When Abel Gay paid Valancy her first month’s wages—which he did promptly1, in bills reeking2 with the odour of tobacco and whiskey—Valancy went into Deerwood and spent every cent of it. She got a pretty green crêpe dress with a girdle of crimson3 beads4, at a bargain sale, a pair of silk stockings, to match, and a little crinkled green hat with a crimson rose in it. She even bought a foolish little beribboned and belaced nightgown.
She passed the house on Elm Street twice—Valancy never even thought about it as “home”—but saw no one. No doubt her mother was sitting in the room this lovely June evening playing solitaire—and cheating. Valancy knew that Mrs. Frederick always cheated. She never lost a game. Most of the people Valancy met looked at her seriously and passed her with a cool nod. Nobody stopped to speak to her.
Valancy put on her green dress when she got home. Then she took it off again. She felt so miserably5 undressed in its low neck and short sleeves. And that low, crimson girdle around the hips6 seemed positively7 indecent. She hung it up in the closet, feeling flatly that she had wasted her money. She would never have the courage to wear that dress. John Foster’s arraignment8 of fear had no power to stiffen9 her against this. In this one thing habit and custom were still all-powerful. Yet she sighed as she went down to meet Barney Snaith in her old snuff-brown silk. That green thing had been very becoming—she had seen so much in her one ashamed glance. Above it her eyes had looked like odd brown jewels and the girdle had given her flat figure an entirely10 different appearance. She wished she could have left it on. But there were some things John Foster did not know.
Every Sunday evening Valancy went to the little Free Methodist church in a valley on the edge of “up back”—a spireless little grey building among the pines, with a few sunken graves and mossy gravestones in the small, paling-encircled, grass-grown square beside it. She liked the minister who preached there. He was so simple and sincere. An old man, who lived in Port Lawrence and came out by the lake in a little disappearing propeller11 boat to give a free service to the people of the small, stony12 farms back of the hills, who would otherwise never have heard any gospel message. She liked the simple service and the fervent13 singing. She liked to sit by the open window and look out into the pine woods. The congregation was always small. The Free Methodists were few in number, poor and generally illiterate14. But Valancy loved those Sunday evenings. For the first time in her life she liked going to church. The rumour15 reached Deerwood that she had “turned Free Methodist” and sent Mrs. Frederick to bed for a day. But Valancy had not turned anything. She went to the church because she liked it and because in some inexplicable16 way it did her good. Old Mr. Towers believed exactly what he preached and somehow it made a tremendous difference.
Oddly enough, Roaring Abel disapproved17 of her going to the hill church as strongly as Mrs. Frederick herself could have done. He had “no use for Free Methodists. He was a Presbyterian.” But Valancy went in spite of him.
“We’ll hear something worse than that about her soon,” Uncle Benjamin predicted gloomily.
They did.
Valancy could not quite explain, even to herself, just why she wanted to go to that party. It was a dance “up back” at Chidley Corners; and dances at Chidley Corners were not, as a rule, the sort of assemblies where well-brought-up young ladies were found. Valancy knew it was coming off, for Roaring Abel had been engaged as one of the fiddlers.
“You come with me to the dance,” he ordered. “It’ll do you good—put some colour in your face. You look peaked—you want something to liven you up.”
Valancy found herself suddenly wanting to go. She knew nothing at all of what dances at Chidley Corners were apt to be like. Her idea of dances had been fashioned on the correct affairs that went by that name in Deerwood and Port Lawrence. Of course she knew the Corners’ dance wouldn’t be just like them. Much more informal, of course. But so much the more interesting. Why shouldn’t she go? Cissy was in a week of apparent health and improvement. She wouldn’t mind staying alone in the least. She entreated20 Valancy to go if she wanted to. And Valancy did want to go.
She went to her room to dress. A rage against the snuff-brown silk seized her. Wear that to a party! Never. She pulled her green crêpe from its hanger21 and put it on feverishly22. It was nonsense to feel so—so—naked—just because her neck and arms were bare. That was just her old maidishness. She would not be ridden by it. On went the dress—the slippers23.
It was the first time she had worn a pretty dress since the organdies of her early teens. And they had never made her look like this.
If she only had a necklace or something. She wouldn’t feel so bare then. She ran down to the garden. There were clovers there—great crimson things growing in the long grass. Valancy gathered handfuls of them and strung them on a cord. Fastened above her neck they gave her the comfortable sensation of a collar and were oddly becoming. Another circlet of them went round her hair, dressed in the low puffs24 that became her. Excitement brought those faint pink stains to her face. She flung on her coat and pulled the little, twisty hat over her hair.
“You look so nice and—and—different, dear,” said Cissy. “Like a green moonbeam with a gleam of red in it, if there could be such a thing.”
Valancy stooped to kiss her.
“I don’t feel right about leaving you alone, Cissy.”
“Oh, I’ll be all right. I feel better tonight than I have for a long while. I’ve been feeling badly to see you sticking here so closely on my account. I hope you’ll have a nice time. I never was at a party at the Corners, but I used to go sometimes, long ago, to dances up back. We always had good times. And you needn’t be afraid of Father being drunk tonight. He never drinks when he engages to play for a party. But—there may be—liquor. What will you do if it gets rough?”
“Not seriously, I suppose. Father would see to that. But it might be noisy and—and unpleasant.”
“I won’t mind. I’m only going as a looker-on. I don’t expect to dance. I just want to see what a party up back is like. I’ve never seen anything except decorous Deerwood.”
Cissy smiled rather dubiously26. She knew much better than Valancy what a party “up back” might be like if there should be liquor. But again there mightn’t be.
“I hope you’ll enjoy it, dear,” she repeated.
Valancy enjoyed the drive there. They went early, for it was twelve miles to Chidley Corners, and they had to go in Abel’s old, ragged27 top-buggy. The road was rough and rocky, like most Muskoka roads, but full of the austere28 charm of northern woods. It wound through beautiful, purring pines that were ranks of enchantment29 in the June sunset, and over the curious jade-green rivers of Muskoka, fringed by aspens that were always quivering with some supernal30 joy.
Roaring Abel was excellent company, too. He knew all the stories and legends of the wild, beautiful “up back,” and he told them to Valancy as they drove along. Valancy had several fits of inward laughter over what Uncle Benjamin and Aunt Wellington, et al., would feel and think and say if they saw her driving with Roaring Abel in that terrible buggy to a dance at Chidley Corners.
At first the dance was quiet enough, and Valancy was amused and entertained. She even danced twice herself, with a couple of nice “up back” boys who danced beautifully and told her she did, too.
Another compliment came her way—not a very subtle one, perhaps, but Valancy had had too few compliments in her life to be over-nice on that point. She overheard two of the “up back” young men talking about her in the dark “lean-to” behind her.
“Know who that girl in green is?”
“No beaut but cute-looking, I’ll say. ‘Jever see such eyes?”
The big room was decorated with pine and fir boughs32, and lighted by Chinese lanterns. The floor was waxed, and Roaring Abel’s fiddle18, purring under his skilled touch, worked magic. The “up back” girls were pretty and prettily33 dressed. Valancy thought it the nicest party she had ever attended.
By eleven o’clock she had changed her mind. A new crowd had arrived—a crowd unmistakably drunk. Whiskey began to circulate freely. Very soon almost all the men were partly drunk. Those in the porch and outside around the door began howling “come-all-ye’s” and continued to howl them. The room grew noisy and reeking. Quarrels started up here and there. Bad language and obscene songs were heard. The girls, swung rudely in the dances, became dishevelled and tawdry. Valancy, alone in her corner, was feeling disgusted and repentant34. Why had she ever come to such a place? Freedom and independence were all very well, but one should not be a little fool. She might have known what it would be like—she might have taken warning from Cissy’s guarded sentences. Her head was aching—she was sick of the whole thing. But what could she do? She must stay to the end. Abel could not leave till then. And that would probably be not till three or four in the morning.
The new influx35 of boys had left the girls far in the minority and partners were scarce. Valancy was pestered36 with invitations to dance. She refused them all shortly, and some of her refusals were not well taken. There were muttered oaths and sullen37 looks. Across the room she saw a group of the strangers talking together and glancing meaningly at her. What were they plotting?
It was at this moment that she saw Barney Snaith looking in over the heads of the crowd at the doorway38. Valancy had two distinct convictions—one was that she was quite safe now; the other was that this was why she had wanted to come to the dance. It had been such an absurd hope that she had not recognised it before, but now she knew she had come because of the possibility that Barney might be there, too. She thought that perhaps she ought to be ashamed for this, but she wasn’t. After her feeling of relief her next feeling was one of annoyance39 with Barney for coming there unshaved. Surely he might have enough self-respect to groom40 himself up decently when he went to a party. There he was, bareheaded, bristly-chinned, in his old trousers and his blue homespun shirt. Not even a coat. Valancy could have shaken him in her anger. No wonder people believed everything bad of him.
But she was not afraid any longer. One of the whispering group left his comrades and came across the room to her, through the whirling couples that now filled it uncomfortably. He was a tall, broad-shouldered fellow, not ill-dressed or ill-looking but unmistakably half drunk. He asked Valancy to dance. Valancy declined civilly. His face turned livid. He threw his arm about her and pulled her to him. His hot, whiskied breath burned her face.
“We won’t have fine-lady airs here, my girl. If you ain’t too good to come here you ain’t too good to dance with us. Me and my pals41 have been watching you. You’ve got to give us each a turn and a kiss to boot.”
Valancy tried desperately42 and vainly to free herself. She was being dragged out into the maze43 of shouting, stamping, yelling dancers. The next moment the man who held her went staggering across the room from a neatly44 planted blow on the jaw45, knocking down whirling couples as he went. Valancy felt her arm grasped.
“This way—quick,” said Barney Snaith. He swung her out through the open window behind them, vaulted46 lightly over the sill and caught her hand.
“Quick—we must run for it—they’ll be after us.”
Valancy ran as she had never run before, clinging tight to Barney’s hand, wondering why she did not drop dead in such a mad scamper47. Suppose she did! What a scandal it would make for her poor people. For the first time Valancy felt a little sorry for them. Also, she felt glad that she had escaped from that horrible row. Also, glad that she was holding tight to Barney’s hand. Her feelings were badly mixed and she had never had so many in such a brief time in her life.
They finally reached a quiet corner in the pine woods. The pursuit had taken a different direction and the whoops48 and yells behind them were growing faint. Valancy, out of breath, with a crazily beating heart, collapsed49 on the trunk of a fallen pine.
“What a goose you were to come to such a place!” said Barney.
“I—didn’t—know—it—would—be like this,” protested Valancy.
“You should have known. Chidley Corners!”
“It—was—just—a name—to me.”
Valancy knew Barney could not realise how ignorant she was of the regions “up back.” She had lived in Deerwood all her life and of course he supposed she knew. He didn’t know how she had been brought up. There was no use trying to explain.
“When I drifted in at Abel’s this evening and Cissy told me you’d come here I was amazed. And downright scared. Cissy told me she was worried about you but hadn’t liked to say anything to dissuade51 you for fear you’d think she was thinking selfishly about herself. So I came on up here instead of going to Deerwood.”
Valancy felt a sudden delightful52 glow irradiating soul and body under the dark pines. So he had actually come up to look after her.
“As soon as they stop hunting for us we’ll sneak53 around to the Muskoka road. I left Lady Jane down there. I’ll take you home. I suppose you’ve had enough of your party.”
“Quite,” said Valancy meekly54. The first half of the way home neither of them said anything. It would not have been much use. Lady Jane made so much noise they could not have heard each other. Anyway, Valancy did not feel conversationally55 inclined. She was ashamed of the whole affair—ashamed of her folly56 in going—ashamed of being found in such a place by Barney Snaith. By Barney Snaith, reputed jail-breaker, infidel, forger57 and defaulter. Valancy’s lips twitched58 in the darkness as she thought of it. But she was ashamed.
And yet she was enjoying herself—was full of a strange exultation—bumping over that rough road beside Barney Snaith. The big trees shot by them. The tall mulleins stood up along the road in stiff, orderly ranks like companies of soldiers. The thistles looked like drunken fairies or tipsy elves as their car-lights passed over them. This was the first time she had even been in a car. After all, she liked it. She was not in the least afraid, with Barney at the wheel. Her spirits rose rapidly as they tore along. She ceased to feel ashamed. She ceased to feel anything except that she was part of a comet rushing gloriously through the night of space.
All at once, just where the pine woods frayed59 out to the scrub barrens, Lady Jane became quiet—too quiet. Lady Jane slowed down quietly—and stopped.
Barney uttered an aghast exclamation60. Got out. Investigated. Came apologetically back.
“I’m a doddering idiot. Out of gas. I knew I was short when I left home, but I meant to fill up in Deerwood. Then I forgot all about it in my hurry to get to the Corners.”
“What can we do?” asked Valancy coolly.
“I don’t know. There’s no gas nearer than Deerwood, nine miles away. And I don’t dare leave you here alone. There are always tramps on this road—and some of those crazy fools back at the Corners may come straggling along presently. There were boys there from the Port. As far as I can see, the best thing to do is for us just to sit patiently here until some car comes along and lends us enough gas to get to Roaring Abel’s with.”
“Well, what’s the matter with that?” said Valancy.
“We may have to sit here all night,” said Barney.
“I don’t mind,” said Valancy.
Barney gave a short laugh. “If you don’t, I needn’t. I haven’t any reputation to lose.”
“Nor I,” said Valancy comfortably.
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1
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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2
reeking
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| v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的现在分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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3
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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4
beads
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| n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链 | |
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miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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6
hips
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| abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的 | |
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7
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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8
arraignment
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| n.提问，传讯，责难 | |
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9
stiffen
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| v.(使)硬，(使)变挺，(使)变僵硬 | |
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10
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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11
propeller
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| n.螺旋桨，推进器 | |
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12
stony
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| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
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13
fervent
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| adj.热的，热烈的，热情的 | |
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14
illiterate
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| adj.文盲的；无知的；n.文盲 | |
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15
rumour
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| n.谣言，谣传，传闻 | |
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16
inexplicable
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| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
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17
disapproved
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| v.不赞成( disapprove的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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18
fiddle
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| n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动 | |
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19
broached
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| v.谈起( broach的过去式和过去分词 )；打开并开始用；用凿子扩大（或修光）；（在桶上）钻孔取液体 | |
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20
entreated
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hanger
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| n.吊架，吊轴承；挂钩 | |
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22
feverishly
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| adv. 兴奋地 | |
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23
slippers
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| n. 拖鞋 | |
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24
puffs
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| n.吸( puff的名词复数 )；（烟斗或香烟的）一吸；一缕（烟、蒸汽等）；（呼吸或风的）呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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25
molest
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| vt.骚扰，干扰，调戏 | |
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26
dubiously
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| adv.可疑地，怀疑地 | |
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27
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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28
austere
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| adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的 | |
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enchantment
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| n.迷惑，妖术，魅力 | |
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30
supernal
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| adj.天堂的，天上的；崇高的 | |
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31
stylish
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| adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的 | |
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32
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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33
prettily
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| adv.优美地；可爱地 | |
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repentant
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| adj.对…感到悔恨的 | |
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35
influx
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| n.流入，注入 | |
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36
pestered
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| 使烦恼，纠缠( pester的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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38
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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39
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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40
groom
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| vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁 | |
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41
pals
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| n.朋友( pal的名词复数 )；老兄；小子；（对男子的不友好的称呼）家伙 | |
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42
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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43
maze
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| n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑 | |
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44
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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45
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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46
vaulted
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| adj.拱状的 | |
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47
scamper
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| v.奔跑，快跑 | |
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48
whoops
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| int.呼喊声 | |
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49
collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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50
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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51
dissuade
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| v.劝阻，阻止 | |
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52
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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53
sneak
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| vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行 | |
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54
meekly
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| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
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55
conversationally
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| adv.会话地 | |
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56
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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57
forger
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| v.伪造；n.（钱、文件等的）伪造者 | |
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58
twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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59
frayed
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| adj.磨损的v.（使布、绳等）磨损，磨破( fray的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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60
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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