In a whitewashed1 parlour of “Beamish’s Family Hotel” some few miles north of Geelong, three young women, in voluminous skirts and with their hair looped low over their ears, sat at work. Books lay open on the table before two of them; the third was making a bookmark. Two were fair, plump, rosy2, and well over twenty; the third, pale-skinned and dark, was still a very young girl. She it was who stitched magenta3 hieroglyphics4 on a strip of perforated cardboard.
“Do lemme see, Poll,” said the eldest5 of the trio, and laid down her pen. “You ‘AVE bin6 quick about it, my dear.”
Polly, the brunette, freed her needle of silk and twirled the bookmark by its ribbon ends. Spinning, the mystic characters united to form the words: “Kiss me quick.”
Her companions tittered. “If ma didn’t know for certain ’twas meant for your brother John, she’d never ‘ave let you make it,” said the second blonde, whose name was Jinny.
“Girls, what a lark7 it ‘ud be to send it up to Purdy Smith, by Ned!” said the first speaker.
Polly blushed. “Fy, Tilly! That wouldn’t be ladylike.”
Tilly’s big bosom8 rose and fell in a sigh. “What’s a lark never is.”
Jinny giggled9, agreeably scandalized: “What things you do say. Till! Don’t let ma ‘ear you, that’s all.”
“Ma be blowed!—‘Ow does this look now, Polly?” And across the wax-cloth Tilly pushed a copybook, in which she had laboriously10 inscribed11 a prim12 maxim13 the requisite14 number of times.
Polly laid down her work and knitted her brows over the page.
“Well . . . it’s better than the last one, Tilly,” she said gently, averse15 to hurting her pupil’s feelings. “But still not quite good enough. The f’s, look, should be more like this.” And taking a steel pen she made several long-tailed f’s, in a tiny, pointed16 hand.
Tilly yielded an ungrudging admiration17. “‘Ow well you do it, Poll! But I HATE writing. If only ma weren’t so set on it!”
“You’ll never be able to write yourself to a certain person, ‘oos name I won’t mention, if you don’t ‘urry up and learn,” said Jinny, looking sage18.
“What’s the odds19! We’ve always got Poll to write for us,” gave back Tilly, and lazily stretched out a large, plump hand to recover the copybook. “A certain person’ll never know — or not till it’s too late.”
“Here, Polly dear,” said Jinny, and held out a book. “I know it now.”
Again Polly put down her embroidery21. She took the book. “Plough!” said she.
“Plough?” echoed Jinny vaguely22, and turned a pair of soft, cow-like brown eyes on the blowflies sitting sticky and sleepy round the walls of the room. “Wait a jiff . . . lemme think! Plough? Oh, yes, I know. P-l . . . .”
“P-l-o” prompted Polly, the speller coming to a full stop.
“ P-l-o-w!” shot out Jinny, in triumph.
“Not QUITE right,” said Polly. “It’s g-h, Jinny: p-l-o-u-g-h.”
“Oh, that’s what I meant. I knew it right enough.”
“Well, now, trough!”
“Trough?” repeated Jinny, in the same slow, vacant way.
“Trough? Wait, lemme think a minute. T-r-o. . . .”
Polly’s lips all but formed the “u,” to prevent the “f” she felt impending23. “I’m afraid you’ll have to take it again, Jinny dear,” she said reluctantly, as nothing further was forthcoming.
“Oh, no, Poll. T-r-o-” began Jinny with fresh vigour25. But before she could add a fourth to the three letters, a heavy foot pounded down the passage, and a stout26 woman, out of breath, her cap-bands flying, came bustling27 in and slammed the door.
“Girls, girls, now whatever d’ye think? ‘Ere’s Purdy Smith come ridin’ inter28 the yard, an’ another gent with ’im. Scuttle29 along now, an’ put them books away!— Tilda, yer net’s ‘alf ‘angin’ off — you don’t want yer sweet-’eart to see you all untidy like that, do you?—‘Elp ’em, Polly my dear, and be quick about it!— H’out with yer sewin’, chicks!”
Sprung up from their seats the three girls darted30 to and fro. The telltale spelling and copy-books were flung into the drawer of the chiffonier, and the key was turned on them. Polly, her immodest sampler safely hidden at the bottom of her workbox, was the most composed of the three; and while locks were smoothed and collars adjusted in the adjoining bedroom, she remained behind to look out thimbles, needles and strips of plain sewing, and to lay them naturally about the table.
The blonde sisters reappeared, all aglow31 with excitement. Tilly, in particular, was in a sad flutter.
“Girls, I simply CAN’T face ’im in ’ere!” she declared. “It was ’ere, in this very room, that ‘e first — you know what!”
“Nor can I,” cried Jinny, catching32 the fever.
“Feel my ’eart, ‘ow it beats,” said her sister, pressing her hands, one over the other, to her full left breast.
“Mine’s every bit as bad,” averred33 Jinny.
“I believe I shall ‘ave the palpitations and faint away, if I stop ’ere.”
Polly was genuinely concerned. “I’ll run and call mother back.”
“No, I tell you what: let’s ‘ide!” cried Tilly, recovering.
Jinny wavered. “But will they find us?”
“Duffer! Of course. Ma’ll give ’em the ‘int.— Come on!”
Suiting the action to the word, and imitated by her sister, she scrambled35 over the window sill to the verandah. Polly found herself alone. Her conscientious36 scrupling37: “But mother may be cross!” had passed unheeded. Now, she, too, fell into a flurry. She could not remain there, by herself, to meet two young men, one of whom was a stranger: steps and voices were already audible at the end of the passage. And so, since there was nothing else for it, she clambered after her friends — though with difficulty; for she was not very tall.
This was why, when Mrs. Beamish flourished open the door, exclaiming in a hearty38 tone: “An’ ’ere you’ll find ’em, gents — sittin’ at their needles, busy as bees!” the most conspicuous39 object in the room was a very neat leg, clad in a white stocking and black prunella boot, which was just being drawn40 up over the sill. It flashed from sight; and the patter of running feet beat the floor of the verandah.
“Ha, ha, too late! The birds have flown,” laughed Purdy, and smacked41 his thigh42.
“Well, I declare, an’ so they ‘ave — the NAUGHTY creatures!” exclaimed Mrs. Beamish in mock dismay. “But trust you, Mr. Smith, for sayin’ the right thing. Jus’ exackly like birds they are — so shy an’ scared-like. But I’ll give you the ‘int, gents. They’ll not be far away. Jus’ you show ’em two can play at that game.— Mr. S., you know the h’arbour!”
“Should say I do! Many’s the time I’ve anchored there,” cried Purdy with a guffaw43. “Come, Dick!” And crossing to the window he straddled over the frame, and disappeared.
Reluctantly Mahony followed him.
From the verandah they went down into the vegetable-garden, where the drab and tangled44 growths that had outlived the summer were beaten flat by the recent rains. At the foot of the garden, behind a clump45 of gooseberry-bushes, stood an arbour formed of a yellow buddleia. No trace of a petticoat was visible, so thick was the leafage; but a loud whispering and tittering betrayed the fugitives46.
At the apparition47 of the young men, who stooped to the low entrance, there was a cascade48 of shrieks49.
“Oh, lor, ‘OW you frightened me! ‘Owever did you know we were ’ere?”
“You wicked fellow! Get away, will you! I ‘ate the very sight of you!”— this from Tilly, as Purdy, his hands on her hips50, gave her a smacking51 kiss.
The other girls feared a like greeting; there were more squeaks52 and squeals53, and some ineffectual dives for the doorway54. Purdy spread out his arms. “Hi, look out, stop ’em, Dick! Now then, man, here’s your chance!”
Mahony stood blinking; it was dusk inside, after the dazzle of the sun. At this reminder55 of the foolish bet he had taken, he hurriedly seized the young woman who was next him, and embraced her. It chanced to be Jinny. She screamed, and made a feint of feeling mortally outraged56. Mahony had to dodge57 a box on the ears.
But Purdy burst into a horselaugh, and held his sides. Without knowing why, Tilly joined in, and Jinny, too, was infected. When Purdy could speak, he blurted58 out: “Dick, you fathead!— you jackass!— you’ve mugged the wrong one.”
At this clownish mirth, Mahony felt the blood boil up over ears and temples. For an instant he stood irresolute59. Did he admit the blunder, his victim would be hurt. Did he deny it, he would save his own face at the expense of the other young woman’s feelings. So, though he could have throttled60 Purdy he put a bold front on the matter.
“CARPE DIEM is my motto, my boy! I intend to make both young ladies pay toll61.”
His words were the signal for a fresh scream and flutter: the third young person had escaped, and was flying down the path. This called for chase and capture. She was not very agile62 but she knew the ground, which, outside the garden, was rocky and uneven63. For a time, she had Mahony at vantage; his heart was not in the game: in cutting undignified capers64 among the gooseberry-bushes he felt as foolish as a performing dog. Then, however, she caught her toe in her dress and stumbled. He could not disregard the opportunity; he advanced upon her.
But two beseeching65 hands fended66 him off. “No . . . no. Please . . . oh, PLEASE, don’t!”
This was no catchpenny coquetry; it was a genuine dread67 of undue68 familiarity. A kindred trait in Mahony’s own nature rose to meet it.
“Certainly not, if it is disagreeable to you. Shall we shake hands instead?”
Two of the blackest eyes he had ever seen were raised to his, and a flushed face dimpled. They shook hands, and he offered his arm.
Halfway69 to the arbour, they met the others coming to find them. The girls bore diminutive70 parasols; and Purdy, in rollicking spirits, Tilly on one arm, Jinny on the other, held Polly’s above his head. On the appearance of the laggards71, Jinny, who had put her own interpretation72 on the misplaced kiss, prepared to free her arm; but Purdy, winking73 at his friend, squeezed it to his side and held her prisoner.
Tilly buzzed a word in his ear.
“Yes, by thunder!” he ejaculated; and letting go of his companions, he spun74 round like a ballet-dancer. “Ladies! Let me introduce to you my friend, Dr. Richard Townshend-Mahony, F.R.C.S., M.D., Edinburgh, at present proprietor75 of the ‘Diggers’ Emporium,’ Dead Dog Hill, Ballarat. — Dick, my hearty, Miss Tilly Beamish, world-famed for her sauce; Miss Jinny, renowned76 for her skill in casting the eyes of sheep; and, last but not least, pretty little Polly Perkins, alias77 Miss Polly Turnham, whose good deeds put those of Dorcas to the blush.”
The Misses Beamish went into fits of laughter, and Tilly hit Purdy over the back with her parasol.
But the string of letters had puzzled them, roused their curiosity.
“ What’n earth do they mean?— Gracious! So clever! It makes me feel quite queer.”
“Y’ought to ‘ave told us before ‘and, Purd, so’s we could ‘ave studied up.”
However, a walk to a cave was under discussion, and Purdy urged them on. “Phoebus is on the wane78, girls. And it’s going to be damn cold to-night.”
Once more with the young person called Polly as companion, Mahony followed after. He walked in silence, listening to the rattle79 of the three in front. At best he was but a poor hand at the kind of repartee80 demanded of their swains by these young women; and to-day his slender talent failed him altogether, crushed by the general tone of vulgar levity81. Looking over at the horizon, which swam in a kind of gold-dust haze82 below the sinking sun, he smiled thinly to himself at Purdy’s ideas of wiving.
Reminded he was not alone by feeling the hand on his arm tremble, he glanced down at his companion; and his eye was arrested by a neatly83 parted head, of the glossiest84 black imaginable.
He pulled himself together. “Your cousins are excellent walkers.”
“Oh, yes, very. But they are not my cousins.”
Mahony pricked85 up his ears. “But you live here?”
“Yes. I help moth34 . . . Mrs. Beamish in the house.”
But as if, with this, she had said too much, she grew tongue-tied again; and there was nothing more to be made of her. Taking pity on her timidity, Mahony tried to put her at ease by talking about himself. He described his life on the diggings and the straits to which he was at times reduced: the buttons affixed86 to his clothing by means of gingerbeer-bottle wire; his periodic onslaughts on sock-darning; the celebrated87 pudding it had taken him over four hours to make. And Polly, listening to him, forgot her desire to run away. Instead, she could not help laughing at the tales of his masculine shiftlessness. But as soon as they came in view of the others, Tilly and Purdy sitting under one parasol on a rock by the cave, Jinny standing88 and looking out rather aggressively after the loiterers, she withdrew her arm.
“Moth . . . Mrs. Beamish will need me to help her with tea. And . . . and WOULD you please walk back with Jinny?”
Before he could reply, she had turned and was hurrying away.
They got home from the cave at sundown, he with the ripe Jinny hanging a dead weight on his arm, to find tea spread in the private parlour. The table was all but invisible under its load; and their hostess looked as though she had been parboiled on her own kitchen fire. She sat and fanned herself with a sheet of newspaper while, time and again, undaunted by refusals, she pressed the good things upon her guests. There were juicy beefsteaks piled high with rings of onion, and a barracoota, and a cold leg of mutton. There were apple-pies and jam-tarts, a dish of curds-and-whey and a jug89 of custard. Butter and bread were fresh and new; scones90 and cakes had just left the oven; and the great cups of tea were tempered by pure, thick cream.
To the two men who came from diggers’ fare: cold chop for breakfast, cold chop for dinner and cold chop for tea: the meal was little short of a banquet; and few words were spoken in its course. But the moment arrived when they could eat no more, and when even Mrs. Beamish ceased to urge them. Pipes and pouches91 were produced; Polly and Jinny rose to collect the plates, Tilly and her beau to sit on the edge of the verandah: they could be seen in silhouette92 against the rising moon, Tilly’s head drooping93 to Purdy’s shoulder.
Mrs. Beamish looked from them to Mahony with a knowing smile, and whispered behind her hand: “I do wish those two ‘ud ‘urry up an’ make up their minds, that I do! I’d like to see my Tilda settled. No offence meant to young Smith. ‘E’s the best o’ good company. But sometimes . . . well, I cud jus’ knock their ‘eads together when they sit so close, an’ say: come, give over yer spoonin’ an’ get to business! Either you want one another or you don’t.— I seen you watchin’ our Polly, Mr. Mahony” — she made Mahony wince94 by stressing the second syllable95 of his name. “Bless you, no — no relation whatsoever96. She just ‘elps a bit in the ’ouse, an’ is company for the girls. We tuck ‘er in a year ago —‘er own relations ‘ad played ‘er a dirty trick. Mustn’t let ‘er catch me sayin’ so, though; she won’t ‘ear a word against ’em, and that’s as it should be.”
Looking round, and finding Polly absent from the room, she went on to tell Mahony how Polly’s eldest brother, a ten years’ resident in Melbourne, had sent to England for the girl on her leaving school, to come out and assist in keeping his house. And how an elder sister, who was governessing in Sydney, had chosen just this moment to throw up her post and return to quarter herself upon the brother.
“An’ so when Polly gets ’ere — a little bit of a thing in short frocks, in charge of the capt’n — there was no room for ‘er, an’ she ‘ad to look about ‘er for somethin’ else to do. We tuck ‘er in, an’, I will say, I’ve never regretted it. Indeed I don’t know now, ‘ow we ever got on without ‘er.— Yes, it’s you I’m talkin’ about, miss, singin’ yer praises, an’ you needn’t get as red as if you’d bin up to mischief97! Pa’ll say as much for you, too.”
“That I will!” said Mr. Beamish, opening his mouth for the first time except to put food in it. “That I will,” and he patted Polly’s hand.” The man as gits Polly’ll git a treasure.”
Polly blushed, after the helpless, touching98 fashion of very young creatures: the blood stained her cheeks, mounted to her forehead, spread in a warm wave over neck and ears. To spare her, Mahony turned his head and looked out of the window. He would have liked to say: Run away, child, run away, and don’t let them see your confusion. Polly, however, went conscientiously99 about her task, and only left the room when she had picked up her full complement100 of plates.— But she did not appear again that night.
Deserted101 even by Mrs. Beamish, the two men pushed back their chairs from the table and drew tranquilly102 at their pipes.
The innkeeper proved an odd, misty103 sort of fellow, exceedingly backward at declaring himself; it was as though each of his heavy words had to be fetched from a distance. “No doubt about it, it’s the wife that wears the breeches,” was Mahony’s inward comment. And as one after another of his well-meant remarks fell flat: “Become almost a deaf-mute, it would seem, under the eternal female clacking.”
But for each mortal there exists at least one theme to fire him. In the case of Beamish this turned out to be the Land Question. Before the gold discovery he had been a bush shepherd, he told Mahony, and, if he had called the tune104, he would have lived and died one. But the wife had had ambitions, the children were growing up, and every one knew what it was when women got a maggot in their heads. There had been no peace for him till he had chucked his twelve-year-old job and joined the rush to Mount Alexander. But at heart he had remained a bushman; and he was now all on the side of the squatters in their tussle105 with the Crown. He knew a bit, he’d make bold to say, about the acreage needed in certain districts per head of sheep; he could tell a tale of the risks and mischances squatting106 involved: “If t’aint fire it’s flood, an’ if the water passes you by it’s the scab or the rot.” To his thinking, the government’s attempt to restrict the areas of sheep-runs, and to give effect to the “fourteen-year-clause” which limited the tenure107, were acts of folly108. The gold supply would give out as suddenly as it had begun; but sheep would graze there till the crack of doom109 — the land was fit for nothing else.
Mahony thought this point of view lopsided. No new country could hope to develop and prosper110 without a steady influx111 of the right kind of population and this the colony would never have, so long as the authorities, by refusing to sell them land, made it impossible for immigrants to settle there. Why, America was but three thousand miles distant from the old country, compared with Australia’s thirteen thousand, and in America land was to be had in plenty at five shillings per acre. As to Mr. Beamish’s idea of the gold giving out, the geological formation of the goldfields rendered that improbable. He sympathised with the squatters, who naturally enough believed their rights to the land inalienable; but a government worthy112 of the name must legislate113 with an eye to the future, not for the present alone.
Their talk was broken by long gaps. In these, the resonant114 voice of Mrs. Beamish could be heard rebuking115 and directing her two handmaidens.
“Now then, Jinny, look alive, an’ don’t ack like a dyin’ duck in a thunderstorm, or you’ll never get back to do YOUR bit o’ spoonin’!— Save them bones, Polly. Never waste an atom, my chuck — remember that, when you’ve got an ’ouse of your own! No, girls, I always says, through their stomachs, that’s the shortcut116 to their ‘earts. The rest’s on’y fal-de-lal-ing.”— On the verandah, in face of the vasty, star-spangled night, Tilly’s head had found its resting-place, and an arm lay round her waist.
“I shall make ’im cut off ‘is beard first thing,” said Jinny that night: she was sitting half-undressed on the side of a big bed, which the three girls shared with one another.
“Um! just you wait and see if it’s as easy as you think,” retorted Tilly from her pillow. Again Purdy had let slip a golden chance to put the decisive question; and Tilly’s temper was short in consequence.
“Mrs. Dr. Mahony . . . though I do wonder ‘ow ‘e ever keeps people from saying Ma-HON-y,” said Jinny dreamily. She, too, had spent some time in star-gazing, and believed she had ground for hope.
“Just listen to ‘er, will you!” said Tilly angrily.” Upon my word, Jinny Beamish, if one didn’t know you ‘ad the ‘abit of marrying yourself off to every fresh cove20 you meet, one ‘ud say you was downright bold!”
“YOU needn’t talk! Every one can see you’re as mad as can be because you can’t bring your old dot-and-go-one to the scratch.”
“Oh, hush117, Jinny” said Polly, grieved at this thrust into Tilly’s open wound.
“Well, it’s true.— Oh, look ’ere now, there’s not a drop o’ water in this blessed jug again. ‘Oo’s week is it to fill it? Tilly B., it’s yours!”
“Serves you right. You can fetch it yourself.”
“Think I see myself!”
Polly intervened. “I’ll go for it, Jinny.”
“What a little duck you are, Poll! But you shan’t go alone. I’ll carry the candle.”
Tying on a petticoat over her bedgown, Polly took the ewer118, and with Jinny as torch-bearer set forth24. There was still some noise in the public part of the house, beside the bar; but the passage was bare and quiet. The girls crept mousily past the room occupied by the two young men, and after several false alarms and suppressed chirps119 reached the back door, and filled the jug at the tap of the galvanised-iron tank.
The return journey was not so successful. Just as they got level with the visitors’ room, they heard feet crossing the floor. Polly started; the water splashed over the neck of the jug, and fell with a loud plop. At this Jinny lost her head and ran off with the candle. Polly, in a panic of fright, dived into the pantry with her burden, and crouched120 down behind a tub of fermenting121 gingerbeer.— And sure enough, a minute after, the door of the room opposite was flung open and a pair of jackboots landed in the passage.
Nor was this the worst: the door was not shut again but remained ajar. Through the chink, Polly, shrunk to her smallest — what if one of them should feel hungry, and come into the pantry and discover her?— Polly heard Purdy say with appalling122 loudness: “Oh, go on, old man-don’t jaw123 so!” He then seemed to plunge124 his head in the basin, for it was with a choke and a splutter that he next inquired: “And what did you think of the little ’un? Wasn’t I right?”
There was the chink of coins handled, and the other voice answered: “Here’s what I think. Take your money, my boy, and be done with it!”
“Dick!— Great Snakes! Why, damn it all, man, you don’t mean to tell me. . . .”
“And understand, sir, in future, that I do not make bets where a lady is concerned.”
“Oh, I know — only on the Tilly-Jinny-sort. And yet good Lord, Dick!”— the rest was drowned in a bawl125 of laughter.
Under cover of it Polly took to her heels and fled, regardless of the open door, or the padding of her bare feet on the boards.
Without replying to the astonished Jinny’s query126 in respect of the water, she climbed over Tilly to her place beside the wall, and shutting her eyes very tight, drew the sheet over her face: it felt as though it would never be cool again.— Hence, Jinny, agreeably wakeful, was forced to keep her thoughts to herself; for if you lie between two people, one of whom is in a bad temper, and the other fast asleep, you might just as well be alone in bed.
Next morning Polly alleged127 a headache and did not appear at breakfast. Only Jinny and Tilly stood on the verandah of romantic memories, and ruefully waved their handkerchiefs, keeping it up till even the forms of horses were blurred128 in the distance.
收听单词发音 |
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whitewashed
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| 粉饰，美化，掩饰( whitewash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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magenta
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| n..紫红色（的染料）；adj.紫红色的 | |
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hieroglyphics
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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bin
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| n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件 | |
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lark
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| n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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giggled
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| v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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laboriously
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| adv.艰苦地；费力地；辛勤地；（文体等）佶屈聱牙地 | |
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inscribed
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| v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接 | |
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prim
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| adj.拘泥形式的，一本正经的；n.循规蹈矩，整洁；adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地 | |
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maxim
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| n.格言，箴言 | |
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requisite
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| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
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averse
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| adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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sage
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| n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的 | |
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odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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cove
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| n.小海湾，小峡谷 | |
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embroidery
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| n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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bustling
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| adj.喧闹的 | |
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28
inter
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| v.埋葬 | |
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29
scuttle
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| v.急赶，疾走，逃避；n.天窗；舷窗 | |
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darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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31
aglow
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| adj.发亮的；发红的；adv.发亮地 | |
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32
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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33
averred
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| v.断言( aver的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；证明…属实；作为事实提出 | |
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34
moth
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| n.蛾，蛀虫 | |
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35
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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36
conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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37
scrupling
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| v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的现在分词 ) | |
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38
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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39
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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40
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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41
smacked
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| 拍，打，掴( smack的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42
thigh
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| n.大腿；股骨 | |
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43
guffaw
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| n.哄笑；突然的大笑 | |
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44
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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45
clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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46
fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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47
apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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48
cascade
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| n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下 | |
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49
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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50
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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51
smacking
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| 活泼的，发出响声的，精力充沛的 | |
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52
squeaks
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| n.短促的尖叫声，吱吱声( squeak的名词复数 )v.短促地尖叫( squeak的第三人称单数 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者 | |
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53
squeals
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| n.长而尖锐的叫声( squeal的名词复数 )v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的第三人称单数 ) | |
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54
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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55
reminder
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| n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示 | |
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56
outraged
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| a.震惊的，义愤填膺的 | |
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57
dodge
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| v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计 | |
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58
blurted
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| v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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59
irresolute
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| adj.无决断的，优柔寡断的，踌躇不定的 | |
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60
throttled
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| v.扼杀( throttle的过去式和过去分词 )；勒死；使窒息；压制 | |
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61
toll
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| n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟) | |
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62
agile
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| adj.敏捷的，灵活的 | |
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63
uneven
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| adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的 | |
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64
capers
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| n.开玩笑( caper的名词复数 )；刺山柑v.跳跃，雀跃( caper的第三人称单数 ) | |
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65
beseeching
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| adj.恳求似的v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的现在分词 ) | |
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66
fended
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| v.独立生活，照料自己( fend的过去式和过去分词 )；挡开，避开 | |
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67
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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68
undue
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| adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的 | |
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69
halfway
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| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
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70
diminutive
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| adj.小巧可爱的，小的 | |
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71
laggards
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| n.落后者( laggard的名词复数 ) | |
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72
interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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73
winking
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| n.瞬眼，目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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74
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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75
proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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76
renowned
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| adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的 | |
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77
alias
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| n.化名；别名；adv.又名 | |
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78
wane
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| n.衰微，亏缺，变弱；v.变小，亏缺，呈下弦 | |
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79
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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80
repartee
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| n.机敏的应答 | |
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81
levity
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| n.轻率，轻浮，不稳定，多变 | |
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82
haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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83
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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84
glossiest
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| 光滑的( glossy的最高级 )； 虚有其表的； 浮华的 | |
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85
pricked
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| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
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86
affixed
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| adj.[医]附着的，附着的v.附加( affix的过去式和过去分词 )；粘贴；加以；盖（印章） | |
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87
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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88
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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89
jug
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| n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂 | |
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90
scones
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| n.烤饼，烤小圆面包( scone的名词复数 ) | |
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91
pouches
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| n.（放在衣袋里或连在腰带上的）小袋( pouch的名词复数 )；（袋鼠等的）育儿袋；邮袋；（某些动物贮存食物的）颊袋 | |
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92
silhouette
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| n.黑色半身侧面影，影子，轮廓；v.描绘成侧面影，照出影子来，仅仅显出轮廓 | |
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93
drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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94
wince
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| n.畏缩，退避，（因痛苦，苦恼等)面部肌肉抽动；v.畏缩，退缩，退避 | |
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95
syllable
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| n.音节；vt.分音节 | |
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96
whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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97
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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98
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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99
conscientiously
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| adv.凭良心地；认真地，负责尽职地；老老实实 | |
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100
complement
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| n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足 | |
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101
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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102
tranquilly
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| adv. 宁静地 | |
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103
misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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104
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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105
tussle
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| n.&v.扭打，搏斗，争辩 | |
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106
squatting
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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107
tenure
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| n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期 | |
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108
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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109
doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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110
prosper
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| v.成功，兴隆，昌盛；使成功，使昌隆，繁荣 | |
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111
influx
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| n.流入，注入 | |
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112
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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113
legislate
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| vt.制定法律；n.法规，律例；立法 | |
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114
resonant
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| adj.(声音)洪亮的，共鸣的 | |
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115
rebuking
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| 责难或指责( rebuke的现在分词 ) | |
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116
shortcut
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| n.近路，捷径 | |
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117
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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118
ewer
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| n.大口水罐 | |
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119
chirps
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| 鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的第三人称单数 )； 啾； 啾啾 | |
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120
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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121
fermenting
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| v.（使）发酵( ferment的现在分词 )；（使）激动；骚动；骚扰 | |
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122
appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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123
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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124
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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125
bawl
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| v.大喊大叫，大声地喊，咆哮 | |
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126
query
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| n.疑问，问号，质问；vt.询问，表示怀疑 | |
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127
alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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128
blurred
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| v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离 | |
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