as applied10 to her; she would have simply failed to understand the term itself. There was no least affectation in this. Throughout her life of sixty years, as I gather, she acted never once upon principle. Impulse and inclination11 dominated her, and she would indulge many primitive12 instincts without a thought of conventions. Yet she was not selfish; or, at least, only in the self-contained and self-protective meaning of the word. She was a perfect animal, conscious of her supreme13 brute14 caste, shrewd, resourceful, and the plain embodiment of truth.
Miss Groom had, I think, a boundless15 feeling of fellowship with beauty of whatever description; but no least touch of that sorrow of affection which, in its very humanity, is divine. Her unswerving creed16 was that woman was the inheritrix of the earth, the reversion of which she had wilfully17 mortgaged to an alien race, and that she had bartered18 her material immortality19 for a sensation. For man she had no vulgar and jealous contempt; but she feared and shrank from him as something moved by scruples20 with which she had no sympathy. She understood the world of Nature, and could respond to its bloodless caresses21 and passions. She could not understand the moodiness22 that dwells upon a grievance23, or that would sell its birthright of joy for a pitiful memory.
Yet (and here I must speak with discretion24, for I have no sufficient data to go upon) there was that of contradictoriness25 in her character that, I have reason to believe, she had borne children, and had even been right and particular as to their temporal welfare until such time as, in the nature of things, they were of an age to make shift for themselves. This, virtually, I know to be the case; and that, once quit of the primitive maternal26 responsibility, she gave no more thought to them than a thrush gives to its fledglings when she has educated them to their first flights, and to the useful knack27 of cracking a snail28 on a stone.
My own feeling about Dinah Groom was that she had "thrown back" a long way over the heads of heredity, and that, in her fearlessness, in her undegenerate physique, in the animal regularity30 of her face and form, she presented to modern days a startling aboriginal31 type.
Beautiful—save in the sense of symmetry—she can never have been to the ordinary man; inasmuch as she would subscribe32 to no arbitrary standard of his dictating33. She had a high, rich colour; but her complexion34 must always have been rough, and a pronounced little moustache crossed her upper lip, like an accent to the speech that was too distinct and uncompromising to be melodious35. Her every limb and feature, however, was instinct with capability36, and, in her presence, one must always be moved to marvel37 over that indescribable worship of disproportion that has grown to be the religion of a shapely race.
How I first became acquainted with Miss Groom it is unnecessary to explain. During the last three years of her life I was fortunate to be her guest in the Wiltshire retreat for an aggregate38 of many months. She took a fancy to me—to my solitariness39 and moroseness40, perhaps—and she not only liked to have me with her, but, after a time, she fell into something of a habit of recalling for my benefit certain passages and experiences of her past life. In doing this, there was no suggestion of confidence; and I am breaking no faith in alluding41 to them. She was a fine talker—rugged42, unpicturesque, but with an instinctive43 capacity of selection in words. If I quote her, as I wish to do, I cannot reproduce her style; and that, no doubt, would appear bald on paper. But, at least, the matter is all her own.
Now, I must premise44 that I arrogate45 to myself no exhibitory rights in this lady. She was familiar with and to many from the foremost ranks of those who "follow knowledge like a sinking star"; those great and restless spirits to whom inaction reads stagnation46. To such, in all probability, I tell, in speaking of Dinah Groom, a twice-told tale; and, therefore—inasmuch as I make it my business only to print what is hitherto unrecorded—to them I give the assurance that I do not claim to have "discovered" their friend.
On a wall of the little embowered sitting-room47 hung a queer picture, by Ernest Griset, of the "Overwhelming of the Mammoths in the Ice." From the first this odd conception had engaged my curiosity,—purely for its fanciful side,—and one evening, in alluding to it, I made the not very profound remark that Imagination had no anatomy50.
"They are true beasts," said Dinah.
"They are the mastodons of Cuvier, no doubt; but, then, Cuvier never saw a mastodon, you know."
"But I have; and I tell you Griset and Cuvier are very nearly right."
I expressed no surprise.
"In what were they astray?" I asked.
"The mammoth48, as I saw it, had a huge hump—like the steam-chest of an enormous engine—over its shoulders."
"And where did you see it, and when?"
"You are curious to know?"
"Yes, I think I am; and there is a quiet of expectancy51 abroad. I hear the ghost of my dead brother walking in the corridor, Dinah; and we are all waiting for you to speak."
She smiled, and said, "Push me over the cigarettes."
She struck a match, kindled52 the little crackling tube, and threw the light out into the shrubbery. It traced a tiny arc of flame and vanished. The sky was full of the mewing of lost kittens, it seemed. The sound came from innumerable peewits, that fled and circled above the slopes of the darkening meadows below.
"What an uncomfortable seer you are!" she said, "to people this dear human night with your fancies. No doubt, now, you will read between the lines of that bird speech down there?" (She looked at me curiously53, but with none of the mournful speculativeness54 of a soul struggling against the dimness of its own vision.) "To me it is articulate happiness—nothing more abstruse55. Yes, I have seen a mastodon; and I was as glad to happen on the beast as a naturalist56 is glad to find a missing link in a chain of evidence. From the moment, I knew myself quite clearly to be the recovered heir to this abused planet."
She paused a moment, and contracted her brows, as if regretfully and in anger. "If I had only seen it sooner!" she cried, low; "before I had, in my pride of strength, tested the poison that has bewildered the brains of my sisters!"
Her general reserve was her self-armour against the bolts of the Philistines57. What worldling would not have read mania58 in much that was spoken by this sane59 woman? Yet, indeed, if we were all to find the power to give expression to our inmost thoughts, madness and sanity60 would have to change places in the order of affairs.
"Once," said Dinah—"and it was when I was a young woman—a man in whom I was interested shipped as passenger on a whaling vessel61. This friend was what is called a degenerate29. Physically62 and morally he had yielded his claim to any share in that province of the sun, that his race had conquered and annexed63 only to find it antipathetic to its needs. Combative64 effort was grown impossible to him, as in time it will grow to you all. You drop from the world like dead flies from a wall. He could not physic his soul with woods, and groves65, and waters. To his perceptions, life was become an abnormality—a disease of which he sickened, as you all must when the last of the fever of aggression66 has been diluted67 out of your veins68. You die of your triumph, as the bee dies of his own weapon of offence; and you can find no antidote69 to the poison in the nature you have inoculated70 with your own virus.
"This man contemplated71 self-destruction as the only escape. He had sought distraction73 of his moral torments74 in travel long and varied75. Many of the most beautiful, of the historically interesting places of the world, he had visited and sojourned in—without avail. His haunting feeling, he said, was that he did not belong to himself. Pursued by this Nemesis76, he came home to end it all. He still proclaimed his spiritual independence; but it was immeshed, and he must tear the strands77. This was wonderfully perplexing to me, and, out of my curiosity, I must persuade him to make one more attempt. His late efforts, I assured him, were nothing but an endeavour to cure nausea78 with sweet syrups79. He would not get his change out of nature by such pitiful wooing. Let him, rather, emulate80, if he could not feel, the spirit of his remote forbears, and rally his nerves to an expedition into the harsh and awful places of the earth. I would accompany him, and watch with and for him, and supply that of the fibre he lacked.
"He consented, and, after some difficulty (for there is an economy of room in whalers), we obtained passage in a vessel and sailed into the unknown. Our life and our food were simple and rugged; but the keen air, the relief from luxury, the novelty and the wonder, wrought81 upon my companion and renewed him, so that presently I was amused to note in him signs of a moral preening—some smug resumption of that arrogant82 air of superiority that is a tradition with your race."
Miss Groom here puckered83 her lips, and breathed a little destructive laugh upon her cigarette ash.
"It did not last long," she said. "We encountered very bad weather, and his nerves again went by the board. That was in the 60th longitude84, I think (where whales were still to be found in those years), and seven hundred miles or so to the east of Spitzbergen. On the day—it was in August—that the storm first overtook us, the boats were out in pursuit of a 'right' whale, as, I believe, the men called it—a great bull creature, and piebald like a horse; and I saw the spouting85 of his breath as if a water main had burst in a London fog. The wind came in a sudden charge from the northwest, and the whale dived with a harpoon86 in its back; and in the confusion a reel fouled87, and one of the boats was whipt under in a moment—half a mile down, perhaps—and its crew drawn88 with it, and their lungs, full of air, burst like bubbles. We had no time to think of them. We got the other boat-load on board, and then the gale89 sent us crashing down the slopes of the sea. I have no knowledge of how long we were curst of the tempest and the sport of its ravings. I only know that when it released us at last, we had been hurled91 a thousand miles eastwards92. The long interval93 was all a hellish jangle in which time seemed obliterated94. Sometimes we saw the sun—a furious red globe; and we seemed to stand still while it raced down the sky and ricocheted over the furthermost waves like a red-hot cannon95 ball. Sometimes in pitch darkness the wild sense of flight and expectation was an ecstasy96. But through all my friend lay in a half-delirious stupor97.
"At length a morning broke, full of icy scud98, but the sea panting and exhausted99 of its rage. As a child catches its breath after a storm of tears, so it would heave up suddenly, and vibrate, and sink; and we rocked upon it, a ruined hulk. We were off a flat, vacant shore—if shore you could call it—whose margin100, for miles inland, it seemed, undulated with the lifting of the swell101. It was treeless desolation manifest; and on our sea side, as far as the eye could reach, the water bobbed and winked102 with countless103 spars of ice.
"I will tell you at once, my friend,—we were brought to opposite an inhuman104 swamp on the coast of Siberia, fifty miles or more to the west of North-east Cape72; and there what remained of the crew made shift to cast anchor; and for a day and night the ragged105 ship curtsied to the land, like a blind beggar to an empty street, and we only dozed106 in our corners and wondered at the silence.
"By-and-by the men made a raft, and that took us all ashore107. There was something like a definite coast-line, then; but for long before we touched it the undersides of the planks108 were scraping and hissing109 over vegetation. This was the winter fur of the land—thick, coarse tundra110 moss111; and on that we pitched a camp, and on that we remained for long weeks while the ship was mending. It was a weird112, lonely time. Once or twice strange, wandering creatures came our way—little, belted men, with hairless faces, who rode up on strong horses, and liked to exhibit their skilful113 management of them. They talked to us in their chirpy jargon114 (Toongus, I think it was called); but jargon it must needs remain to us.
"Well, we made a patch of the hulk, and we shipped in her again. We were fortunate to be able to do that, for, with every stiffish wind blowing inshore, we had feared she would drag her moorings and ground immovably on the swamps. The land, indeed, was so flat and low that, whenever the sea rose at all, it threshed the very plains and crackled in the moss; and we were glad, despite the risk, to leave so lifeless a place."
Dinah paused to light another cigarette, and to inhale115 the ecstasy of the first puff116 or so before she continued. Up through the still evening, from a curve of the main road that crooked117 an elbow to her front garden, came what sounded like the purring of a great cat—the wind in the telegraph wires.
"And I am now to tell you," she said, "about the mastodon?"
"As you please," I answered.
"I do please; for why should I keep it to myself? It makes no difference; only I warn you, if you quote me, you will be writ118 down a fool or a maniac119. This relation lacks witnesses, for the whaler—that I subsequently quitted for another homing vessel—was never heard of in port any more."
"For these regions, it had been an extraordinarily121 hot summer—phenomenally hot, I understand; and to this—to the melting and breaking away of the ice from hitherto century-locked fastnesses, the captain attributed the wonderful experience that befell us. The sea was strewn with blocks and bergs, all hurrying onwards in the strong currents, as if in haste to escape the pursuing demon122 of frost that should re-fetter them; and their multitude kept the steersman's arms spinning till the man would fall half-fainting over the spoke-handles.
"Now, one morning early in September, a dense123 bright fog dropped suddenly upon the waters. We were making what sail we could—with our crippled spars and stunted124 trees of masts—and this it were useless to shorten, and so invite a rearward bombardment from the chasing hummocks125. So we kept our course by the compass, and trailed on through a blind mist while fear drummed in our throats. The demoralization of my friend was by this time complete. For myself, I seldom had a thought but that Nature would sheathe126 her claws when she played with me.
"'This cannot last long!' said the captain.
"The words were on his lips when we struck with a noise like the splintering of glass. We were all thrown down, and my companion screamed like a mad thing. The captain rose and ran to the bows; and in a moment he came back and his beard was shaking.
"'God save us!' he cried, 'and fetch aft the rum!'
"There you have man in his invincible127 moods. They drank till they were in a condition to face death; and then they found that our situation was rather improved than otherwise by the collision. For—so it appeared—we had run full tilt128 for a perpendicular129 fissure130 in a huge block, and into that our bows were firmly wedged, the nature of the impact distributing the shock, and the berg itself carrying us along with it and protecting us.
"Now the dipping motion of the vessel was exchanged for a heavy regular wash along its stern quarters; for the bows were so much raised as that I felt a little strain on my knees as I went forward to satisfy my curiosity with a view of the icy mass into which we were penetrated131. I waited, indeed, until the crew were come aft again from looking, and my friend crept timidly at my shoulder; but when we reached the stem, there was one of the hands, a little soberer than his fellows, sprawled132 over the bulwarks133, and staring with all his eyes into the green lift of the wall against him.
"The man shifted his gaze to me slowly and solemnly.
"I laughed, and went to his side. The fog, as I have said, was dense and bright, and one could see into it a little way, as into a milky136 white agate137. But now and again a film of it would pull thin, and then sunlight came through and made a dim radiance of the ice.
"'I can make out nothing,' I said.
"He cocked an eye and leered up at me. 'Look steady and sober,' he said, 'and you'll make en owut like as in a glass darkly.'
"I gave a little gasp138 and my friend a cry before the words were issued from the man's mouth. Drawn by some current of air, the fog at the moment blew out of the cleft139, like smoke from a chimney; and there, before our gaze, was a great curved tusk140 coming up through the ice and inside it.
"Now I clapped my hands in an agony, lest the fog should close in again, and the vision fade before my eyes; for, following the sweep of the tusk, I was aware of the phantom141 presentment of some monster creature lying imbedded within the ice, its mighty143 carcase prostrate144 as it had fallen; the conformation of its enormous forehead presented directly to our gaze. Its little toffee-ball eyes—little proportionately, that is to say—squinted at us, it seemed, through half-closed lids, and a huge, hairy trunk lay curled, like the proboscis145 of a dead moth49, between its tree-like fore-legs. Away beyond, the great red-brown drum of its hide bellied146 upward on ribs147 as thick as a Dutch galliot's, and sprouting148 from its shoulders was the hump I have mentioned, but here, from its position, sprawled abroad and lying over in a shapeless mass.
"There was something else—horribly nauseating149 but for its strangeness. The brute had been partly disembowelled, as there was ample evidence to show, for the ice had preserved all.
"'Look!' he cried—'the hand! the hand sticking out of the side!'
"I saw in a moment; turned, and called excitedly to the captain. He—all the crew—came tumbling forward up the slippery deck. I seized him by the shoulder.
"He gazed stupidly, swaying where he stood.
"'One o' them bloomin' pre-hadymite cows!' he muttered; 'caught in the cold nip, by thunder! and some unfortnit crept into her for warmth.'
"I believed the creature's rude intuition had flown true.
"He stared at me. All in an instant a little paltry153 demon of avarice154 blinked out of his eye-holes.
"'Why,' he said slowly, 'who knows but it mayn't be a gal90 a-jingling from top to toe with gold curtain rings!'
"He was a furious dare-devil immediately, and quick, and savage155, and peremptory156. His spirit entered into his men. They went over the side with pikes and axes, and, scrambling157 for any foothold, set to work on the ice like maniacs158. In the lust159 of cupidity160 they did not even think how they wrought against their own safety and that of the ship.
"The point of the uppermost tusk came to within a foot of the ice-surface. This they soon reached, and, prising frantically161 with crowbars, flaked162 off and rolled away half-ton blocks of the superincumbent mass. I need not detail the fierce process. In half an hour they had laid bare a great segment of that part of the trunk whence the hand protruded163, and then they paused, and at a word flung down their tools.
"I was leaning over the bulwarks watching them. I could contain my excitement no longer.
"'Come,' I said to my friend, 'help me down, for I must go.'
"He climbed over, trembling, and assisted me to a standing164 on the ice. We scrambled165 along the track of débris left by the crew. At the moment half a dozen of the latter were rolling back a broad flap of the hide, in which they had found a long L-shaped rent revealed. Then a hoarse166 cry broke from them, and I stumbled forward and looked down, and saw.
"They lay beneath the mighty ribs as in a cage, of which the intercostal spaces were a foot in width, and the bars of a strength to maintain the enormous pressure of that which had surrounded and entombed them; they lay in one close group, their naked limbs smeared167 with the stain of their prison—a man, a woman, and a tiny child. From their faces, and their unfallen flesh, they might have been sleeping; but they were not; they were come down to us, a transfixture of death—prehistoric168 people in a prehistoric brute, and their eyes—their eyes!"
Dinah's voice trailed off into silence. Some expression that I could not interpret was on her face. There was regret in it, but nothing of pathos169 or mysticism. Suddenly she breathed out a great sigh and resumed her narrative170.
"You will want to know how they looked, these lifeless survivors171 of a remote race from a remote time? I will try to tell you. The men hacked172 away the ribs with their axes, and laid bare the group lying in the hollow scooped173 out of the fallen beast. They were little people, and the man, according to your modern canons of taste, was by far the most beautiful of the three. He sat erect174, with one uplifted arm projected through the ribs; as if, surprised by the frost-stroke, he had started to escape, and had been petrified175 in the act. His face, wondering and delicate as a baby's, was hairless; and his head only a pretty infantile down covered—a curling floss as radiant as spun176 glass. His wide-open eyes glinted yet with a hyacinth blue, and it was difficult to realize that they were dead and vacant.
"The woman was of coarser mould, ruddy, vigorous, brown-haired and eyed. She looked the very hamadryad of some blossoming tree, a sweet capricious daughter of the blameless earth. Everything luxuriated in her—colour, hair, and lusty flesh; and the child she held to her bosom177 with a manner that indescribably commingled178 contempt, and resentment142, and a passion of proprietorship179.
"This baby—joining the prominent characteristics of the two—was the oddest little mortal I have ever seen. What did its expression convey to me? 'I am fairly caught, and must brazen180 out the situation!' There! that was what it was; I cannot put it more lucidly181. Only the thing's wee face was animal conscious for the first time of itself, and inclined to rejoice in that primitive energy of knowledge.
"Now, my friend, I must tell you how the sight operated upon me and upon my companion. For myself, I can only say that, looking upon that fine, independent fore-mother of my race, I felt the sun in my veins and the winy fragrance182 of antique woods and pastures. I laughed; I clapped my hands; I danced on the ice-rubbish, so that they thought me mad. But, for the other—the man—he was in a different plight183. He was transfigured; his nervousness was gone in a flash. He cast himself down upon his knees, and gazed and gazed, his hands clasped, upon that sleek184, mild progenitor185 of his, that pure image of gentle self-containment, whose very meekness186 suggested an indomitable will.
"Suddenly he, my friend, cried out: 'This is one caught in the process of materialization! It is not flesh; my God, no!'
"It seemed, indeed, as if it were as he said. I stopped in my capering187 and looked down. The tarry hinds188 standing by grinned and jeered189.
"'Back!' yelled the captain. 'She's breaking through by the head!'
"He shrieked191 of the ship. She was clearing herself, had already shaken her prow192 free of the ice.
"There was a wild scamper193 for safety. I was carried with the throng194. It was not until I was hauled on board once more that I thought of my friend. He still knelt where we had fled from him, a wrapt, strange expression on his face.
"'Come back!' I screamed. 'You will be lost!'
"Now at that he turned his head and looked at me; but he never moved, and his voice came to me quiet and exultant195.
"'Lost!' he said, 'ay, for forty-three years: and here, here I find myself!'
"We dipped, and the wash of the water came about our bows. The block of ice swerved196, made a sluggish197 half-pirouette and dropped astern.
"'Come!' I shrieked again faintly.
"With the echo of my cry he was a phantom, a blot198, had vanished in the rearward fog; and thereout a little joyous199 laugh came to me.
"And that was a queer good-bye for ever, wasn't it?"
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1
groom
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| vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁 | |
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2
renaissance
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| n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴 | |
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vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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4
hermit
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| n.隐士，修道者；隐居 | |
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5
sojourn
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| v./n.旅居，寄居；逗留 | |
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6
blistered
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| adj.水疮状的，泡状的v.（使）起水泡( blister的过去式和过去分词 )；（使表皮等）涨破，爆裂 | |
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7
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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8
sentimental
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| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
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9
repudiated
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| v.（正式地）否认( repudiate的过去式和过去分词 )；拒绝接受；拒绝与…往来；拒不履行（法律义务） | |
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10
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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11
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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12
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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15
boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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16
creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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wilfully
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| adv.任性固执地；蓄意地 | |
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18
bartered
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| v.作物物交换，以货换货( barter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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immortality
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| n.不死，不朽 | |
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scruples
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| n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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caresses
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| 爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 ) | |
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moodiness
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| n.喜怒无常；喜怒无常，闷闷不乐；情绪 | |
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grievance
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| n.怨愤，气恼，委屈 | |
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discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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25
contradictoriness
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| 矛盾性 | |
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maternal
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| adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的 | |
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knack
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| n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法 | |
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28
snail
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| n.蜗牛 | |
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degenerate
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| v.退步，堕落；adj.退步的，堕落的；n.堕落者 | |
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30
regularity
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| n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐 | |
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31
aboriginal
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| adj.（指动植物）土生的，原产地的，土著的 | |
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32
subscribe
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| vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助 | |
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33
dictating
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| v.大声讲或读( dictate的现在分词 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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34
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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35
melodious
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| adj.旋律美妙的，调子优美的，音乐性的 | |
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36
capability
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| n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等 | |
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37
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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38
aggregate
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| adj.总计的，集合的；n.总数；v.合计；集合 | |
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39
solitariness
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| n.隐居；单独 | |
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40
moroseness
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41
alluding
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| 提及，暗指( allude的现在分词 ) | |
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42
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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43
instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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44
premise
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| n.前提；v.提论，预述 | |
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45
arrogate
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| v.冒称具有...权利，霸占 | |
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46
stagnation
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| n. 停滞 | |
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47
sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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48
mammoth
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| n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的 | |
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49
moth
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| n.蛾，蛀虫 | |
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50
anatomy
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| n.解剖学，解剖；功能，结构，组织 | |
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51
expectancy
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| n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额 | |
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52
kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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53
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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54
speculativeness
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| n.思考，思索；投机 | |
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55
abstruse
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| adj.深奥的，难解的 | |
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56
naturalist
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| n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者) | |
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57
philistines
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| n.市侩，庸人( philistine的名词复数 )；庸夫俗子 | |
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58
mania
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| n.疯狂；躁狂症，狂热，癖好 | |
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59
sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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60
sanity
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| n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确 | |
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61
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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62
physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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63
annexed
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| [法] 附加的，附属的 | |
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64
combative
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| adj.好战的；好斗的 | |
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65
groves
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| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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66
aggression
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| n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害 | |
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67
diluted
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| 无力的，冲淡的 | |
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68
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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69
antidote
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| n.解毒药，解毒剂 | |
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70
inoculated
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| v.给…做预防注射( inoculate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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71
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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72
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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73
distraction
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| n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐 | |
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74
torments
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| （肉体或精神上的）折磨，痛苦( torment的名词复数 )； 造成痛苦的事物[人] | |
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75
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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76
nemesis
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| n.给以报应者，复仇者，难以对付的敌手 | |
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77
strands
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| n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 ) | |
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78
nausea
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| n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶) | |
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79
syrups
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| n.糖浆，糖汁( syrup的名词复数 )；糖浆类药品 | |
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80
emulate
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| v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿 | |
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81
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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82
arrogant
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的 | |
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83
puckered
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| v.（使某物）起褶子或皱纹( pucker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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84
longitude
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| n.经线，经度 | |
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85
spouting
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| n.水落管系统v.（指液体）喷出( spout的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水 | |
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86
harpoon
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| n.鱼叉；vt.用鱼叉叉，用鱼叉捕获 | |
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87
fouled
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|
| v.使污秽( foul的过去式和过去分词 )；弄脏；击球出界；（通常用废物）弄脏 | |
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88
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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89
gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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90
gal
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| n.姑娘，少女 | |
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91
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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92
eastwards
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| adj.向东方（的），朝东（的）；n.向东的方向 | |
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93
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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94
obliterated
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| v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭 | |
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95
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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96
ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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97
stupor
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| v.昏迷；不省人事 | |
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98
scud
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| n.疾行；v.疾行 | |
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99
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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100
margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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101
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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102
winked
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| v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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103
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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104
inhuman
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| adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的 | |
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105
ragged
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|
| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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106
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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107
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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108
planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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109
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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110
tundra
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| n.苔原，冻土地带 | |
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111
moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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112
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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113
skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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114
jargon
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| n.术语，行话 | |
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115
inhale
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| v.吸入(气体等)，吸(烟) | |
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116
puff
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| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
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117
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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118
writ
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| n.命令状，书面命令 | |
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119
maniac
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| n.精神癫狂的人；疯子 | |
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120
scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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121
extraordinarily
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| adv.格外地；极端地 | |
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122
demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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123
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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124
stunted
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| adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的 | |
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125
hummocks
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| n.小丘，岗( hummock的名词复数 ) | |
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126
sheathe
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| v.（将刀剑）插入鞘；包，覆盖 | |
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127
invincible
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| adj.不可征服的，难以制服的 | |
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128
tilt
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| v.(使)倾侧；(使)倾斜；n.倾侧；倾斜 | |
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129
perpendicular
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| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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130
fissure
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| n.裂缝；裂伤 | |
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131
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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132
sprawled
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| v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的过去式和过去分词)；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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133
bulwarks
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| n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙 | |
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134
mermaid
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| n.美人鱼 | |
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135
pram
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| n.婴儿车，童车 | |
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136
milky
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| adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的 | |
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137
agate
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| n.玛瑙 | |
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138
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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139
cleft
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| n.裂缝；adj.裂开的 | |
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140
tusk
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| n.獠牙，长牙，象牙 | |
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141
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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142
resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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143
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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144
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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145
proboscis
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| n.（象的）长鼻 | |
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146
bellied
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| adj.有腹的，大肚子的 | |
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147
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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148
sprouting
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| v.发芽( sprout的现在分词 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出 | |
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149
nauseating
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|
| adj.令人恶心的，使人厌恶的v.使恶心，作呕( nauseate的现在分词 ) | |
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150
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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151
beckoning
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|
| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
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152
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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153
paltry
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| adj.无价值的，微不足道的 | |
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154
avarice
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| n.贪婪；贪心 | |
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155
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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156
peremptory
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| adj.紧急的，专横的，断然的 | |
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157
scrambling
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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158
maniacs
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| n.疯子（maniac的复数形式） | |
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159
lust
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| n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望 | |
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160
cupidity
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| n.贪心，贪财 | |
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161
frantically
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| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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flaked
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| 精疲力竭的，失去知觉的，睡去的 | |
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protruded
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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165
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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166
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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167
smeared
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| 弄脏； 玷污； 涂抹； 擦上 | |
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prehistoric
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| adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的 | |
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169
pathos
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| n.哀婉，悲怆 | |
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170
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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survivors
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| 幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
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hacked
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| 生气 | |
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173
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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174
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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petrified
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| adj.惊呆的；目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆，使惊呆；变僵硬；使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词) | |
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176
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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177
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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178
commingled
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| v.混合，掺和，合并( commingle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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179
proprietorship
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| n.所有（权）；所有权 | |
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180
brazen
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| adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的 | |
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181
lucidly
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| adv.清透地，透明地 | |
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182
fragrance
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| n.芬芳，香味，香气 | |
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183
plight
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| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
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sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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185
progenitor
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| n.祖先，先驱 | |
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186
meekness
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| n.温顺，柔和 | |
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187
capering
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| v.跳跃，雀跃( caper的现在分词 )；蹦蹦跳跳 | |
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188
hinds
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| n.（常指动物腿）后面的( hind的名词复数 )；在后的；（通常与can或could连用）唠叨不停；滔滔不绝 | |
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189
jeered
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| v.嘲笑( jeer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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190
floe
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| n.大片浮冰 | |
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191
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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192
prow
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| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
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193
scamper
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| v.奔跑，快跑 | |
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194
throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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195
exultant
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| adj.欢腾的，狂欢的，大喜的 | |
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196
swerved
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| v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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197
sluggish
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| adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的 | |
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198
blot
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| vt.弄脏（用吸墨纸）吸干；n.污点，污渍 | |
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199
joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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