While he was speaking, one of my guards had removed the gag from my mouth, but I made no reply to Zat Arrras: simply standing2 there in silence with level gaze fixed3 upon the Jed of Zodanga. And I doubt not that my expression was coloured by the contempt I felt for the man.
The eyes of those within the chamber4 were fixed first upon me and then upon Zat Arrras, until finally a flush of anger crept slowly over his face.
"You may go," he said to those who had brought me, and when only his two companions and ourselves were left in the chamber, he spoke5 to me again in a voice of ice—very slowly and deliberately6, with many pauses, as though he would choose his words cautiously.
"John Carter," he said, "by the edict of custom, by the law of our religion, and by the verdict of an impartial7 court, you are condemned8 to die. The people cannot save you—I alone may accomplish that. You are absolutely in my power to do with as I wish—I may kill you, or I may free you, and should I elect to kill you, none would be the wiser.
"Should you go free in Helium for a year, in accordance with the conditions of your reprieve9, there is little fear that the people would ever insist upon the execution of the sentence imposed upon you.
"You may go free within two minutes, upon one condition. Tardos Mors will never return to Helium. Neither will Mors Kajak, nor Dejah Thoris. Helium must select a new Jeddak within the year. Zat Arrras would be Jeddak of Helium. Say that you will espouse10 my cause. This is the price of your freedom. I am done."
I knew it was within the scope of Zat Arrras' cruel heart to destroy me, and if I were dead I could see little reason to doubt that he might easily become Jeddak of Helium. Free, I could prosecute11 the search for Dejah Thoris. Were I dead, my brave comrades might not be able to carry out our plans. So, by refusing to accede12 to his request, it was quite probable that not only would I not prevent him from becoming Jeddak of Helium, but that I would be the means of sealing Dejah Thoris' fate—of consigning13 her, through my refusal, to the horrors of the arena14 of Issus.
For a moment I was perplexed15, but for a moment only. The proud daughter of a thousand Jeddaks would choose death to a dishonorable alliance such as this, nor could John Carter do less for Helium than his Princess would do.
Then I turned to Zat Arrras.
"There can be no alliance," I said, "between a traitor16 to Helium and a prince of the House of Tardos Mors. I do not believe, Zat Arrras, that the great Jeddak is dead."
"It will not be long, John Carter," he said, "that your opinions will be of interest even to yourself, so make the best of them while you can. Zat Arrras will permit you in due time to reflect further upon the magnanimous offer he has made you. Into the silence and darkness of the pits you will enter upon your reflection this night with the knowledge that should you fail within a reasonable time to agree to the alternative which has been offered you, never shall you emerge from the darkness and the silence again. Nor shall you know at what minute the hand will reach out through the darkness and the silence with the keen dagger18 that shall rob you of your last chance to win again the warmth and the freedom and joyousness19 of the outer world."
Zat Arrras clapped his hands as he ceased speaking. The guards returned.
Zat Arrras waved his hand in my direction.
"To the pits," he said. That was all. Four men accompanied me from the chamber, and with a radium hand-light to illumine the way, escorted me through seemingly interminable tunnels, down, ever down beneath the city of Helium.
At length they halted within a fair-sized chamber. There were rings set in the rocky walls. To them chains were fastened, and at the ends of many of the chains were human skeletons. One of these they kicked aside, and, unlocking the huge padlock that had held a chain about what had once been a human ankle, they snapped the iron band about my own leg. Then they left me, taking the light with them.
Utter darkness prevailed. For a few minutes I could hear the clanking of accoutrements, but even this grew fainter and fainter, until at last the silence was as complete as the darkness. I was alone with my gruesome companions—with the bones of dead men whose fate was likely but the index of my own.
How long I stood listening in the darkness I do not know, but the silence was unbroken, and at last I sunk to the hard floor of my prison, where, leaning my head against the stony20 wall, I slept.
It must have been several hours later that I awakened21 to find a young man standing before me. In one hand he bore a light, in the other a receptacle containing a gruel-like mixture—the common prison fare of Barsoom.
"Zat Arrras sends you greetings," said the young man, "and commands me to inform you that though he is fully22 advised of the plot to make you Jeddak of Helium, he is, however, not inclined to withdraw the offer which he has made you. To gain your freedom you have but to request me to advise Zat Arrras that you accept the terms of his proposition."
I but shook my head. The youth said no more, and, after placing the food upon the floor at my side, returned up the corridor, taking the light with him.
Twice a day for many days this youth came to my cell with food, and ever the same greetings from Zat Arrras. For a long time I tried to engage him in conversation upon other matters, but he would not talk, and so, at length, I desisted.
For months I sought to devise methods to inform Carthoris of my whereabouts. For months I scraped and scraped upon a single link of the massive chain which held me, hoping eventually to wear it through, that I might follow the youth back through the winding23 tunnels to a point where I could make a break for liberty.
I was beside myself with anxiety for knowledge of the progress of the expedition which was to rescue Dejah Thoris. I felt that Carthoris would not let the matter drop, were he free to act, but in so far as I knew, he also might be a prisoner in Zat Arrras' pits.
That Zat Arrras' spy had overheard our conversation relative to the selection of a new Jeddak, I knew, and scarcely a half-dozen minutes prior we had discussed the details of the plan to rescue Dejah Thoris. The chances were that that matter, too, was well known to him. Carthoris, Kantos Kan, Tars24 Tarkas, Hor Vastus, and Xodar might even now be the victims of Zat Arrras' assassins, or else his prisoners.
I determined25 to make at least one more effort to learn something, and to this end I adopted strategy when next the youth came to my cell. I had noticed that he was a handsome fellow, about the size and age of Carthoris. And I had also noticed that his shabby trappings but illy comported26 with his dignified27 and noble bearing.
It was with these observations as a basis that I opened my negotiations28 with him upon his next subsequent visit.
"You have been very kind to me during my imprisonment29 here," I said to him, "and as I feel that I have at best but a very short time to live, I wish, ere it is too late, to furnish substantial testimony30 of my appreciation31 of all that you have done to render my imprisonment bearable.
"Promptly32 you have brought my food each day, seeing that it was pure and of sufficient quantity. Never by word or deed have you attempted to take advantage of my defenceless condition to insult or torture me. You have been uniformly courteous33 and considerate—it is this more than any other thing which prompts my feeling of gratitude34 and my desire to give you some slight token of it.
"In the guard-room of my palace are many fine trappings. Go thou there and select the harness which most pleases you—it shall be yours. All I ask is that you wear it, that I may know that my wish has been realized. Tell me that you will do it."
The boy's eyes had lighted with pleasure as I spoke, and I saw him glance from his rusty35 trappings to the magnificence of my own. For a moment he stood in thought before he spoke, and for that moment my heart fairly ceased beating—so much for me there was which hung upon the substance of his answer.
"And I went to the palace of the Prince of Helium with any such demand, they would laugh at me and, into the bargain, would more than likely throw me headforemost into the avenue. No, it cannot be, though I thank you for the offer. Why, if Zat Arrras even dreamed that I contemplated36 such a thing he would have my heart cut out of me."
"There can be no harm in it, my boy," I urged. "By night you may go to my palace with a note from me to Carthoris, my son. You may read the note before you deliver it, that you may know that it contains nothing harmful to Zat Arrras. My son will be discreet37, and so none but us three need know. It is very simple, and such a harmless act that it could be condemned by no one."
Again he stood silently in deep thought.
"And there is a jewelled short-sword which I took from the body of a northern Jeddak. When you get the harness, see that Carthoris gives you that also. With it and the harness which you may select there will be no more handsomely accoutred warrior38 in all Zodanga.
"Bring writing materials when you come next to my cell, and within a few hours we shall see you garbed39 in a style befitting your birth and carriage."
Still in thought, and without speaking, he turned and left me. I could not guess what his decision might be, and for hours I sat fretting40 over the outcome of the matter.
If he accepted a message to Carthoris it would mean to me that Carthoris still lived and was free. If the youth returned wearing the harness and the sword, I would know that Carthoris had received my note and that he knew that I still lived. That the bearer of the note was a Zodangan would be sufficient to explain to Carthoris that I was a prisoner of Zat Arrras.
It was with feelings of excited expectancy41 which I could scarce hide that I heard the youth's approach upon the occasion of his next regular visit. I did not speak beyond my accustomed greeting of him. As he placed the food upon the floor by my side he also deposited writing materials at the same time.
My heart fairly bounded for joy. I had won my point. For a moment I looked at the materials in feigned42 surprise, but soon I permitted an expression of dawning comprehension to come into my face, and then, picking them up, I penned a brief order to Carthoris to deliver to Parthak a harness of his selection and the short-sword which I described. That was all. But it meant everything to me and to Carthoris.
I laid the note open upon the floor. Parthak picked it up and, without a word, left me.
As nearly as I could estimate, I had at this time been in the pits for three hundred days. If anything was to be done to save Dejah Thoris it must be done quickly, for, were she not already dead, her end must soon come, since those whom Issus chose lived but a single year.
The next time I heard approaching footsteps I could scarce await to see if Parthak wore the harness and the sword, but judge, if you can, my chagrin43 and disappointment when I saw that he who bore my food was not Parthak.
"What has become of Parthak?" I asked, but the fellow would not answer, and as soon as he had deposited my food, turned and retraced44 his steps to the world above.
Days came and went, and still my new jailer continued his duties, nor would he ever speak a word to me, either in reply to the simplest question or of his own initiative.
I could only speculate on the cause of Parthak's removal, but that it was connected in some way directly with the note I had given him was most apparent to me. After all my rejoicing, I was no better off than before, for now I did not even know that Carthoris lived, for if Parthak had wished to raise himself in the estimation of Zat Arrras he would have permitted me to go on precisely45 as I did, so that he could carry my note to his master, in proof of his own loyalty46 and devotion.
Thirty days had passed since I had given the youth the note. Three hundred and thirty days had passed since my incarceration47. As closely as I could figure, there remained a bare thirty days ere Dejah Thoris would be ordered to the arena for the rites48 of Issus.
As the terrible picture forced itself vividly49 across my imagination, I buried my face in my arms, and only with the greatest difficulty was it that I repressed the tears that welled to my eyes despite my every effort. To think of that beautiful creature torn and rended by the cruel fangs50 of the hideous51 white apes! It was unthinkable. Such a horrid52 fact could not be; and yet my reason told me that within thirty days my incomparable Princess would be fought over in the arena of the First Born by those very wild beasts; that her bleeding corpse53 would be dragged through the dirt and the dust, until at last a part of it would be rescued to be served as food upon the tables of the black nobles.
I think that I should have gone crazy but for the sound of my approaching jailer. It distracted my attention from the terrible thoughts that had been occupying my entire mind. Now a new and grim determination came to me. I would make one super-human effort to escape. Kill my jailer by a ruse54, and trust to fate to lead me to the outer world in safety.
With the thought came instant action. I threw myself upon the floor of my cell close by the wall, in a strained and distorted posture55, as though I were dead after a struggle or convulsions. When he should stoop over me I had but to grasp his throat with one hand and strike him a terrific blow with the slack of my chain, which I gripped firmly in my right hand for the purpose.
Nearer and nearer came the doomed56 man. Now I heard him halt before me. There was a muttered exclamation57, and then a step as he came to my side. I felt him kneel beside me. My grip tightened58 upon the chain. He leaned close to me. I must open my eyes to find his throat, grasp it, and strike one mighty59 final blow all at the same instant.
The thing worked just as I had planned. So brief was the interval60 between the opening of my eyes and the fall of the chain that I could not check it, though in that minute interval I recognized the face so close to mine as that of my son, Carthoris.
God! What cruel and malign61 fate had worked to such a frightful62 end! What devious63 chain of circumstances had led my boy to my side at this one particular minute of our lives when I could strike him down and kill him, in ignorance of his identity! A benign64 though tardy65 Providence66 blurred67 my vision and my mind as I sank into unconsciousness across the lifeless body of my only son.
When I regained68 consciousness it was to feel a cool, firm hand pressed upon my forehead. For an instant I did not open my eyes. I was endeavouring to gather the loose ends of many thoughts and memories which flitted elusively69 through my tired and overwrought brain.
At length came the cruel recollection of the thing that I had done in my last conscious act, and then I dared not to open my eyes for fear of what I should see lying beside me. I wondered who it could be who ministered to me. Carthoris must have had a companion whom I had not seen. Well, I must face the inevitable70 some time, so why not now, and with a sigh I opened my eyes.
Leaning over me was Carthoris, a great bruise71 upon his forehead where the chain had struck, but alive, thank God, alive! There was no one with him. Reaching out my arms, I took my boy within them, and if ever there arose from any planet a fervent72 prayer of gratitude, it was there beneath the crust of dying Mars as I thanked the Eternal Mystery for my son's life.
The brief instant in which I had seen and recognized Carthoris before the chain fell must have been ample to check the force of the blow. He told me that he had lain unconscious for a time—how long he did not know.
"How came you here at all?" I asked, mystified that he had found me without a guide.
"It was by your wit in apprising73 me of your existence and imprisonment through the youth, Parthak. Until he came for his harness and his sword, we had thought you dead. When I had read your note I did as you had bid, giving Parthak his choice of the harnesses in the guardroom, and later bringing the jewelled short-sword to him; but the minute that I had fulfilled the promise you evidently had made him, my obligation to him ceased. Then I commenced to question him, but he would give me no information as to your whereabouts. He was intensely loyal to Zat Arrras.
"Finally I gave him a fair choice between freedom and the pits beneath the palace—the price of freedom to be full information as to where you were imprisoned74 and directions which would lead us to you; but still he maintained his stubborn partisanship75. Despairing, I had him removed to the pits, where he still is.
"No threats of torture or death, no bribes76, however fabulous77, would move him. His only reply to all our importunities was that whenever Parthak died, were it to-morrow or a thousand years hence, no man could truly say, 'A traitor is gone to his deserts.'
"Finally, Xodar, who is a fiend for subtle craftiness78, evolved a plan whereby we might worm the information from him. And so I caused Hor Vastus to be harnessed in the metal of a Zodangan soldier and chained in Parthak's cell beside him. For fifteen days the noble Hor Vastus has languished79 in the darkness of the pits, but not in vain. Little by little he won the confidence and friendship of the Zodangan, until only to-day Parthak, thinking that he was speaking not only to a countryman, but to a dear friend, revealed to Hor Vastus the exact cell in which you lay.
"It took me but a short time to locate the plans of the pits of Helium among the official papers. To come to you, though, was a trifle more difficult matter. As you know, while all the pits beneath the city are connected, there are but single entrances from those beneath each section and its neighbour, and that at the upper level just underneath80 the ground.
"Of course, these openings which lead from contiguous pits to those beneath government buildings are always guarded, and so, while I easily came to the entrance to the pits beneath the palace which Zat Arrras is occupying, I found there a Zodangan soldier on guard. There I left him when I had gone by, but his soul was no longer with him.
"And here I am, just in time to be nearly killed by you," he ended, laughing.
As he talked Carthoris had been working at the lock which held my fetters81, and now, with an exclamation of pleasure, he dropped the end of the chain to the floor, and I stood up once more, freed from the galling82 irons I had chafed83 in for almost a year.
He had brought a long-sword and a dagger for me, and thus armed we set out upon the return journey to my palace.
At the point where we left the pits of Zat Arrras we found the body of the guard Carthoris had slain84. It had not yet been discovered, and, in order to still further delay search and mystify the jed's people, we carried the body with us for a short distance, hiding it in a tiny cell off the main corridor of the pits beneath an adjoining estate.
Some half-hour later we came to the pits beneath our own palace, and soon thereafter emerged into the audience chamber itself, where we found Kantos Kan, Tars Tarkas, Hor Vastus, and Xodar awaiting us most impatiently.
No time was lost in fruitless recounting of my imprisonment. What I desired to know was how well the plans we had laid nearly a year ago had been carried out.
"It has taken much longer than we had expected," replied Kantos Kan. "The fact that we were compelled to maintain utter secrecy85 has handicapped us terribly. Zat Arrras' spies are everywhere. Yet, to the best of my knowledge, no word of our real plans has reached the villain's ear.
"To-night there lies about the great docks at Hastor a fleet of a thousand of the mightiest86 battleships that ever sailed above Barsoom, and each equipped to navigate87 the air of Omean and the waters of Omean itself. Upon each battleship there are five ten-man cruisers, and ten five-man scouts88, and a hundred one-man scouts; in all, one hundred and sixteen thousand craft fitted with both air and water propellers89.
"At Thark lie the transports for the green warriors90 of Tars Tarkas, nine hundred large troopships, and with them their convoys91. Seven days ago all was in readiness, but we waited in the hope that by so doing your rescue might be encompassed92 in time for you to command the expedition. It is well we waited, my Prince."
"How is it, Tars Tarkas," I asked, "that the men of Thark take not the accustomed action against one who returns from the bosom93 of Iss?"
"They sent a council of fifty chieftains to talk with me here," replied the Thark. "We are a just people, and when I had told them the entire story they were as one man in agreeing that their action toward me would be guided by the action of Helium toward John Carter. In the meantime, at their request, I was to resume my throne as Jeddak of Thark, that I might negotiate with neighboring hordes94 for warriors to compose the land forces of the expedition. I have done that which I agreed. Two hundred and fifty thousand fighting men, gathered from the ice cap at the north to the ice cap at the south, and representing a thousand different communities, from a hundred wild and warlike hordes, fill the great city of Thark to-night. They are ready to sail for the Land of the First Born when I give the word and fight there until I bid them stop. All they ask is the loot they take and transportation to their own territories when the fighting and the looting are over. I am done."
"And thou, Hor Vastus," I asked, "what has been thy success?"
"A million veteran fighting-men from Helium's thin waterways man the battleships, the transports, and the convoys," he replied. "Each is sworn to loyalty and secrecy, nor were enough recruited from a single district to cause suspicion."
"Good!" I cried. "Each has done his duty, and now, Kantos Kan, may we not repair at once to Hastor and get under way before to-morrow's sun?"
"We should lose no time, Prince," replied Kantos Kan. "Already the people of Hastor are questioning the purpose of so great a fleet fully manned with fighting-men. I wonder much that word of it has not before reached Zat Arrras. A cruiser awaits above at your own dock; let us leave at—" A fusillade of shots from the palace gardens just without cut short his further words.
Together we rushed to the balcony in time to see a dozen members of my palace guard disappear in the shadows of some distant shrubbery as in pursuit of one who fled. Directly beneath us upon the scarlet95 sward a handful of guardsmen were stooping above a still and prostrate96 form.
While we watched they lifted the figure in their arms and at my command bore it to the audience chamber where we had been in council. When they stretched the body at our feet we saw that it was that of a red man in the prime of life—his metal was plain, such as common soldiers wear, or those who wish to conceal97 their identity.
"Another of Zat Arrras' spies," said Hor Vastus.
"So it would seem," I replied, and then to the guard: "You may remove the body."
"Wait!" said Xodar. "If you will, Prince, ask that a cloth and a little thoat oil be brought."
I nodded to one of the soldiers, who left the chamber, returning presently with the things that Xodar had requested. The black kneeled beside the body and, dipping a corner of the cloth in the thoat oil, rubbed for a moment on the dead face before him. Then he turned to me with a smile, pointing to his work. I looked and saw that where Xodar had applied98 the thoat oil the face was white, as white as mine, and then Xodar seized the black hair of the corpse and with a sudden wrench99 tore it all away, revealing a hairless pate100 beneath.
Guardsmen and nobles pressed close about the silent witness upon the marble floor. Many were the exclamations101 of astonishment102 and questioning wonder as Xodar's acts confirmed the suspicion which he had held.
"A thern!" whispered Tars Tarkas.
"Worse than that, I fear," replied Xodar. "But let us see."
With that he drew his dagger and cut open a locked pouch103 which had dangled104 from the thern's harness, and from it he brought forth105 a circlet of gold set with a large gem—it was the mate to that which I had taken from Sator Throg.
"He was a Holy Thern," said Xodar. "Fortunate indeed it is for us that he did not escape."
"My Prince," he said, "I have to report that this fellow's companion escaped us. I think that it was with the connivance107 of one or more of the men at the gate. I have ordered them all under arrest."
Xodar handed him the thoat oil and cloth.
"With this you may discover the spy among you," he said.
I at once ordered a secret search within the city, for every Martian noble maintains a secret service of his own.
A half-hour later the officer of the guard came again to report. This time it was to confirm our worst fears—half the guards at the gate that night had been therns disguised as red men.
"Come!" I cried. "We must lose no time. On to Hastor at once. Should the therns attempt to check us at the southern verge108 of the ice cap it may result in the wrecking109 of all our plans and the total destruction of the expedition."
Ten minutes later we were speeding through the night toward Hastor, prepared to strike the first blow for the preservation110 of Dejah Thoris.
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1
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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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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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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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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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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6
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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impartial
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| adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的 | |
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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9
reprieve
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| n.暂缓执行（死刑）；v.缓期执行；给…带来缓解 | |
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espouse
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| v.支持，赞成，嫁娶 | |
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prosecute
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| vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官 | |
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12
accede
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| v.应允，同意 | |
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consigning
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| v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的现在分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃 | |
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arena
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| n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台 | |
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perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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joyousness
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| 快乐，使人喜悦 | |
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stony
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| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
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awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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tars
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| 焦油，沥青，柏油( tar的名词复数 ) | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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comported
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| v.表现( comport的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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negotiations
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| 协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过 | |
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imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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32
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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33
courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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34
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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35
rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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36
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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37
discreet
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| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
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38
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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39
garbed
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| v.（尤指某类人穿的特定）服装，衣服，制服( garb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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40
fretting
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| n. 微振磨损 adj. 烦躁的, 焦虑的 | |
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41
expectancy
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| n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额 | |
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42
feigned
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| a.假装的，不真诚的 | |
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43
chagrin
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| n.懊恼；气愤；委屈 | |
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44
retraced
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| v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯 | |
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45
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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46
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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47
incarceration
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| n.监禁，禁闭；钳闭 | |
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48
rites
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| 仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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49
vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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50
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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51
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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52
horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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53
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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54
ruse
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| n.诡计，计策；诡计 | |
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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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doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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tightened
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| 收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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malign
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| adj.有害的；恶性的；恶意的；v.诽谤，诬蔑 | |
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frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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devious
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| adj.不坦率的，狡猾的；迂回的，曲折的 | |
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benign
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| adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的 | |
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tardy
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| adj.缓慢的，迟缓的 | |
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providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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blurred
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| v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离 | |
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68
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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elusively
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| adv.巧妙逃避地，易忘记地 | |
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inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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71
bruise
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| n.青肿，挫伤；伤痕；vt.打青；挫伤 | |
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fervent
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| adj.热的，热烈的，热情的 | |
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apprising
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| v.告知，通知( apprise的现在分词 )；评价 | |
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imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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Partisanship
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| n. 党派性, 党派偏见 | |
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76
bribes
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| n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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fabulous
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| adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的 | |
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78
craftiness
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| 狡猾，狡诈 | |
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79
languished
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| 长期受苦( languish的过去式和过去分词 )； 受折磨； 变得（越来越）衰弱； 因渴望而变得憔悴或闷闷不乐 | |
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80
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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81
fetters
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| n.脚镣( fetter的名词复数 )；束缚v.给…上脚镣，束缚( fetter的第三人称单数 ) | |
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82
galling
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| adj.难堪的,使烦恼的,使焦躁的 | |
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83
chafed
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| v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的过去式 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒 | |
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84
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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85
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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86
mightiest
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| adj.趾高气扬( mighty的最高级 )；巨大的；强有力的；浩瀚的 | |
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navigate
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| v.航行，飞行；导航，领航 | |
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88
scouts
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| 侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员 | |
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89
propellers
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| n.螺旋桨，推进器( propeller的名词复数 ) | |
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90
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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91
convoys
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| n.（有护航的）船队( convoy的名词复数 )；车队；护航（队）；护送队 | |
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92
encompassed
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| v.围绕( encompass的过去式和过去分词 )；包围；包含；包括 | |
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93
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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hordes
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| n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 )；部落 | |
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95
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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96
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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98
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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99
wrench
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| v.猛拧；挣脱；使扭伤；n.扳手；痛苦，难受 | |
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100
pate
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| n.头顶；光顶 | |
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101
exclamations
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| n.呼喊( exclamation的名词复数 )；感叹；感叹语；感叹词 | |
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102
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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103
pouch
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| n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件 | |
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104
dangled
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| 悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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105
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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106
juncture
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| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
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107
connivance
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| n.纵容；默许 | |
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108
verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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109
wrecking
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| 破坏 | |
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110
preservation
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| n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持 | |
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