The door of the garret had just opened abruptly1, and allowed a view of three men clad in blue linen2 blouses, and masked with masks of black paper. The first was thin, and had a long, iron-tipped cudgel; the second, who was a sort of colossus, carried, by the middle of the handle, with the blade downward, a butcher's pole-axe3 for slaughtering4 cattle. The third, a man with thick-set shoulders, not so slender as the first, held in his hand an enormous key stolen from the door of some prison.
It appeared that the arrival of these men was what Jondrette had been waiting for. A rapid dialogue ensued between him and the man with the cudgel, the thin one.
"Is everything ready?" said Jondrette.
"Yes," replied the thin man.
"Where is Montparnasse?"
"The young principal actor stopped to chat with your girl."
"Which?"
"Is there a carriage at the door?"
"Yes."
"Is the team harnessed?"
"Yes."
"With two good horses?"
"Excellent."
"Is it waiting where I ordered?"
"Yes."
"Good," said Jondrette.
M. Leblanc was very pale. He was scrutinizing6 everything around him in the den7, like a man who understands what he has fallen into, and his head, directed in turn toward all the heads which surrounded him, moved on his neck with an astonished and attentive8 slowness, but there was nothing in his air which resembled fear. He had improvised9 an intrenchment out of the table; and the man, who but an instant previously10, had borne merely the appearance of a kindly11 old man, had suddenly become a sort of athlete, and placed his robust12 fist on the back of his chair, with a formidable and surprising gesture.
This old man, who was so firm and so brave in the presence of such a danger, seemed to possess one of those natures which are as courageous13 as they are kind, both easily and simply. The father of a woman whom we love is never a stranger to us. Marius felt proud of that unknown man.
Three of the men, of whom Jondrette had said: "They are chimney-builders," had armed themselves from the pile of old iron, one with a heavy pair of shears14, the second with weighing-tongs, the third with a hammer, and had placed themselves across the entrance without uttering a syllable15. The old man had remained on the bed, and had merely opened his eyes. The Jondrette woman had seated herself beside him.
Marius decided16 that in a few seconds more the moment for intervention17 would arrive, and he raised his right hand towards the ceiling, in the direction of the corridor, in readiness to discharge his pistol.
Jondrette having terminated his colloquy18 with the man with the cudgel, turned once more to M. Leblanc, and repeated his question, accompanying it with that low, repressed, and terrible laugh which was peculiar19 to him:--
"So you do not recognize me?"
M. Leblanc looked him full in the face, and replied:--
"No."
Then Jondrette advanced to the table. He leaned across the candle, crossing his arms, putting his angular and ferocious20 jaw21 close to M. Leblanc's calm face, and advancing as far as possible without forcing M. Leblanc to retreat, and, in this posture22 of a wild beast who is about to bite, he exclaimed:--
"My name is not Fabantou, my name is not Jondrette, my name is Thenardier. I am the inn-keeper of Montfermeil! Do you understand? Thenardier! Now do you know me?"
An almost imperceptible flush crossed M. Leblanc's brow, and he replied with a voice which neither trembled nor rose above its ordinary level, with his accustomed placidity:--
"No more than before."
Marius did not hear this reply. Any one who had seen him at that moment through the darkness would have perceived that he was haggard, stupid, thunder-struck. At the moment when Jondrette said: "My name is Thenardier," Marius had trembled in every limb, and had leaned against the wall, as though he felt the cold of a steel blade through his heart. Then his right arm, all ready to discharge the signal shot, dropped slowly, and at the moment when Jondrette repeated, "Thenardier, do you understand?" Marius's faltering23 fingers had come near letting the pistol fall. Jondrette, by revealing his identity, had not moved M. Leblanc, but he had quite upset Marius. That name of Thenardier, with which M. Leblanc did not seem to be acquainted, Marius knew well. Let the reader recall what that name meant to him! That name he had worn on his heart, inscribed25 in his father's testament26! He bore it at the bottom of his mind, in the depths of his memory, in that sacred injunction: "A certain Thenardier saved my life. If my son encounters him, he will do him all the good that lies in his power." That name, it will be remembered, was one of the pieties27 of his soul; he mingled28 it with the name of his father in his worship. What! This man was that Thenardier, that inn-keeper of Montfermeil whom he had so long and so vainly sought! He had found him at last, and how? His father's saviour29 was a ruffian! That man, to whose service Marius was burning to devote himself, was a monster! That liberator30 of Colonel Pontmercy was on the point of committing a crime whose scope Marius did not, as yet, clearly comprehend, but which resembled an assassination31! And against whom, great God! what a fatality32! What a bitter mockery of fate! His father had commanded him from the depths of his coffin33 to do all the good in his power to this Thenardier, and for four years Marius had cherished no other thought than to acquit34 this debt of his father's, and at the momes wrath35 had fallen into some hole, like the Rhone; then, as though he were concluding aloud the things which he had been saying to himself in a whisper, he smote36 the table with his fist, and shouted:--
"And with his goody-goody air!"
And, apostrophizing M. Leblanc:--
"Parbleu! You made game of me in the past! You are the cause of all my misfortunes! For fifteen hundred francs you got a girl whom I had, and who certainly belonged to rich people, and who had already brought in a great deal of money, and from whom I might have extracted enough to live on all my life! A girl who would have made up to me for everything that I lost in that vile37 cook-shop, where there was nothing but one continual row, and where, like a fool, I ate up my last farthing! Oh! I wish all the wine folks drank in my house had been poison to those who drank it! Wen循ㄠve so long worn on his breast his father's last commands, written in his own hand, only to act in so horribly contrary a sense! But, on the other hand, now look on that trap and not prevent it! Condemn38 the victim and to spare the assassin! Could one be held to any gratitude39 towards so miserable40 a wretch41? All the ideas which Marius had cherished for the last four years were pierced through and through, as it were, by this unforeseen blow.
He shuddered42. Everything depended on him. Unknown to themselves, he held in his hand all those beings who were moving about there before his eyes. If he fired his pistol, M. Leblanc was saved, and Thenardier lost; if he did not fire, M. Leblanc would be sacrificed, and, who knows? Thenardier would escape. Should he dash down the one or allow the other to fall? Remorse43 awaited him in either case.
What was he to do? What should he choose? Be false to the most imperious souvenirs, to all those solemn vows44 to himself, to the most sacred duty, to the most venerated45 text! Should he ignore his father's testament, or allow the perpetration of a crime! On the one hand, it seemed to him that he heard "his Ursule" supplicating46 for her father and on the other, the colonel commending Thenardier to his care. He felt that he was going mad. His knees gave way beneath him. And he had not even the time for deliberation, so great was the fury with which the scene before his eyes was hastening to its catastrophe47. It was like a whirlwind of which he had thought himself the master, and which was now sweeping48 him away. He was on the verge49 of swooning.
In the meantime, Thenardier, whom we shall henceforth call by no other name, was pacing up and down in front of the table in a sort of frenzy51 and wild triumph.
He seized the candle in his fist, and set it on the chimney-piece with so violent a bang that the wick came near being extinguished, and the tallow bespattered the wall.
Then he turned to M. Leblanc with a horrible look, and spit out these words:--
"Done for! Smoked brown! Cooked! Spitchcocked!"
And again he began to march back and forth50, in full eruption52.
"Ah!" he cried, "so I've found you again at last, Mister philanthropist! Mister threadbare millionnaire! Mister giver of dolls! you old ninny! Ah! so you don't recognize me! No, it wasn't you who came to Montfermeil, to my inn, eight years ago, on Christmas eve, 1823! It wasn't you who carried off that Fantine's child from me! The Lark53! It wasn't you who had a yellow great-coat! No! Nor a package of duds in your hand, as you had this morning here! Say, wife, it seems to be his mania54 to carry packets of woollen stockings into houses! Old charity monger, get out with you! Are you a hosier, Mister millionnaire? You give away your stock in trade to the poor, holy man! What bosh! merry Andrew! Ah! and you don't recognize me? Well, I recognize you, that I do! I recognized you the very moment you poked55 your snout in here. Ah! you'll find out presently, that it isn't all roses to thrust yourself in that fashion into people's houses, under the pretext56 that they are taverns58, in wretched clothes, with the air of a poor man, to whom one would give a sou, to deceive persons, to play the generous, to take away their means of livelihood59, and to make threats in the woods, and you can't call things quits because afterwards, when people are ruined, you bring a coat that is too large, and two miserable hospital blankets, you old blackguard, you child-stealer!"
He paused, and seemed to be talking to himself for a moment. One would have said that his wrath had fallen into some hole, like the Rhone; then, as though he were concluding aloud the things which he had been saying to himself in a whisper, he smote the table with his fist, and shouted:--
"And with his goody-goody air!"
And, apostrophizing M. Leblanc:--
"Parbleu! You made game of me in the past! You are the cause of all my misfortunes! For fifteen hundred francs you got a girl whom I had, and who certainly belonged to rich people, and who had already brought in a great deal of money, and from whom I might have extracted enough to live on all my life! A girl who would have made up to me for everything that I lost in that vile cook-shop, where there was nothing but one continual row, and where, like a fool, I ate up my last farthing! Oh! I wish all the wine folks drank in my house had been poison to those who drank it! Well, never mind! Say, now! You must have thought me ridiculous when you went off with the Lark! You had your cudgel in the forest. You were the stronger. Revenge. I'm the one to hold the trumps61 to-day! You're in a sorry case, my good fellow! Oh, but I can laugh! Really, I laugh! Didn't he fall into the trap! I told him that I was an actor, that my name was Fabantou, that I had played comedy with Mamselle Mars, with Mamselle Muche, that my landlord insisted on being paid tomorrow, the 4th of February, and he didn't even notice that the 8th of January, and not the 4th of February is the time when the quarter runs out! Absurd idiot! And the four miserable Philippes which he has brought me! Scoundrel! He hadn't the heart even to go as high as a hundred francs! And how he swallowed my platitudes62! That did amuse me. I said to myself: `Blockhead! Come, I've got you! I lick your paws this morning,but I'll gnaw63 your heart this evening!'"
Thenardier paused. He was out of breath. His little, narrow chest panted like a forge bellows64. His eyes were full of the ignoble65 happiness of a feeble, cruel, and cowardly creature, which finds that it can, at last, harass67 what it has feared, and insult what it has flattered, the joy of a dwarf68 who should be able to set his heel on the head of Goliath, the joy of a jackal which is beginning to rend69 a sick bull, so nearly dead that he can no longer defend himself, but sufficiently70 alive to suffer still.
M. Leblanc did not interrupt him, but said to him when he paused:--
"I do not know what you mean to say. You are mistaken in me. I am a very poor man, and anything but a millionnaire. I do not know you. You are mistaking me for some other person."
"Ah!" roared Thenardier hoarsely71, "a pretty lie! You stick to that pleasantry, do you! You're floundering, my old buck73! Ah! You don't remember! You don't see who I am?"
"Excuse me, sir," said M. Leblanc with a politeness of accent, which at that moment seemed peculiarly strange and powerful, "I see that you are a villain74!"
Who has not remarked the fact that odious75 creatures possess a susceptibility of their own, that monsters are ticklish76! At this word "villain," the female Thenardier sprang from the bed, Thenardier grasped his chair as though he were about to crush it in his hands. "Don't you stir!" he shouted to his wife; and, turning to M. Leblanc:--
"Villain! Yes, I know that you call us that, you rich gentlemen! Stop! it's true that I became bankrupt, that I am in hiding, that I have no bread, that I have not a single sou, that I am a villain! It's three days since I have had anything to eat, so I'm a villain! Ah! you folks warm your feet, you have Sakoski boots, you have wadded great-coats, like archbishops, you lodge77 on the first floor in houses that have porters, you eat truffles, you eat asparagus at forty francs the bunch in the month of January, and green peas, you gorge78 yourselves, and when you want to know whether it is cold, you look in the papers to see what the engineer Chevalier's thermometer says about it. We, it is we who are thermometers. We don't need to go out and look on the quay79 at the corner of the Tour de l'Horologe, to find out the number of degrees of cold; we feel our blood congealing80 in our veins81, and the ice forming round our hearts, and we say: `There is no God!' And you come to our caverns82, yes our caverns, for the purpose of calling us villains83! But we'll devour84 you! But we'll devour you, poor little things! Just see here, Mister millionnaire: I have been a solid man, I have held a license85, I have been an elector, I am a bourgeois86, that I am! And it's quite possible that you are not!"
Here Thenardier took a step towards the men who stood near the door, and added with a shudder:--
"When I think that he has dared to come here and talk to me like a cobbler!"
Then addressing M. Leblanc with a fresh outburst of frenzy:--
"And listen to this also, Mister philanthropist! I'm not a suspicious character, not a bit of it! I'm not a man whose name nobody knows, and who comes and abducts87 children from houses! I'm an old French soldier, I ought to have been decorated! I was at Waterloo, so I was! And in the battle I saved a general called the Comte of I don't know what. He told me his name, but his beastly voice was so weak that I didn't hear. All I caught was Merci [thanks]. I'd rather have had his name than his thanks. That would have helped me to find him again. The picture that you see here, and which was painted by David at Bruqueselles,--do you know what it represents? It represents me. David wished to immortalize that feat88 of prowess. I have that general on my back, and I am carrying him through the grape-shot. There's the history of it! That general never did a single thing for me; he was no better than the rest! But none the less, I saved his life at the risk of my own, and I have the certificate of the fact in my pocket! I am a soldier of Waterloo, by all the furies! And now that I have had the goodness to tell you all this, let's have an end of it. I want money, I want a deal of money, I must have an enormous lot of money, or I'll exterminate89 you, by the thunder of the good God!"
Marius had regained90 some measure of control over his anguish91, and was listening. The last possibility of doubt had just vanished. It certainly was the Thenardier of the will. Marius shuddered at that reproach of ingratitude92 directed against his father, and which he was on the point of so fatally justifying93. His perplexity was redoubled.
Moreover, there was in all these words of Thenardier, in his accent, in his gesture, in his glance which darted94 flames at every word, there was, in this explosion of an evil nature disclosing everything, in that mixture of braggadocio95 and abjectness96, of pride and pettiness,of rage and folly97, in that chaos98 of real griefs and false sentiments, in that immodesty of a malicious99 man tasting the voluptuous100 delights of violence, in that shameless nudity of a repulsive101 soul, in that conflagration102 of all sufferings combined with all hatreds104, something which was as hideous105 as evil, and as heart-rending as the truth.
The picture of the master, the painting by David which he had proposed that M. Leblanc should purchase, was nothing else, as the reader has divined, than the sign of his tavern57 painted, as it will be remembered, by himself, the only relic106 which he had preserved from his shipwreck107 at Montfermeil.
As he had ceased to intercept108 Marius' visual ray, Marius could examine this thing, and in the daub, he actually did recognize a battle, a background of smoke, and a man carrying another man.It was the group composed of Pontmercy and Thenardier; the sergeant109 the rescuer, the colonel rescued. Marius was like a drunken man; this picture restored his father to life in some sort; it was no longer the signboard of the wine-shop at Montfermeil, it was a resurrection;a tomb had yawned, a phantom110 had risen there. Marius heard his heart beating in his temples, he had the cannon111 of Waterloo in his ears, his bleeding father, vaguely112 depicted113 on that sinister114 panel terrified him, and it seemed to him that the misshapen spectre was gazing intently at him.
When Thenardier had recovered his breath, he turned his bloodshot eyes on M. Leblanc, and said to him in a low, curt115 voice:--
"What have you to say before we put the handcuffs on you?"
M. Leblanc held his peace.
In the midst of this silence, a cracked voice launched this lugubrious116 sarcasm117 from the corridor:--
"If there's any wood to be split, I'm there!"
It was the man with the axe, who was growing merry.
At the same moment, an enormous, bristling118, and clayey face made its appearance at the door, with a hideous laugh which exhibited not teeth, but fangs119.
It was the face of the man with the butcher's axe.
"Why have you taken off your mask>
Thenardier put the handkerchief into his own pocket.
"What! No pocket-book?" he demanded.
"No, nor watch," replied one of the "chimney-builders."
"Never mind," murmured the masked man who carried the big key,in the voice of a ventriloquist, "he's a tough old fellow."
Thenardier went to the corner near the door, picked up a bundle of ropes and threw them at the men.
"Tie him to the leg of the bed," said he.
And, catching120 sight of the old man who had been stretched across the room by the blow from M. Leblanc's fist, and who made no movement, he added:--
"Is Boulatruelle dead?"
"No," replied Bigrenaille, "he's drunk."篜t?He was half out when six robust fists seized him and dragged him back energetically into the hovel. These were the three "chimney-builders," who had flung themselves upon him. At the same time the Thenardier woman had wound her hands in his hair.
At the trampling121 which ensued, the other ruffians rushed up from the corridor. The old man on the bed, who seemed under the influence of wine, descended122 from the pallet and came reeling up,with a stone-breaker's hammer in his hand.
One of the "chimney-builders," whose smirched face was lighted up by the candle, and in whom Marius recognized, in spite of his daubing, Panchaud, alias123 Printanier, alias Bigrenaille, lifted above M. Leblanc's head a sort of bludgeon made of two balls of lead, at the two ends of a bar of iron.
Marius could not resist this sight. "My father," he thought, "forgive me!"
And his finger sought the trigger of his pistol.
The shot was on the point of being discharged when Thenardier'svoice shouted:--
"Don't harm him!"
This desperate attempt of the victim, far from exasperating124 Thenardier,had calmed him. There existed in him two men, the ferocious man and the adroit125 man. Up to that moment, in the excess of his triumph in the presence of the prey126 which had been brought down, and which did not stir, the ferocious man had prevailed; when the victim struggled and tried to resist, the adroit man reappeared and took the upper hand.
"Don't hurt him!" he repeated, and without suspecting it, his first success was to arrest the pistol in the act of being discharged, and to paralyze Marius, in whose opinion the urgency of the case disappeared, and who, in the face of this new phase, saw no inconvenience in waiting a while longer.
Who knows whether some chance would not arise which would deliver him from the horrible alternative of allowing Ursule's father to perish, or of destroying the colonel's saviour?
A herculean struggle had begun. With one blow full in the chest, M. Leblanc had sent the old man tumbling, rolling in the middle of the room, then with two backward sweeps of his hand he had overthrown127 two more assailants, and he held one under each of his knees; the wretches128 were rattling129 in the throat beneath this pressure as under a granite130 millstone; but the other four had seized the formidable old man by both arms and the back of his neck, and were holding him doubled up over the two "chimney-builders" on the floor.
Thus, the master of some and mastered by the rest, crushing those beneath him and stifling131 under those on top of him, endeavoring in vain to shake off all the efforts which were heaped upon him, M. Leblanc disappeared under the horrible group of ruffians like the wild boar beneath a howling pile of dogs and hounds.
They succeeded in overthrowing132 him upon the bed nearest the window,and there they held him in awe133. The Thenardier woman had not released her clutch on his hair.
"Don't you mix yourself up in this affair," said Thenardier. "You'll tear your shawl."
The Thenardier obeyed, as the female wolf obeys the male wolf,with a growl134.
"Now," said Thenardier, "search him, you other fellows!"
M. Leblanc seemed to have renounced135 the idea of resistance.
They searched him.
He had nothing on his person except a leather purse containing six francs, and his handkerchief.
Thenardier put the handkerchief into his own pocket.
"What! No pocket-book?" he demanded.
"No, nor watch," replied one of the "chimney-builders."
"Never mind," murmured the masked man who carried the big key,in the voice of a ventriloquist, "he's a tough old fellow."
Thenardier went to the corner near the door, picked up a bundle of ropes and threw them at the men.
"Tie him to the leg of the bed," said he.
And, catching sight of the old man who had been stretched across the room by the blow from M. Leblanc's fist, and who made no movement, he added:--
"Is Boulatruelle dead?"
"No," replied Bigrenaille, "he's drunk."
"Sweep him into a corner," said Thenardier.
Two of the "chimney-builders" pushed the drunken man into the corner near the heap of old iron with their feet.
"Babet," said Thenardier in a low tone to the man with the cudgel, "why did you bring so many; they were not needed."
"What can you do?" replied the man with the cudgel, "they all wanted to be in it. This is a bad season. There's no business going on."
The pallet on which M. Leblanc had been thrown was a sort of hospital bed, elevated on four coarse wooden legs, roughly hewn.
M. Leblanc let them take their own course.
The ruffians bound him securely, in an upright attitude, with his feet on the ground at the head of the bed, the end which was most remote from the window, and nearest to the fireplace.
When the last knot had been tied, Thenardier took a chair and seated himself almost facing M. Leblanc.
Thenardier no longer looked like himself; in the course of a few moments his face had passed from unbridled violence to tranquil136 and cunning sweetness.
Marius found it difficult to recognize in that polished smile of a man in official life the almost bestial137 mouth which had been foaming138 but a moment before; he gazed with amazement139 on that fantastic and alarming metamorphosis, and he felt as a man might feel who should behold140 a tiger converted into a lawyer.
"Monsieur--" said Thenardier.
And dismissing with a gesture the ruffians who still kept their hands on M. Leblanc:--
"Stand off a little, and let me have a talk with the gentleman."
All retired141 towards the door.
He went on:--
"Monsieur, you did wrong to try to jump out of the window. You might have broken your leg. Now, if you will permit me, we will converse142 quietly. In the first place, I must communicate to you an observation which I have made which is, that you have not uttered the faintest cry."
Thenardier was right, this detail was correct, although it had escaped Marius in his agitation143. M. Leblanc had barely pronounced a few words, without raising his voice, and even during his struggle with the six ruffians near the window he had preserved the most profound and singular silence.
Thenardier continued:--
"Mon Dieu! You might have shouted `stop thief' a bit, and I should not have thought it improper144. `Murder!' That, too, is said occasionally, and, so far as I am concerned, I should not have taken it in bad part. It is very natural that you should make a little row when you find yourself with persons who don't inspire you with sufficient confidence. You might have done that, and no one would have troubled you on that account. You would not even have been gagged. And I will tell you why. This room is very private. That's its only recommendation, but it has that in its favor. You might fire off a mortar145 and it would produce about as much noise at the nearest police station as the snores of a drunken man. Here a cannon would make a boum, and the thunder would make a pouf.It's a handy lodging146. But, in short, you did not shout, and it is better so. I present you my compliments, and I will tell you the conclusion that I draw from that fact: My dear sir, when a man shouts, who comes? The police. And after the police? Justice. Well! You have not made an outcry; that is because you don't care to have the police and the courts come in any more than we do. It is because,--I have long suspected it,--you have some interest in hiding something. On our side we have the same interest. So we can come to an understanding."
As he spoke147 thus, it seemed as though Thenardier, who kept his eyes fixed148 on M. Leblanc, were trying to plunge149 the sharp points which darted from the pupils into the very conscience of his prisoner. Moreover, his language, which was stamped with a sort of moderated,subdued150 insolence151 and crafty152 insolence, was reserved and almost choice,and in that rascal153, who had been nothing but a robber a short time previously, one now felt "the man who had studied for the priesthood."
The silence preserved by the prisoner, that precaution which had been carried to the point of forgetting all anxiety for his own life, that resistance opposed to the first impulse of nature,which is to utter a cry, all this, it must be confessed,now that his attention had been called to it, troubled Marius,and affected154 him with painful astonishment155.
Thenardier's well-grounded observation still further obscured for Marius the dense156 mystery which enveloped157 that grave and singular person on whom Courfeyrac had bestowed158 the sobriquet159 of Monsieur Leblanc.
But whoever he was, bound with ropes, surrounded with executioners, half plunged160, so to speak, in a grave which was closing in upon him to the extent of a degree with every moment that passed, in the presence of Thenardier's wrath, as in the presence of his sweetness, this man remained impassive; and Marius could not refrain from admiring at such a moment the superbly melancholy161 visage.
Here, evidently, was a soul which was inaccessible162 to terror, and which did not know the meaning of despair. Here was one of those men who command amazement in desperate circumstances. Extreme as was the crisis, inevitable163 as was the catastrophe,there was nothing here of the agony of the drowning man, who opens his horror-filled eyes under the water.
Thenardier rose in an unpretending manner, went to the fireplace, shoved aside the screen, which he leaned against the neighboring pallet, and thus unmasked the brazier full of glowing coals, in which the prisoner could plainly see the chisel164 white-hot and spotted165 here and there with tiny scarlet166 stars.
Then Thenardier returned to his seat beside M. Leblanc.
"I continue," said he. "We can come to an understanding. Let us arrange this matter in an amicable167 way. I was wrong to lose my temper just now, I don't know what I was thinking of, I went a great deal too far, I said extravagant168 things. For example,because you are a millionnaire, I told you that I exacted money,a lot of money, a deal of money. That would not be reasonable.Mon Dieu, in spite of your riches, you have expenses of your own--who has not? I don't want to ruin you, I am not a greedy fellow,after all. I am not one of those people who, because they have the advantage of the position, profit by the fact to make themselves ridiculous. Why, I'm taking things into consideration and making a sacrifice on my side. I only want two hundred thousand francs."
M. Leblanc uttered not a word.
Thenardier went on:--
"You see that I put not a little water in my wine; I'm very moderate. I don't know the state of your fortune, but I do know that you don't stick at money, and a benevolent169 man like yourself can certainly give two hundred thousand francs to the father of a family who is out of luck. Certainly, you are reasonable, too; you haven't imagined that I should take all the trouble I have to-day and organized this affair this evening, which has been labor170 well bestowed, in the opinion of these gentlemen, merely to wind up by asking you for enough to go and drink red wine at fifteen sous and eat veal24 at Desnoyer's. Two hundred thousand francs--it's surely worth all that. This trifle once out of your pocket, I guarantee you that that's the end of the matter, and that you have no further demands to fear. You will say to me: `But I haven't two hundred thousand francs about me.' Oh! I'm not extortionate. I don't demand that. I only ask one thing of you. Have the goodness to write what I am about to dictate171 to you."
Here Thenardier paused; then he added, emphasizing his words,and casting a smile in the direction of the brazier:--
"I warn you that I shall not admit that you don't know how to write."
A grand inquisitor might have envied that smile.
Thenardier pushed the table close to M. Leblanc, and took an inkstand, a pen, and a sheet of paper from the drawer which he left half open, and in which gleamed the long blade of the knife.
He placed the sheet of paper before M. Leblanc.
"Write," said he.
The prisoner spoke at last.
"How do you expect me to write? I am bound."
"That's true, excuse me!" ejaculated Thenardier, "you are quite right."
And turning to Bigrenaille:--
"Untie172 the gentleman's right arm."
Panchaud, alias Printanier, alias Bigrenaille, executed Thenardier's order.
When the prisoner's right arm was free, Thenardier dipped the pen in the ink and presented it to him.
"Understand thoroughly173, sir, that you are in our power, at our discretion174, that no human power can get you out of this, and that we shall be really grieved if we are forced to proceed to disagreeable extremities175. I know neither your name, nor your address, but I warn you, that you will remain bound until the person charged with carrying the letter which you are about to write shall have returned. Now, be so good as to write."
"What?" demanded the prisoner.
"I will dictate."
M. Leblanc took the pen.
Thenardier began to dictate:--
"My daughter--"
The prisoner shuddered, and raised his eyes to Thenardier.
"Put down `My dear daughter'--" said Thenardier.
M. Leblanc obeyed.
Thenardier continued:--
"Come instantly--"
He paused:--
"You address her as thou, do you not?"
"Who?" asked M. Leblanc.
"Parbleu!" cried Thenardier, "the little one, the Lark."
M. Leblanc replied without the slightest apparent emotion:--
"I do not know what you mean."
"Go on, nevertheless," ejaculated Thenardier, and he continued to dictate:--
"Come immediately, I am in absolute need of thee. The person who will deliver this note to thee is instructed to conduct thee to me.I am waiting for thee. Come with confidence."
M. Leblanc had written the whole of this.
Thenardier resumed:--
"Ah! erase176 `come with confidence'; that might lead her to suppose that everything was not as it should be, and that distrust is possible."
M. Leblanc erased177 the three words.
"Now," pursued Thenardier, "sign it. What's your name?"
The prisoner laid down the pen and demanded:--
"For whom is this letter?"
"You know well," retorted Thenardier, "for the little one I just told you so."
It was evident that Thenardier avoided naming the young girl in question. He said "the Lark," he said "the little one," but he did not pronounce her name--the precaution of a clever man guarding his secret from his accomplices178. To mention the name was to deliver the whole "affair" into their hands, and to tell them more about it than there was any need of their knowing.
He went on:--
"Sign. What is your name?"
"Urbain Fabre," said the prisoner.
Thenardier, with the movement of a cat, dashed his hand into his pocket and drew out the handkerchief which had been seized on M. Leblanc. He looked for the mark on it, and held it close to the candle.
"U. F. That's it. Urbain Fabre. Well, sign it U. F."
The prisoner signed.
"As two hands are required to fold the letter, give it to me, I will fold it."
That done, Thenardier resumed:--
"Address it, `Mademoiselle Fabre,' at your house. I know that you live a long distance from here, near Saint-Jacquesdu-Haut-Pas, because you go to mass there every day, but I don't know in what street. I see that you understand your situation. As you have not lied about your name, you will not lie about your address. Write it yourself."
The prisoner paused thoughtfully for a moment, then he took the pen and wrote:--
"Mademoiselle Fabre, at M. Urbain Fabre's, Rue66 Saint-Dominique-D'Enfer, No. 17."
Thenardier seized the letter with a sort of feverish179 convulsion.
"Wife!" he cried.
The Thenardier woman hastened to him.
"Here's the letter. You know what you have to do. There is a carriage at the door. Set out at once, and return ditto."
And addressing the man with the meat-axe:--
"Since you have taken off your nose-screen, accompany the mistress. You will get up behind the fiacre. You know where you left the team?"
"Yes," said the man.
And depositing his axe in a corner, he followed Madame Thenardier.
As they set off, Thenardier thrust his head through the half-open door, and shouted into the corridor:--
"Above all things, don't lose the letter! remember that you carry two hundred thousand francs with you!"
The Thenardier's hoarse72 voice replied:--
"Be easy. I have it in my bosom180."
A minute had not elapsed, when the sound of the cracking of a whip was heard, which rapidly retreated and died away.
"Good!" growled181 Thenardier. "They're going at a fine pace. At such a gallop182, the bourgeoise will be back inside three-quarters of an hour."
He drew a chair close to the fireplace, folding his arms, and presenting his muddy boots to the brazier.
"My feet are cold!" said he.
Only five ruffians now remained in the den with Thenardier and the prisoner.
These men, through the black masks or paste which covered their faces, and made of them, at fear's pleasure, charcoal-burners, negroes, or demons183, had a stupid and gloomy air, and it could be felt that they perpetrated a crime like a bit of work, tranquilly184, without either wrath or mercy, witess, be out of reach with the young girl, and Marius reflected on Thenardier's words, of which he perceived the bloody185 significance: "If you have me arrested, my comrade will give a turn of his thumb to the Lark."
Now, it was not alone by the colonel's testament, it was by his own love, it was by the peril186 of the one he loved, that he felt himself restrained.
This frightful187 situation, which had already lasted above half an hour, was changing its aspect every moment.
Marius had sufficient strength of mind to review in succession all the most heart-breaking conjectures188, seeking hope and finding none.
Who was this "little one" whom Thenardier had called the Lark? Was she his "Ursule"? The prisoner had not seemed to be affected by that word, "the Lark," and had replied in the most natural manner in the world: "I do not know what you mean." On the other hand, the two letters U. F. were explained; they meant Urbain Fabre; and Ursule was no longer named Ursule. This was what Marius perceived most clearly of all.
A sort of horrible fascination189 held him nailed to his post, from which he was observing and commanding this whole scene. There he stood, almost incapable190 of movement or reflection, as though annihilated191 by the abominable192 things viewed at such close quarters. He waited, in the hope of some incident, no matter of what nature, since he could not collect his thoughts and did not know upon what course to decide.
"In any case," he said, "if she is the Lark, I shall see her, for the Thenardier woman is to bring her hither. That will be the end, and then I will give my life and my blood if necessary,but I will deliver her! Nothing shall stop me."
Nearly half an hour passed in this manner. Thenardier seemed to be absorbed in gloomy reflections, the prisoner did not stir. Still, Marius fancied that at intervals193, and for the last few moments, he had heard a faint, dull noise in the direction of the prisoner.
All at once, Thenardier addressed the prisoner:
"By the way, Monsieur Fabre, I might as well say it to you at once."
These few words appeared to be the beginning of an explanation. Marius strained his ears.
"My wife will be back shortly, don't get impatient. I think that the Lark really is your daughter, and it seems to me quite natural that you should keep her. Only, listen to me a bit. My wife will go and hunt her up with your letter. I told my wife to dress herself in the way she did, so that your young lady might make no difficulty about following her. They will both enter the carriage with my comrade behind. Somewhere, outside the barrier, there is a trap harnessed to two very good horses. Your young lady will be taken to it. She will alight from the fiacre. My comrade will enter the other vehicle with her, and my wife will come back here to tell us: `It's done.' As for the young lady, no harm will be done to her; the trap will conduct her to a place where she will be quiet, and just as soon as you have handed over to me those little two hundred thousand francs, she will be returned to you. If you have me arrested, my comrade will give a turn of his thumb to the Lark, that's all."
The prisoner uttered not a syllable. After a pause, Thenardier continued:--
"It's very simple, as you see. There'll be no harm done unless you wish that there should be harm done. I'm telling you how things stand. I warn you so that you may be prepared."
He paused: the prisoner did not break the silence, and Thenardier resumed:--
"As soon as my wife returns and says to me: `The Lark is on the way,' we will release you, and you will be free to go and sleep at home. You see that our intentions are not evil."
Terrible images passed through Marius' mind. What! That young girl whom they were abducting194 was not to be brought back? One of those monsters was to bear her off into the darkness? Whither? And what if it were she!
It was clear that it was she. Marius felt his heart stop beating.
What was he to do? Discharge the pistol? Place all those scoundrels in the hands of justice? But the horrible man with the meat-axe would, none the less, be out of reach with the young girl, and Marius reflected on Thenardier's words, of which he perceived the bloody significance: "If you have me arrested, my comrade will give a turn of his thumb to the Lark."
Now, it was not alone by the colonel's testament, it was by his own love, it was by the peril of the one he loved, that he felt himself restrained.
This frightful situation, which had already lasted above half an hour, was changing its aspect every moment.
Marius had sufficient strength of mind to review in succession all the most heart-breaking conjectures, seeking hope and finding none.
The tumult195 of his thoughts contrasted with the funereal196 silence of the den.
In the midst of this silence, the door at the bottom of the staircase was heard to open and shut again.
The prisoner made a movement in his bonds.
"Here's the bourgeoise," said Thenardier.
He had hardly uttered the words, when the Thenardier woman did in fact rush hastily into the room, red, panting, breathless, with flaming eyes, and cried, as she smote her huge hands on her thighs197 simultaneously:--
"False address!"
The ruffian who had gone with her made his appearance behind her and picked up his axe again.
She resumed:--
"Nobody there! Rue Saint-Dominique, No. 17, no Monsieur Urbain Fabre! They know not what it means!"
She paused, choking, then went on:--
"Monsieur Thenardier! That old fellow has duped you! You are too good, you see! If it had been me, I'd have chopped the beast in four quarters to begin with! And if he had acted ugly, I'd have boiled him alive! He would have been obliged to speak, and say where the girl is, and where he keeps his shiners! That's the way I should have managed matters! People are perfectly198 right when they say that men are a deal stupider than women! Nobody at No. 17. It's nothing but a big carriage gate! No Monsieur Fabre in the Rue Saint-Dominique! And after all that racing199 and fee to the coachman and all! I spoke to both the porter and the portress, a fine, stout200 woman, and they know nothing about him!"
Marius breathed freely once more.
She, Ursule or the Lark, he no longer knew what to call her, was safe.
While his exasperated201 wife vociferated, Thenardier had seated himself on the table.
For several minutes he uttered not a word, but swung his right foot, which hung down, and stared at the brazier with an air of savage202 revery.
Finally, he said to the prisoner, with a slow and singularly ferocious tone:
"A false address? What did you expect to gain by that?"
"To gain time!" cried the prisoner in a thundering voice,and at the same instant he shook off his bonds; they were cut. The prisoner was only attached to the bed now by one leg.
Before the seven men had time to collect their senses and dash forward, he had bent203 down into the fireplace, had stretched out his hand to the brazier, and had then straightened himself up again, and now Thenardier, the female Thenardier, and the ruffians, huddled204 in amazement at the extremity205 of the hovel, stared at him in stupefaction, as almost free and in a formidable attitude, he brandished206 above his head the red-hot chisel, which emitted a threatening glow.
The judicial207 examination to which the ambush208 in the Gorbeau house eventually gave rise, established the fact that a large sou piece, cut and worked in a peculiar fashion, was found in the garret, when the police made their descent on it. This sou piece was one of those marvels209 of industry, which are engendered210 by the patience of the galleys211 in the shadows and for the shadows, marvels which are nothing else than instruments of escape. These hideous and delicate products of wonderful art are to jewellers' work what the metaphors212 of slang are to poetry. There are Benvenuto Cellinis in the galleys, just as there are Villons in language. The unhappy wretch who aspires213 to deliverance finds means sometimes without tools, sometimes with a common wooden-handled knife, to saw a sou into two thin plates, to hollow out these plates without affecting the coinage stamp, and to make a furrow214 on the edge of the sou in such a manner that the plates will adhere again. This can be screwed together and unscrewed at will; it is a box. In this box he hides a watch-spring, and this watch-spring, properly handled, cuts good-sized chains and bars of iron. The unfortunate convict is supposed to possess merely a sou; not at all,he possesses liberty. It was a large sou of this sort which, during the subsequent search of the police, was found under the bed near the window. They also found a tiny saw of blue steel which would fit the sou.
It is probable that the prisoner had this sou piece on his person at the moment when the ruffians searched him, that he contrived215 to conceal216 it in his hand, and that afterward60, having his right hand free, he unscrewed it, and used it as a saw to cut the cords which fastened him, which would explain the faint noise and almost imperceptible movements which Marius had observed.
As he had not been able to bend down, for fear of betraying himself, he had not cut the bonds of his left leg.
The ruffians had recovered from their first surprise.
"Be easy," said Bigrenaille to Thenardier. "He still holds by one leg, and he can't get away. I'll answer for that. I tied that paw for him."
In the meanwhile, the prisoner had begun to speak:--
"You are wretches, but my life is not worth the trouble of defending it. When you think that you can make me speak, that you can make me write what I do not choose to write, that you can make me say what I do not choose to say--"
He stripped up his left sleeve, and added:--
"See here."
At the same moment he extended his arm, and laid the glowing chisel which he held in his left hand by its wooden handle on his bare flesh.
The crackling of the burning flesh became audible, and the odor peculiar to chambers217 of torture filled the hovel.
Marius reeled in utter horror, the very ruffians shuddered, hardly a muscle of the old man's face contracted, and while the red-hot iron sank into the smoking wound, impassive and almost august, he fixed on Thenardier his beautiful glance, in which there was no hatred103, and where suffering vanished in serene218 majesty219.
With grand and lofty natures, the revolts of the flesh and the senses when subjected to physical suffering cause the soul to spring forth, and make it appear on the brow, just as rebellions among the soldiery force the captain to show himself.
"Wretches!" said he, "have no more fear of me than I have for you!"
And, tearing the chisel from the wound, he hurled220 it through the window, which had been left open; the horrible, glowing tool disappeared into the night, whirling as it flew, and fell far away on the snow.
The prisoner resumed:--
"Do what you please with me." He was disarmed221.
"Seize him!" said Thenardier.
Two of the ruffians laid their hands on his shoulder, and the masked man with the ventriloquist's voice took up his station in front of him, ready to smash his skull222 at the slightest movement.
At the same time, Marius heard below him, at the base of the partition, but so near that he could not see who was speaking, this colloquy conducted in a low tone:--
"There is only one thing left to do."
"Cut his throat."
"That's it."
It was the husband and wife taking counsel together.
Thenardier walked slowly towards the table, opened the drawer, and took out the knife. Marius fretted223 with the handle of his pistol. Unprecedented224 perplexity! For the last hour he had had two voices in his conscience, the one enjoining225 him to respect his father's testament, the other crying to him to rescue the prisoner. These two voices continued uninterruptedly that struggle which tormented226 him to agony. Up to that moment he had cherished a vague hope that he should find some means of reconciling these two duties, but nothing within the limits of possibility had presented itself.
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3猃I篺lash, crossed Marius' mind; this was the expedient227 of which he was in search, the solution of that frightful problem which was torturing him, of sparing the assassin and saving the victim.
He knelt down on his commode, stretched out his arm, seized the sheet of paper, softly detached a bit of plaster from the wall, wrapped the paper round it, and tossed the whole through the crevice228 into the middle of the den.
It was high time. Thenardier had conquered his last fears or his last scruples229, and was advancing on the prisoner.
"Something is falling!" cried the Thenardier woman.
"What is it?" asked her husband.
The woman darted forward and picked up the bit of plaster. She handed it to her husband.
"Where did this come from?" demanded Thenardier.
"Pardie!" ejaculated his wife, "where do you suppose it came from? Through the window, of course."
"I saw it pass," said Bigrenaille.
Thenardier rapidly unfolded the paper and held it close to the candle.
"It's in Eponine's handwriting. The devil!"
He made a sign to his wife, who hastily drew near, and showed her the line written on the sheet of paper, then he added in a subdued voice:--
"Quick! The ladder! Let's leave the bacon in the mousetrap and decamp!"
"Without cutting that man's throat?" asked, the Thenardier woman.
"We haven't the time."
"Through what?" resumed Bigrenaille.
"Through the window," replied Thenardier. "Since Ponine has thrown the stone through the window, it indicates that the house is not watched on that side."
The mask with the ventriloquist's voice deposited his huge key on the floor, raised both arms in the air, and opened and clenched230 his fists, three times rapidly without uttering a word.
This was the signal like the signal for clearing the decks for action on board ship.
The ruffians who were holding the prisoner released him; in the twinkling of an eye the rope ladder was unrolled outside the window, and solidly fastened to the sill by the two iron hooks.
The prisoner paid no attention to what was going on around him. He seemed to be dreaming or praying.
As soon as the ladder was arranged, Thenardier cried:
"Come! the bourgeoise first!"
And he rushed headlong to the window.
But just as he was about to throw his leg over, Bigrenaille seized him roughly by the collar.
"Not much, come now, you old dog, after us!"
"After us!" yelled the ruffians.
"You are children," said Thenardier, "we are losing time.
The police are on our heels."
"Well, said the ruffians, "let's draw lots to see who shall go down first."
Thenardier exclaimed:--
"Are you mad! Are you crazy! What a pack of boobies! You want to waste time, do you? Draw lots, do you? By a wet finger, by a short straw! With written names! Thrown into a hat!--"
"Would you like my hat?" cried a voice on the threshold.
All wheeled round. It was Javert.
He had his hat in his hand, and was holding it out to them with a smile.
穷窟的门突然开了，出现三个男子，身上穿着蓝布衫，脸上戴着黑纸面具。第一个是个瘦子，拿着一根裹了铁的粗木棒。第二个是一种彪形大汉，倒提着一把宰牛的板斧，手捏在斧柄的中段。第三个，肩膀宽阔，不象第一个那么瘦，不象第二个那么壮，把一把从监狱门上偷来的奇大的钥匙紧捏在拳头里。
容德雷特等待的大概就是这几个人的到来。他急忙和那拿粗木棒的瘦子问答了几句话。
“全准备好了？”容德雷特问。
“全准备好了。”那瘦子回答。
“巴纳斯山呢？”
“小伙子在和你的闺女谈话。”
“哪一个？”
“老大。”
“马车在下面了？”
“在下面了。”
“那栏杆车也套上了牲口？”
“套好了。”
“是两匹好马吧？”
“最好的两匹。”
“在我指定的地方等着吗？”
“是的。”
“好。”容德雷特说。
白先生脸色苍白。他好象已意识到自己的处境，切实注意着那屋子里在他四周的一切，他的头在颈子上慢慢转动，以谨慎惊讶的神情，注视着那些围绕他的每一个脑袋，但是绝没有一点畏怯的样子。他把那张桌子当作自己的临时防御工事，这人，刚才还只是个平易近人的好老头，却一下子变成了一个赳赳武夫，把两只粗壮的拳头放在他那椅背头上，形态威猛惊人。
这老者，在这样一种危险关头，还那么坚定，那么勇敢，想必是出于那种因心善而胆益壮，临危坦然无所惧的性格。我们绝不会把衷心爱慕的女子的父亲当作路人。马吕斯觉得自己在为这个相见不相识的人感到骄傲。
那三个光着胳膊、被容德雷特称为“通烟囱的”的人，从那废铁堆里，一个拣起了一把剪铁皮用的大剪刀，一个拣了一根平头短撬棍，另一个拣了个铁锤，全一声不响地拦在房门口。老的那个仍旧待在床上，只睁了一下眼睛。容德雷特大娘坐在他旁边。
马吕斯认为只差几秒钟便是应当行动的时候了，他举起右手，朝过道的一面，斜指着天花板，准备随时开枪。
容德雷特和拿粗木棒的人密谈过后，又转向白先生，带着他特有的那种低沉、含蓄、可怕的笑声，再次提出他的问题：
“难道你不认得我吗？”
白先生直对着他的脸回答：
“不认得。”
于是容德雷特一步跨到桌子边。身躯向前凑到蜡烛的上面，叉着手臂，把他那骨角外凸、凶形恶状的下巴伸向白先生的脸，尽量逼近，正象一头张牙待咬的猛兽，白先生却泰然自若，纹丝不退。他在这种姿势中大声吼道：
“我并不叫法邦杜，也不叫容德雷特，我叫德纳第！我就是孟费郿的那个客店老板！你听清楚了吧？德纳第！你现在认得我了吧？”
白先生的额上起了一阵不显著的红潮，他以一贯的镇静态度，声音既不高，也不抖，回答说：
“我还是不认得。”
马吕斯没有听到这回答。谁要是在这时在黑影中看见了他，就能见到他是多么惶惑、呆傻、惊慌。当容德雷特说着“我叫德纳第”时，马吕斯的四肢一下全抖了起来，他连忙靠在墙上，仿佛感到有一把利剑冷冰冰地刺穿了他的心。接着，他的右臂，原要开枪告警的，也慢慢垂了下来，当容德雷特重复着说“你听清楚了吧？德纳第！”时，他那五个瘫软了的手指几乎让手枪落了下来。容德雷特在揭露自己时，没有惊扰白先生，却把马吕斯搞得六神无主。德纳第这名字，白先生似乎不知道，马吕斯却知道。让我们回忆一下，这名字对他意味着什么！这名字，是他铭篆在心的，是写了在他父亲的遗嘱上的！这名字，是印在他思想的深处，记忆的深处，载在那神圣的遗训中的：“一个叫德纳第的人救了我的命。我儿遇见他，望尽力报答他。”这名字，我们记得，是他灵魂所倾倒的对象之一，是和他父亲的名字并列在一起来崇拜的。怎么！在眼前的便是德纳第，在眼前的便是他这么多年来寻求不着的那位孟费郿的客店老板！他到底遇见他了，可真是无奇不有！他父亲的救命恩人竟会是一个匪徒！他，马吕斯，一心希望舍命报答的这个人竟会是一个魔怪！搭救彭眉胥上校的那位义士竟在干着犯罪的勾当，马吕斯虽然还闹不清楚他打算干的究竟是什么，但却已具有谋财害命的迹象了！况且是谁的命呵，伟大的上帝！这遭遇太险恶了！命运也未免太作弄人了！他父亲从棺材中命令他尽力报答德纳第，四年来，马吕斯唯一的思想便是要为他父亲了清这笔债，可是，正当他要用法律的力量逮捕一个行凶匪徒的时候，命运却向他吼道：“这是德纳第！”在壮烈的滑铁卢战场上他父亲的生命，被人从弹雨中救出来，他正可以对这人偿愿报恩了，却又报以断头台！他私自许下的心愿是，一旦找到了这位德纳第，他一定要在相见时拜倒在他的膝前，现在他果然找到了，但又把他交给刽子手！他父亲对他说：“救德纳第！”而他以消灭德纳第的行动来回答自己所爱慕的这一神圣的声音！他父亲把冒着生命危险把他从死亡中拯救出来的这个人托付给他马吕斯，现在却要他父亲从坟墓中望着这人在他儿子的告发下被押到圣雅克广场上去受极刑！多少年来，他一直把他父亲亲笔写下的最后愿望牢记在心，却又背弃遗训，反其道而行之，这将是多么荒唐可笑！但是，在另一方面，眼见这场谋害而不加以制止！怎么！坐视受害人受害并听凭杀人犯杀人！对这样一个恶棍，难道能因私恩而缩手？马吕斯四年来所有的种种思想全被这一意外搅乱了。他浑身战栗。一切都取决于他。他一手掌握着这些在他眼下纷纷扰扰的人，虽然他们全不知道。假使他开枪，白先生能得救，德纳第却完了；假使他不开枪，白先生便遭殃，并且，谁知道？德纳第逃了。镇压这一个，或是让那一个去牺牲！他都问心有愧。怎么办？怎么选择？背弃自己素来引以自豪的种种回忆，背弃自己在心灵深处私自许下的种种诺言，背弃最神圣的天职，最庄严的遗言！背弃他父亲的遗嘱，要不就纵容罪行，让它成功！他仿佛一方面听见“他的玉秀儿”在为她的父亲向他央求，一方面又听见那上校在叫他照顾德纳第。他觉得自己疯了。他的两个膝头只往下沉。他甚至没有充分时间来仔细思考，因为他眼前的事态正在疯狂地向前演变。那好象是一阵狂澜，他自以为居于操纵着它的地位，其实已处于被动。他几乎昏了过去。
德纳第棗我们以后不再用旁的名字称呼他了棗这时却在桌子前面踱来踱去，既茫然不知如何是好，又得意到发狂。
他一把抓起烛台，砰的一下把它放在壁炉上，他用力是那么猛，使烛芯几乎熄灭，烛油也飞溅到了墙上。
接着，他转向白先生，龇牙咧嘴地狂叫着：
“火烧的！烟熏的！千刀万剐的！抽筋去骨的！”
跟着他又来回走动起来，暴跳如雷地吼道：
“啊！我到底找着你了，慈善家先生，穿破烂的百万富翁！送泥娃娃的大好佬！装蒜的傻老头！啊！你不认得我！当然不会认得我！八年前，一八二三年的圣诞前夕来到孟费郿，到我那客店里来的不是你！从我家里把芳汀的孩子百灵鸟拐走的不是你！穿一件黄大氅的不是你！不是！手里还提一大包破衣烂衫，就和今早来到我这里一样！喂，我的妻！这个老施主，他走人家，手里不拿几包毛线袜，好象就不过意似的！百万富翁先生，敢情你是衣帽店老板！你专爱把你店里的底货拿来送给穷人，你这圣人！你的把戏算耍得好！啊！你不认得我？可我，我认得你！你这牛头一钻进这地方，我便立刻把你认出来了。啊！你现在总学到了乖了吧，象那样随随便便跑到别人家里去，借口是住客店，穿上旧衣服，装穷酸相，一个苏也肯要的样子，欺瞒人家，摆阔气，骗取人家的摇钱树，还要在树林里进行威吓，不许人家带回去，等到人家穷下来了，便送上一件大得不成样子的外套和两条医院用的蹩脚毯子，老光棍，拐带孩子的老贼，你现在总学到乖了吧，你的这一套不一定耍得成！”
他停下了。好象是在对自己说着什么。他的那股厉气平息下去了，有如大河的巨浪泻进了落水洞，随后，好象是要大声结束他刚才低声开始的那段对自己说的话，他一拳捶在桌上吼道：
“还带着他那种老好人的样子！”
他又指着白先生说：
“说正经的！你当初开过我的玩笑。你是我的一切苦难的根子！你花一千五百法郎把我的一个姑娘带走了，这姑娘肯定是什么有钱人家的，她已替我赚过许多钱，我本应好好靠她过一辈子的！在我那倒霉的客马店里，别人吃喝玩乐，可我，象个傻子，把我的一切家当全赔进去了，我原要从那姑娘身上全部捞回来的！呵！我恨不得那些人在我店里喝下去的酒全都是毒药！这些都不用提了！你说说！你把那百灵鸟带走的时候，你一定觉得我是个傻瓜蛋吧！在那树林里，你捏着一根哭丧棍！你比我狠。一报还一报。今日却是我捏着王牌了！你玩完了，我的好老头！啊呀，我要笑个痛快。说真话，我要笑个痛快！这下子他可落在圈套里了！我对他说，我当过戏剧演员，我叫法邦杜，我和马尔斯小姐、缪什小姐演过喜剧，明天，二月四号，我的房东要收房租，可他一点也没看出来，限期是二月八号，并不是二月四号！傻透了的蠢材！他还带来这四个可怜巴巴的菲力浦①！坏种！他连一百法郎也舍不得凑足！再说，我的那些恭维话说得他心里好舒服哟！真有意思。我心里在想：‘冤桶！这下子，我逮住你了！今天早晨我舔了你的爪子，今天晚上，我可要啃你的心了！’”
①菲力浦，就是值二十法郎的路易。
德纳第停了下来。他的气喘不过来了。他那狭窄的胸膛，象个熔炉上的风箱，不断起伏。他的眼睛充满了那种下贱的喜色，也就是一个无能、不义、凶残成性的人在有机会践踏和侮辱他所畏惧过、谄媚过的对象时具有的那种喜色，一个能把脚跟踩在巨人头上的侏儒的欢乐，一只豺狗在开始撕裂一头病到已不能自卫、却还有知觉感受痛苦的雄牛时的欢乐。
白先生不曾打断过他的话，只是在他住嘴时，才向他说：
“我不知道您要说的是什么。您弄错了。我是一个很穷的人，远不是个百万富翁。我不认得您。您把我当作另一个人了。”
“啊！”德纳
收听单词发音 |
1
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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slaughtering
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| v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的现在分词 ) | |
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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scrutinizing
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| v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的现在分词 ) | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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improvised
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| a.即席而作的,即兴的 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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robust
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| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
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13
courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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14
shears
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| n.大剪刀 | |
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15
syllable
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| n.音节；vt.分音节 | |
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16
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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17
intervention
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| n.介入，干涉，干预 | |
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18
colloquy
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| n.谈话，自由讨论 | |
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19
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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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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posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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faltering
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| 犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的 | |
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24
veal
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| n.小牛肉 | |
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25
inscribed
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| v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接 | |
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26
testament
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| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
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pieties
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| 虔诚，虔敬( piety的名词复数 ) | |
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28
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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29
saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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30
liberator
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| 解放者 | |
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assassination
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| n.暗杀；暗杀事件 | |
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32
fatality
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| n.不幸，灾祸，天命 | |
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33
coffin
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| n.棺材，灵柩 | |
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34
acquit
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| vt.宣判无罪；(oneself)使(自己)表现出 | |
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35
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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36
smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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38
condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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39
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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40
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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41
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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42
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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43
remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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44
vows
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| 誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿 | |
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45
venerated
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| 敬重（某人或某事物），崇敬( venerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46
supplicating
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| v.祈求，哀求，恳求( supplicate的现在分词 ) | |
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47
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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48
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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49
verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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50
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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51
frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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52
eruption
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| n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作 | |
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53
lark
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| n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏 | |
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54
mania
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| n.疯狂；躁狂症，狂热，癖好 | |
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55
poked
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| v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
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56
pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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57
tavern
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| n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店 | |
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58
taverns
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| n.小旅馆，客栈，酒馆( tavern的名词复数 ) | |
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59
livelihood
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| n.生计，谋生之道 | |
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60
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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61
trumps
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| abbr.trumpets 喇叭；小号；喇叭形状的东西；喇叭筒v.（牌戏）出王牌赢（一牌或一墩）( trump的过去式 )；吹号公告，吹号庆祝；吹喇叭；捏造 | |
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62
platitudes
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| n.平常的话，老生常谈，陈词滥调( platitude的名词复数 )；滥套子 | |
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63
gnaw
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| v.不断地啃、咬；使苦恼，折磨 | |
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64
bellows
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| n.风箱；发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的名词复数 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的第三人称单数 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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65
ignoble
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| adj.不光彩的，卑鄙的；可耻的 | |
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66
rue
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| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
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67
harass
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| vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰 | |
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68
dwarf
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| n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小 | |
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69
rend
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| vt.把…撕开，割裂；把…揪下来，强行夺取 | |
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70
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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71
hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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72
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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73
buck
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| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 | |
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74
villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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75
odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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76
ticklish
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| adj.怕痒的；问题棘手的；adv.怕痒地；n.怕痒，小心处理 | |
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77
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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78
gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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79
quay
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| n.码头，靠岸处 | |
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80
congealing
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| v.使凝结，冻结( congeal的现在分词 )；（指血）凝结 | |
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81
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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82
caverns
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| 大山洞，大洞穴( cavern的名词复数 ) | |
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83
villains
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| n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼 | |
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84
devour
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| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
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85
license
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| n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许 | |
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86
bourgeois
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| adj./n.追求物质享受的(人)；中产阶级分子 | |
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87
abducts
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| 劫持，诱拐( abduct的第三人称单数 )； 使（肢体等）外展 | |
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88
feat
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| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
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89
exterminate
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| v.扑灭，消灭，根绝 | |
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90
regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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91
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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92
ingratitude
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| n.忘恩负义 | |
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93
justifying
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|
| 证明…有理( justify的现在分词 )； 为…辩护； 对…作出解释； 为…辩解（或辩护） | |
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94
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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95
braggadocio
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| n.吹牛大王 | |
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96
abjectness
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| 凄惨； 绝望； 卑鄙； 卑劣 | |
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97
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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98
chaos
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| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
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99
malicious
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| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
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100
voluptuous
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| adj.肉欲的，骄奢淫逸的 | |
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101
repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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102
conflagration
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| n.建筑物或森林大火 | |
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103
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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104
hatreds
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| n.仇恨，憎恶( hatred的名词复数 )；厌恶的事 | |
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105
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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106
relic
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| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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107
shipwreck
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| n.船舶失事，海难 | |
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108
intercept
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| vt.拦截，截住，截击 | |
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109
sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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110
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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111
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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112
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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113
depicted
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| 描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述 | |
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114
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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115
curt
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| adj.简短的，草率的 | |
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116
lugubrious
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| adj.悲哀的，忧郁的 | |
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117
sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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118
bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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119
fangs
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| n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座 | |
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120
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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121
trampling
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| 踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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122
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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123
alias
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| n.化名；别名；adv.又名 | |
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124
exasperating
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| adj. 激怒的 动词exasperate的现在分词形式 | |
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125
adroit
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| adj.熟练的，灵巧的 | |
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126
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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127
overthrown
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| adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词 | |
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128
wretches
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| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
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129
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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130
granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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131
stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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132
overthrowing
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| v.打倒，推翻( overthrow的现在分词 )；使终止 | |
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133
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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134
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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135
renounced
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| v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃 | |
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136
tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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137
bestial
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| adj.残忍的；野蛮的 | |
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138
foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
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139
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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140
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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141
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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142
converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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143
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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144
improper
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| adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的 | |
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145
mortar
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| n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合 | |
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146
lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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147
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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148
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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149
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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150
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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151
insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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152
crafty
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| adj.狡猾的，诡诈的 | |
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153
rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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154
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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155
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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156
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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157
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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158
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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159
sobriquet
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| n.绰号 | |
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160
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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161
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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162
inaccessible
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| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
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163
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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164
chisel
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| n.凿子；v.用凿子刻，雕，凿 | |
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165
spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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166
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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167
amicable
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| adj.和平的，友好的；友善的 | |
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168
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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169
benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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170
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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171
dictate
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| v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令 | |
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172
untie
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| vt.解开，松开；解放 | |
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173
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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174
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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175
extremities
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| n.端点( extremity的名词复数 )；尽头；手和足；极窘迫的境地 | |
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176
erase
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| v.擦掉；消除某事物的痕迹 | |
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177
erased
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| v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；清除 | |
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178
accomplices
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| 从犯，帮凶，同谋( accomplice的名词复数 ) | |
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179
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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180
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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181
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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182
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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183
demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
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184
tranquilly
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| adv. 宁静地 | |
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185
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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186
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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187
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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188
conjectures
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| 推测，猜想( conjecture的名词复数 ) | |
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189
fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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190
incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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191
annihilated
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| v.（彻底）消灭( annihilate的过去式和过去分词 )；使无效；废止；彻底击溃 | |
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192
abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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193
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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194
abducting
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| 劫持，诱拐( abduct的现在分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展 | |
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195
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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196
funereal
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| adj.悲哀的；送葬的 | |
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197
thighs
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| n.股，大腿( thigh的名词复数 )；食用的鸡（等的）腿 | |
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198
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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199
racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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201
exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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202
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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203
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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204
huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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205
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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206
brandished
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| v.挥舞( brandish的过去式和过去分词 )；炫耀 | |
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207
judicial
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| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
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208
ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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209
marvels
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| n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 ) | |
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210
engendered
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| v.产生（某形势或状况），造成，引起( engender的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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211
galleys
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| n.平底大船，战舰( galley的名词复数 )；（船上或航空器上的）厨房 | |
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212
metaphors
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| 隐喻( metaphor的名词复数 ) | |
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213
aspires
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| v.渴望，追求( aspire的第三人称单数 ) | |
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214
furrow
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| n.沟；垄沟；轨迹；车辙；皱纹 | |
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215
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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216
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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217
chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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218
serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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219
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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220
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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221
disarmed
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| v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒 | |
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222
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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223
fretted
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| 焦躁的，附有弦马的，腐蚀的 | |
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224
unprecedented
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| adj.无前例的，新奇的 | |
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225
enjoining
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| v.命令( enjoin的现在分词 ) | |
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226
tormented
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| 饱受折磨的 | |
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227
expedient
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| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
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228
crevice
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| n.(岩石、墙等)裂缝；缺口 | |
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229
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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230
clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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