He saw that at one point the forest touched the village, and to this spot he made his way, lured3 by a fever of curiosity to behold4 animals of his own kind, and to learn more of their ways and view the strange lairs5 in which they lived.
His savage6 life among the fierce wild brutes7 of the jungle left no opening for any thought that these could be aught else than enemies. Similarity of form led him into no erroneous conception of the welcome that would be accorded him should he be discovered by these, the first of his own kind he had ever seen.
Tarzan of the Apes was no sentimentalist. He knew nothing of the brotherhood8 of man. All things outside his own tribe were his deadly enemies, with the few exceptions of which Tantor, the elephant, was a marked example.
And he realized all this without malice9 or hatred10. To kill was the law of the wild world he knew. Few were his primitive11 pleasures, but the greatest of these was to hunt and kill, and so he accorded to others the right to cherish the same desires as he, even though he himself might be the object of their hunt.
His strange life had left him neither morose12 nor bloodthirsty. That he joyed in killing13, and that he killed with a joyous14 laugh upon his handsome lips betokened15 no innate16 cruelty. He killed for food most often, but, being a man, he sometimes killed for pleasure, a thing which no other animal does; for it has remained for man alone among all creatures to kill senselessly and wantonly for the mere17 pleasure of inflicting18 suffering and death.
And when he killed for revenge, or in self-defense, he did that also without hysteria, for it was a very businesslike proceeding19 which admitted of no levity20.
So it was that now, as he cautiously approached the village of Mbonga, he was quite prepared either to kill or be killed should he be discovered. He proceeded with unwonted stealth, for Kulonga had taught him great respect for the little sharp splinters of wood which dealt death so swiftly and unerringly.
At length he came to a great tree, heavy laden21 with thick foliage22 and loaded with pendant loops of giant creepers. From this almost impenetrable bower23 above the village he crouched24, looking down upon the scene below him, wondering over every feature of this new, strange life.
There were naked children running and playing in the village street. There were women grinding dried plantain in crude stone mortars25, while others were fashioning cakes from the powdered flour. Out in the fields he could see still other women hoeing, weeding, or gathering26.
All wore strange protruding27 girdles of dried grass about their hips28 and many were loaded with brass29 and copper30 anklets, armlets and bracelets31. Around many a dusky neck hung curiously32 coiled strands33 of wire, while several were further ornamented34 by huge nose rings.
Tarzan of the Apes looked with growing wonder at these strange creatures. Dozing35 in the shade he saw several men, while at the extreme outskirts36 of the clearing he occasionally caught glimpses of armed warriors38 apparently39 guarding the village against surprise from an attacking enemy.
He noticed that the women alone worked. Nowhere was there evidence of a man tilling the fields or performing any of the homely40 duties of the village.
Finally his eyes rested upon a woman directly beneath him.
Before her was a small cauldron standing41 over a low fire and in it bubbled a thick, reddish, tarry mass. On one side of her lay a quantity of wooden arrows the points of which she dipped into the seething42 substance, then laying them upon a narrow rack of boughs43 which stood upon her other side.
Tarzan of the Apes was fascinated. Here was the secret of the terrible destructiveness of The Archer’s tiny missiles. He noted44 the extreme care which the woman took that none of the matter should touch her hands, and once when a particle spattered upon one of her fingers he saw her plunge45 the member into a vessel46 of water and quickly rub the tiny stain away with a handful of leaves.
Tarzan knew nothing of poison, but his shrewd reasoning told him that it was this deadly stuff that killed, and not the little arrow, which was merely the messenger that carried it into the body of its victim.
How he should like to have more of those little death-dealing slivers47. If the woman would only leave her work for an instant he could drop down, gather up a handful, and be back in the tree again before she drew three breaths.
As he was trying to think out some plan to distract her attention he heard a wild cry from across the clearing. He looked and saw a black warrior37 standing beneath the very tree in which he had killed the murderer of Kala an hour before.
The fellow was shouting and waving his spear above his head. Now and again he would point to something on the ground before him.
The village was in an uproar48 instantly. Armed men rushed from the interior of many a hut and raced madly across the clearing toward the excited sentry49. After them trooped the old men, and the women and children until, in a moment, the village was deserted50.
Tarzan of the Apes knew that they had found the body of his victim, but that interested him far less than the fact that no one remained in the village to prevent his taking a supply of the arrows which lay below him.
Quickly and noiselessly he dropped to the ground beside the cauldron of poison. For a moment he stood motionless, his quick, bright eyes scanning the interior of the palisade.
No one was in sight. His eyes rested upon the open doorway51 of a nearby hut. He would take a look within, thought Tarzan, and so, cautiously, he approached the low thatched building.
For a moment he stood without, listening intently. There was no sound, and he glided52 into the semi-darkness of the interior.
Weapons hung against the walls — long spears, strangely shaped knives, a couple of narrow shields. In the center of the room was a cooking pot, and at the far end a litter of dry grasses covered by woven mats which evidently served the owners as beds and bedding. Several human skulls53 lay upon the floor.
Tarzan of the Apes felt of each article, hefted the spears, smelled of them, for he “saw” largely through his sensitive and highly trained nostrils54. He determined55 to own one of these long, pointed56 sticks, but he could not take one on this trip because of the arrows he meant to carry.
As he took each article from the walls, he placed it in a pile in the center of the room. On top of all he placed the cooking pot, inverted57, and on top of this he laid one of the grinning skulls, upon which he fastened the headdress of the dead Kulonga.
Then he stood back, surveyed his work, and grinned. Tarzan of the Apes enjoyed a joke.
But now he heard, outside, the sounds of many voices, and long mournful howls, and mighty58 wailing59. He was startled. Had he remained too long? Quickly he reached the doorway and peered down the village street toward the village gate.
The natives were not yet in sight, though he could plainly hear them approaching across the plantation. They must be very near.
Like a flash he sprang across the opening to the pile of arrows. Gathering up all he could carry under one arm, he overturned the seething cauldron with a kick, and disappeared into the foliage above just as the first of the returning natives entered the gate at the far end of the village street. Then he turned to watch the proceeding below, poised60 like some wild bird ready to take swift wing at the first sign of danger.
The natives filed up the street, four of them bearing the dead body of Kulonga. Behind trailed the women, uttering strange cries and weird61 lamentation62. On they came to the portals of Kulonga’s hut, the very one in which Tarzan had wrought63 his depredations64.
Scarcely had half a dozen entered the building ere they came rushing out in wild, jabbering65 confusion. The others hastened to gather about. There was much excited gesticulating, pointing, and chattering66; then several of the warriors approached and peered within.
Finally an old fellow with many ornaments67 of metal about his arms and legs, and a necklace of dried human hands depending upon his chest, entered the hut.
It was Mbonga, the king, father of Kulonga.
For a few moments all was silent. Then Mbonga emerged, a look of mingled68 wrath69 and superstitious70 fear writ71 upon his hideous72 countenance73. He spoke74 a few words to the assembled warriors, and in an instant the men were flying through the little village searching minutely every hut and corner within the palisades.
Scarcely had the search commenced than the overturned cauldron was discovered, and with it the theft of the poisoned arrows. Nothing more they found, and it was a thoroughly75 awed76 and frightened group of savages77 which huddled78 around their king a few moments later.
Mbonga could explain nothing of the strange events that had taken place. The finding of the still warm body of Kulonga — on the very verge79 of their fields and within easy earshot of the village — knifed and stripped at the door of his father’s home, was in itself sufficiently80 mysterious, but these last awesome81 discoveries within the village, within the dead Kulonga’s own hut, filled their hearts with dismay, and conjured82 in their poor brains only the most frightful83 of superstitious explanations.
They stood in little groups, talking in low tones, and ever casting affrighted glances behind them from their great rolling eyes.
Tarzan of the Apes watched them for a while from his lofty perch in the great tree. There was much in their demeanor84 which he could not understand, for of superstition85 he was ignorant, and of fear of any kind he had but a vague conception.
The sun was high in the heavens. Tarzan had not broken fast this day, and it was many miles to where lay the toothsome remains86 of Horta the boar.
So he turned his back upon the village of Mbonga and melted away into the leafy fastness of the forest.
点击收听单词发音
1 perch | |
n.栖木,高位,杆;v.栖息,就位,位于 | |
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2 plantation | |
n.种植园,大农场 | |
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3 lured | |
吸引,引诱(lure的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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4 behold | |
v.看,注视,看到 | |
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5 lairs | |
n.(野兽的)巢穴,窝( lair的名词复数 );(人的)藏身处 | |
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6 savage | |
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人 | |
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7 brutes | |
兽( brute的名词复数 ); 畜生; 残酷无情的人; 兽性 | |
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8 brotherhood | |
n.兄弟般的关系,手中情谊 | |
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9 malice | |
n.恶意,怨恨,蓄意;[律]预谋 | |
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10 hatred | |
n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨 | |
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11 primitive | |
adj.原始的;简单的;n.原(始)人,原始事物 | |
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12 morose | |
adj.脾气坏的,不高兴的 | |
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13 killing | |
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财 | |
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14 joyous | |
adj.充满快乐的;令人高兴的 | |
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15 betokened | |
v.预示,表示( betoken的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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16 innate | |
adj.天生的,固有的,天赋的 | |
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17 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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18 inflicting | |
把…强加给,使承受,遭受( inflict的现在分词 ) | |
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19 proceeding | |
n.行动,进行,(pl.)会议录,学报 | |
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20 levity | |
n.轻率,轻浮,不稳定,多变 | |
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21 laden | |
adj.装满了的;充满了的;负了重担的;苦恼的 | |
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22 foliage | |
n.叶子,树叶,簇叶 | |
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23 bower | |
n.凉亭,树荫下凉快之处;闺房;v.荫蔽 | |
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24 crouched | |
v.屈膝,蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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25 mortars | |
n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 );砂浆;房产;研钵 | |
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26 gathering | |
n.集会,聚会,聚集 | |
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27 protruding | |
v.(使某物)伸出,(使某物)突出( protrude的现在分词 );凸 | |
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28 hips | |
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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29 brass | |
n.黄铜;黄铜器,铜管乐器 | |
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30 copper | |
n.铜;铜币;铜器;adj.铜(制)的;(紫)铜色的 | |
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31 bracelets | |
n.手镯,臂镯( bracelet的名词复数 ) | |
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32 curiously | |
adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地 | |
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33 strands | |
n.(线、绳、金属线、毛发等的)股( strand的名词复数 );缕;海洋、湖或河的)岸;(观点、计划、故事等的)部份v.使滞留,使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 ) | |
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34 ornamented | |
adj.花式字体的v.装饰,点缀,美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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35 dozing | |
v.打瞌睡,假寐 n.瞌睡 | |
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36 outskirts | |
n.郊外,郊区 | |
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37 warrior | |
n.勇士,武士,斗士 | |
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38 warriors | |
武士,勇士,战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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39 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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40 homely | |
adj.家常的,简朴的;不漂亮的 | |
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41 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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42 seething | |
沸腾的,火热的 | |
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43 boughs | |
大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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44 noted | |
adj.著名的,知名的 | |
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45 plunge | |
v.跳入,(使)投入,(使)陷入;猛冲 | |
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46 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
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47 slivers | |
(切割或断裂下来的)薄长条,碎片( sliver的名词复数 ) | |
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48 uproar | |
n.骚动,喧嚣,鼎沸 | |
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49 sentry | |
n.哨兵,警卫 | |
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50 deserted | |
adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的 | |
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51 doorway | |
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径 | |
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52 glided | |
v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 );掠过;(鸟或飞机 ) 滑翔 | |
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53 skulls | |
颅骨( skull的名词复数 ); 脑袋; 脑子; 脑瓜 | |
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54 nostrils | |
鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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55 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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56 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
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57 inverted | |
adj.反向的,倒转的v.使倒置,使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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58 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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59 wailing | |
v.哭叫,哀号( wail的现在分词 );沱 | |
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60 poised | |
a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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61 weird | |
adj.古怪的,离奇的;怪诞的,神秘而可怕的 | |
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62 lamentation | |
n.悲叹,哀悼 | |
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63 wrought | |
v.引起;以…原料制作;运转;adj.制造的 | |
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64 depredations | |
n.劫掠,毁坏( depredation的名词复数 ) | |
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65 jabbering | |
v.急切而含混不清地说( jabber的现在分词 );急促兴奋地说话;结结巴巴 | |
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66 chattering | |
n. (机器振动发出的)咔嗒声,(鸟等)鸣,啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的,啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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67 ornaments | |
n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 );点缀;装饰品;首饰v.装饰,点缀,美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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68 mingled | |
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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69 wrath | |
n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒 | |
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70 superstitious | |
adj.迷信的 | |
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71 writ | |
n.命令状,书面命令 | |
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72 hideous | |
adj.丑陋的,可憎的,可怕的,恐怖的 | |
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73 countenance | |
n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同 | |
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74 spoke | |
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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75 thoroughly | |
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地 | |
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76 awed | |
adj.充满敬畏的,表示敬畏的v.使敬畏,使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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77 savages | |
未开化的人,野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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78 huddled | |
挤在一起(huddle的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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79 verge | |
n.边,边缘;v.接近,濒临 | |
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80 sufficiently | |
adv.足够地,充分地 | |
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81 awesome | |
adj.令人惊叹的,难得吓人的,很好的 | |
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82 conjured | |
用魔术变出( conjure的过去式和过去分词 ); 祈求,恳求; 变戏法; (变魔术般地) 使…出现 | |
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83 frightful | |
adj.可怕的;讨厌的 | |
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84 demeanor | |
n.行为;风度 | |
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85 superstition | |
n.迷信,迷信行为 | |
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86 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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