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CHAPTER XIII
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They were away, running hand in hand, and even their chance of death had an exultant1 cry in its throat.
 
A voice snarled2 in the darkness behind them:
 
“Shoot—shoot! No mercy!”
 
Fulk let go of Isoult’s hand, and swung behind her so as to cover her from the arrows of Merlin’s men, but she hung back and would not suffer him to serve her as shield.
 
“No, no; I take the same chance as you, my friend. There are oak woods down yonder—they will be our salvation3.”
 
“I will show them a woodland trick or two.”
 
Arrows went past them, first one, and then three flying together and whistling like wind through the keyhole. A cross-bow bolt struck the turf close to Isoult’s heels, and they heard the harsher twang of the arblast cord.
 
“That was Merlin’s shot. He has poached many a bird.”
 
“Let them shoot. It means they will lose in the running.”
 
They heard Merlin’s voice, furious and strident.
 
“After them. Bring down both, lording and jade4.”
 
The stiffness went out of Fulk’s legs like wax melting before a fire. He felt monstrously5 strong, ready to run on air, with never a thought of tiring. Isoult, being a woman of sense, had twitched7 her skirts up over her girdle, and she ran beside him like a deer.
 
“My desire, you have good wings.”
 
She laughed, feeling the mounting pride of his manhood in her.
 
“An I were naked I would dare any man to catch me—save you, perhaps!”
 
He glanced back with an exultant lift of the chin.
 
“They shoot like townsmen, and it is all down hill. Skim, swallow, skim!”
 
“In the oak woods we’ll make a maze8 for them.”
 
“Let me but cut a quarterstaff, and I’ll thank any five of them to come within striking distance. Jump, jump—a ditch!”
 
They leapt it together, and an arrow struck a thorn bush near them on the farther bank.
 
“The luck is with us!”
 
“I could sing, but breath is precious! Ah, Master Fierceheart, my pride flies with yours!”
 
He swerved9 close in, so that their shoulders touched.
 
“Isoult, when did it begin with you?”
 
“Ah—when! And with you?”
 
“God knows! Someone lit a torch in me—Hullo!”
 
Fulk had heard the whir of an arrow shot at a venture, and the sound of its striking home. He felt Isoult’s fingers contract on his, and heard her utter a sharp cry.
 
“Isoult, ar’t hurt?”
 
She flagged and faltered10, with one hand to her side.
 
“It’s over with me, Fulk; put your arm under my shoulders.”
 
“Dear heart, where has it struck you?”
 
“Here, where God thieved from Adam.”
 
He heard her breathing through clenched11 teeth, and she began to weigh heavily upon his arm.
 
“Fulk, I can go no farther.”
 
“I’ll carry you.”
 
“No, no; lay me down, dear madman, and run for it. Our luck is out. I have got my quittance.”
 
He felt the arrow in her side, and the warmth of her blood upon his arm, and a wondering wrath12 came over him. Her body seemed to melt, to slip away, to surrender all the thrilling tenseness of its muscles.
 
“Lay me down, my desire—and go.”
 
He laid her down very gently, yet the twisting of the barb13 made her cry out.
 
“A curse on the pain.”
 
He knelt by her, but she tried to thrust him away.
 
“It is my death wound. Up, dear fool; go—I charge you.”
 
“Not I. Give me your knife.”
 
She threw out her arms and caught him about the neck.
 
“Go. You cannot save me. Go. I ask it, with the blood of my death wound on me. Oh, strong heart—once—the last!”
 
She drew him down and kissed him fiercely with lips that clung, and then thrust him off.
 
“Take the knife; I shall never need it!”
 
“Isoult.”
 
“Now—go!”
 
“By God—I cannot!”
 
“My own mad fool, what can you do now? Come back with the sword to-morrow—and take your vengeance14.”
 
He sprang up, her knife in his hand, as a man came out of the darkness. Fulk struck him so fiercely that he went down without a cry. Another rushed at him, and had the knife in his throat; but the rest of the pack were closing in.
 
Fulk heard Isoult call to him.
 
“The life is out of me, my desire. Run, cheat Merlin, and I’ll die happy.”
 
He threw himself down beside her, kissed her mouth, and sprang away from under the feet of Merlin’s men. A flurry of arrows went after him in the darkness, but they flew wild and wide, and before they could shoot again Fulk had reached the woods.
 
How long or whither he ran Fulk of the Forest never knew. Isoult’s last cry had flung him forward into blind, physical activity that was fanatical and dazed. He blundered through the underwood and between the trunks of trees, hardly feeling the hazel rods stinging his face. Once he crashed into an oak bole, and went on with his head singing. A voice kept crying in him, “Run, run!” and his limbs and his senses were mere15 brute16 beasts that served.
 
Fulk ran for some three miles before the self suddenly awoke in him like a raw wound uncovered to the air. He faltered in his stride, dropped to a walk, and then stood still, staring at the ground in front of him, as though he had been running in his sleep.
 
“Isoult!”
 
He thrust out his hands with a fierce cry, and then covered his face with his forearms. Vision had come to him so vividly17 and with such bitterness that he rocked as he stood and breathed like a man in pain.
 
Dead! He could not believe it. Her lips were still alive to his, and her hands still thrilled him. Had it all happened, that passionate18 conspiring19 of theirs, that rushing together through the darkness, that mad, exultant love flight? He heard again her cry when the arrow struck her, her fierce pleading with him to leave her, and felt her arms holding him and her lips pressing themselves to his. Mother of God, those lips of hers! They had left him on fire, those lips of hers, and she herself was dead.
 
A savage20 compassion21 swept over him, an impotent and furious love rage that struggled against a sense of utter and incredible emptiness.
 
“Isoult!”
 
He bit the flesh of his wrist, and cursed himself. She was dead by now for his sake, this incomparable, strange creature, with all her fierce, wayward pride. Why had he run away and left her to Merlin? She was his, though dead; the hands, the lips, the eyes were his. He should have fought it to a finish with that scum of serfdom, and not left her alone in death. It was monstrous6, damnable, fit only for the spittle of a superhuman scorn.
 
What had he lost? And yesterday his eyes were blind! He saw it all now in a flare22 of tenderness, her desire to save him, and the stiffneckedness of his own pride. What was he that she should have suffered to save him, that she should have stooped to a lie against her honour, and lost her life at the hands of Merlin and these boors23?
 
Merlin!
 
His passion turned like a wounded boar, seeing something to strike at, something to slay24. By the Cross, he would make amends25, come by arms and horse, and join himself to those who were ready to trample26 this stubble of the fields into the mud. And this knife of Isoult’s that he had at his girdle should be kept for Merlin—the grey friar.

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1 exultant HhczC     
adj.欢腾的,狂欢的,大喜的
参考例句:
  • The exultant crowds were dancing in the streets.欢欣的人群在大街上跳起了舞。
  • He was exultant that she was still so much in his power.他仍然能轻而易举地摆布她,对此他欣喜若狂。
2 snarled ti3zMA     
v.(指狗)吠,嗥叫, (人)咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 );咆哮着说,厉声地说
参考例句:
  • The dog snarled at us. 狗朝我们低声吼叫。
  • As I advanced towards the dog, It'snarled and struck at me. 我朝那条狗走去时,它狂吠着向我扑来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 salvation nC2zC     
n.(尤指基督)救世,超度,拯救,解困
参考例句:
  • Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
  • Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。
4 jade i3Pxo     
n.玉石;碧玉;翡翠
参考例句:
  • The statue was carved out of jade.这座塑像是玉雕的。
  • He presented us with a couple of jade lions.他送给我们一对玉狮子。
5 monstrously ef58bb5e1444fec1b23eef5db7b0ea4f     
参考例句:
  • There is a class of men in Bristol monstrously prejudiced against Blandly. 布里斯托尔有那么一帮人为此恨透了布兰德利。
  • You are monstrously audacious, how dare you misappropriate public funds? 你真是狗胆包天,公家的钱也敢挪用?
6 monstrous vwFyM     
adj.巨大的;恐怖的;可耻的,丢脸的
参考例句:
  • The smoke began to whirl and grew into a monstrous column.浓烟开始盘旋上升,形成了一个巨大的烟柱。
  • Your behaviour in class is monstrous!你在课堂上的行为真是丢人!
7 twitched bb3f705fc01629dc121d198d54fa0904     
vt.& vi.(使)抽动,(使)颤动(twitch的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Her lips twitched with amusement. 她忍俊不禁地颤动着嘴唇。
  • The child's mouth twitched as if she were about to cry. 这小孩的嘴抽动着,像是要哭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 maze F76ze     
n.迷宫,八阵图,混乱,迷惑
参考例句:
  • He found his way through the complex maze of corridors.他穿过了迷宮一样的走廊。
  • She was lost in the maze for several hours.一连几小时,她的头脑处于一片糊涂状态。
9 swerved 9abd504bfde466e8c735698b5b8e73b4     
v.(使)改变方向,改变目的( swerve的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She swerved sharply to avoid a cyclist. 她猛地急转弯,以躲开一个骑自行车的人。
  • The driver has swerved on a sudden to avoid a file of geese. 为了躲避一队鹅,司机突然来个急转弯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 faltered d034d50ce5a8004ff403ab402f79ec8d     
(嗓音)颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 ); 支吾其词; 蹒跚; 摇晃
参考例句:
  • He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
  • "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着:“这孩子脑袋真长。”
11 clenched clenched     
v.紧握,抓紧,咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。
  • She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上,以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 wrath nVNzv     
n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒
参考例句:
  • His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
  • The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。
13 barb kuXzG     
n.(鱼钩等的)倒钩,倒刺
参考例句:
  • The barb of his wit made us wince.他那锋芒毕露的机智使我们退避三舍。
  • A fish hook has a barb to prevent the fish from escaping after being hooked.鱼钩上都有一个倒钩以防上了钩的鱼逃走。
14 vengeance wL6zs     
n.报复,报仇,复仇
参考例句:
  • He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。
  • For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。
15 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过
参考例句:
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
16 brute GSjya     
n.野兽,兽性
参考例句:
  • The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
  • That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲,它咬人。
17 vividly tebzrE     
adv.清楚地,鲜明地,生动地
参考例句:
  • The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
  • The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。
18 passionate rLDxd     
adj.热情的,热烈的,激昂的,易动情的,易怒的,性情暴躁的
参考例句:
  • He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
  • He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。
19 conspiring 6ea0abd4b4aba2784a9aa29dd5b24fa0     
密谋( conspire的现在分词 ); 搞阴谋; (事件等)巧合; 共同导致
参考例句:
  • They were accused of conspiring against the king. 他们被指控阴谋反对国王。
  • John Brown and his associates were tried for conspiring to overthrow the slave states. 约翰·布朗和他的合伙者们由于密谋推翻实行奴隶制度的美国各州而被审讯。
20 savage ECxzR     
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人
参考例句:
  • The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
  • He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。
21 compassion 3q2zZ     
n.同情,怜悯
参考例句:
  • He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
  • Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。
22 flare LgQz9     
v.闪耀,闪烁;n.潮红;突发
参考例句:
  • The match gave a flare.火柴发出闪光。
  • You need not flare up merely because I mentioned your work.你大可不必因为我提到你的工作就动怒。
23 boors dc91aa0725725ae7fa7a3e3f8cedfbba     
n.农民( boor的名词复数 );乡下佬;没礼貌的人;粗野的人
参考例句:
  • We painters are no match for boors. We are glass, and they are stone. 我们画家比不过他们粗人。我们是玻璃,他们是石头。 来自辞典例句
  • OK, boors, have a ball. 好吧,伙计们,拿起球来。 来自互联网
24 slay 1EtzI     
v.杀死,宰杀,杀戮
参考例句:
  • He intended to slay his father's murderer.他意图杀死杀父仇人。
  • She has ordered me to slay you.她命令我把你杀了。
25 amends AzlzCR     
n. 赔偿
参考例句:
  • He made amends for his rudeness by giving her some flowers. 他送给她一些花,为他自己的鲁莽赔罪。
  • This country refuses stubbornly to make amends for its past war crimes. 该国顽固地拒绝为其过去的战争罪行赔罪。
26 trample 9Jmz0     
vt.踩,践踏;无视,伤害,侵犯
参考例句:
  • Don't trample on the grass. 勿踏草地。
  • Don't trample on the flowers when you play in the garden. 在花园里玩耍时,不要踩坏花。


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