The craft had drifted across the chasm3 which held the corpses4 of Matai Shang, Thurid, and Phaidor, and now hung above a low hill. Opening the buoyancy escape valves I permitted her to come slowly to the ground, and as she touched, Dejah Thoris and I stepped from her deck and, hand in hand, turned back across the frozen waste toward the city of Kadabra.
Through the tunnel that had led me in pursuit of them we passed, walking slowly, for we had much to say to each other.
She told me of that last terrible moment months before when the door of her prison cell within the Temple of the Sun was slowly closing between us. Of how Phaidor had sprung upon her with uplifted dagger5, and of Thuvia's shriek6 as she had realized the foul7 intention of the thern goddess.
It had been that cry that had rung in my ears all the long, weary months that I had been left in cruel doubt as to my princess' fate; for I had not known that Thuvia had wrested8 the blade from the daughter of Matai Shang before it had touched either Dejah Thoris or herself.
She told me, too, of the awful eternity9 of her imprisonment10. Of the cruel hatred11 of Phaidor, and the tender love of Thuvia, and of how even when despair was the darkest those two red girls had clung to the same hope and belief—that John Carter would find a way to release them.
Presently we came to the chamber12 of Solan. I had been proceeding13 without thought of caution, for I was sure that the city and the palace were both in the hands of my friends by this time.
And so it was that I bolted into the chamber full into the midst of a dozen nobles of the court of Salensus Oll. They were passing through on their way to the outside world along the corridors we had just traversed.
At sight of us they halted in their tracks, and then an ugly smile overspread the features of their leader.
"The author of all our misfortunes!" he cried, pointing at me. "We shall have the satisfaction of a partial vengeance15 at least when we leave behind us here the dead and mutilated corpses of the Prince and Princess of Helium.
"When they find them," he went on, jerking his thumb upward toward the palace above, "they will realize that the vengeance of the yellow man costs his enemies dear. Prepare to die, John Carter, but that your end may be the more bitter, know that I may change my intention as to meting16 a merciful death to your princess—possibly she shall be preserved as a plaything for my nobles."
I stood close to the instrument-covered wall—Dejah Thoris at my side. She looked up at me wonderingly as the warriors17 advanced upon us with drawn19 swords, for mine still hung within its scabbard at my side, and there was a smile upon my lips.
The yellow nobles, too, looked in surprise, and then as I made no move to draw they hesitated, fearing a ruse20; but their leader urged them on. When they had come almost within sword's reach of me I raised my hand and laid it upon the polished surface of a great lever, and then, still smiling grimly, I looked my enemies full in the face.
As one they came to a sudden stop, casting affrighted glances at me and at one another.
"Right you are," I replied. "John Carter does not dream. He knows—knows that should one of you take another step toward Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, I pull this lever wide, and she and I shall die together; but we shall not die alone."
The nobles shrank back, whispering together for a few moments. At last their leader turned to me.
"Go your way, John Carter," he said, "and we shall go ours."
"Prisoners do not go their own way," I answered, "and you are prisoners—prisoners of the Prince of Helium."
Before they could make answer a door upon the opposite side of the apartment opened and a score of yellow men poured into the apartment. For an instant the nobles looked relieved, and then as their eyes fell upon the leader of the new party their faces fell, for he was Talu, rebel Prince of Marentina, and they knew that they could look for neither aid nor mercy at his hands.
"Well done, John Carter," he cried. "You turn their own mighty22 power against them. Fortunate for Okar is it that you were here to prevent their escape, for these be the greatest villains23 north of the ice-barrier, and this one"—pointing to the leader of the party—"would have made himself Jeddak of Jeddaks in the place of the dead Salensus Oll. Then indeed would we have had a more villainous ruler than the hated tyrant24 who fell before your sword."
The Okarian nobles now submitted to arrest, since nothing but death faced them should they resist, and, escorted by the warriors of Talu, we made our way to the great audience chamber that had been Salensus Oll's. Here was a vast concourse of warriors.
Red men from Helium and Ptarth, yellow men of the north, rubbing elbows with the blacks of the First Born who had come under my friend Xodar to help in the search for me and my princess. There were savage25, green warriors from the dead sea bottoms of the south, and a handful of white-skinned therns who had renounced26 their religion and sworn allegiance to Xodar.
There was Tardos Mors and Mors Kajak, and tall and mighty in his gorgeous warrior18 trappings, Carthoris, my son. These three fell upon Dejah Thoris as we entered the apartment, and though the lives and training of royal Martians tend not toward vulgar demonstration27, I thought that they would suffocate28 her with their embraces.
And there were Tars29 Tarkas, Jeddak of Thark, and Kantos Kan, my old-time friends, and leaping and tearing at my harness in the exuberance30 of his great love was dear old Woola—frantic mad with happiness.
Long and loud was the cheering that burst forth31 at sight of us; deafening32 was the din14 of ringing metal as the veteran warriors of every Martian clime clashed their blades together on high in token of success and victory, but as I passed among the throng33 of saluting34 nobles and warriors, jeds and jeddaks, my heart still was heavy, for there were two faces missing that I would have given much to have seen there—Thuvan Dihn and Thuvia of Ptarth were not to be found in the great chamber.
I made inquiries35 concerning them among men of every nation, and at last from one of the yellow prisoners of war I learned that they had been apprehended36 by an officer of the palace as they sought to reach the Pit of Plenty while I lay imprisoned37 there.
I did not need to ask to know what had sent them thither—the courageous38 jeddak and his loyal daughter. My informer said that they lay now in one of the many buried dungeons39 of the palace where they had been placed pending40 a decision as to their fate by the tyrant of the north.
A moment later searching parties were scouring41 the ancient pile in search of them, and my cup of happiness was full when I saw them being escorted into the room by a cheering guard of honor.
Thuvia's first act was to rush to the side of Dejah Thoris, and I needed no better proof of the love these two bore for each other than the sincerity42 with which they embraced.
Looking down upon that crowded chamber stood the silent and empty throne of Okar.
Of all the strange scenes it must have witnessed since that long-dead age that had first seen a Jeddak of Jeddaks take his seat upon it, none might compare with that upon which it now looked down, and as I pondered the past and future of that long-buried race of black-bearded yellow men I thought that I saw a brighter and more useful existence for them among the great family of friendly nations that now stretched from the south pole almost to their very doors.
Twenty-two years before I had been cast, naked and a stranger, into this strange and savage world. The hand of every race and nation was raised in continual strife43 and warring against the men of every other land and color. Today, by the might of my sword and the loyalty44 of the friends my sword had made for me, black man and white, red man and green rubbed shoulders in peace and good-fellowship. All the nations of Barsoom were not yet as one, but a great stride forward toward that goal had been taken, and now if I could but cement the fierce yellow race into this solidarity45 of nations I should feel that I had rounded out a great lifework, and repaid to Mars at least a portion of the immense debt of gratitude46 I owed her for having given me my Dejah Thoris.
And as I thought, I saw but one way, and a single man who could insure the success of my hopes. As is ever the way with me, I acted then as I always act—without deliberation and without consultation47.
Those who do not like my plans and my ways of promoting them have always their swords at their sides wherewith to back up their disapproval48; but now there seemed to be no dissenting49 voice, as, grasping Talu by the arm, I sprang to the throne that had once been Salensus Oll's.
"Warriors of Barsoom," I cried, "Kadabra has fallen, and with her the hateful tyrant of the north; but the integrity of Okar must be preserved. The red men are ruled by red jeddaks, the green warriors of the ancient seas acknowledge none but a green ruler, the First Born of the south pole take their law from black Xodar; nor would it be to the interests of either yellow or red man were a red jeddak to sit upon the throne of Okar.
"There be but one warrior best fitted for the ancient and mighty title of Jeddak of Jeddaks of the North. Men of Okar, raise your swords to your new ruler—Talu, the rebel prince of Marentina!"
And then a great cry of rejoicing rose among the free men of Marentina and the Kadabran prisoners, for all had thought that the red men would retain that which they had taken by force of arms, for such had been the way upon Barsoom, and that they should be ruled henceforth by an alien Jeddak.
The victorious50 warriors who had followed Carthoris joined in the mad demonstration, and amidst the wild confusion and the tumult51 and the cheering, Dejah Thoris and I passed out into the gorgeous garden of the jeddaks that graces the inner courtyard of the palace of Kadabra.
At our heels walked Woola, and upon a carved seat of wondrous52 beauty beneath a bower53 of purple blooms we saw two who had preceded us—Thuvia of Ptarth and Carthoris of Helium.
The handsome head of the handsome youth was bent54 low above the beautiful face of his companion. I looked at Dejah Thoris, smiling, and as I drew her close to me I whispered: "Why not?"
Indeed, why not? What matter ages in this world of perpetual youth?
We remained at Kadabra, the guests of Talu, until after his formal induction55 into office, and then, upon the great fleet which I had been so fortunate to preserve from destruction, we sailed south across the ice-barrier; but not before we had witnessed the total demolition56 of the grim Guardian57 of the North under orders of the new Jeddak of Jeddaks.
"Henceforth," he said, as the work was completed, "the fleets of the red men and the black are free to come and go across the ice-barrier as over their own lands.
"The Carrion58 Caves shall be cleansed59, that the green men may find an easy way to the land of the yellow, and the hunting of the sacred apt shall be the sport of my nobles until no single specimen60 of that hideous61 creature roams the frozen north."
We bade our yellow friends farewell with real regret, as we set sail for Ptarth. There we remained, the guest of Thuvan Dihn, for a month; and I could see that Carthoris would have remained forever had he not been a Prince of Helium.
Above the mighty forests of Kaol we hovered62 until word from Kulan Tith brought us to his single landing-tower, where all day and half a night the vessels63 disembarked their crews. At the city of Kaol we visited, cementing the new ties that had been formed between Kaol and Helium, and then one long-to-be-remembered day we sighted the tall, thin towers of the twin cities of Helium.
The people had long been preparing for our coming. The sky was gorgeous with gaily64 trimmed fliers. Every roof within both cities was spread with costly65 silks and tapestries66.
Gold and jewels were scattered67 over roof and street and plaza68, so that the two cities seemed ablaze69 with the fires of the hearts of the magnificent stones and burnished70 metal that reflected the brilliant sunlight, changing it into countless71 glorious hues72.
At last, after twelve years, the royal family of Helium was reunited in their own mighty city, surrounded by joy-mad millions before the palace gates. Women and children and mighty warriors wept in gratitude for the fate that had restored their beloved Tardos Mors and the divine princess whom the whole nation idolized. Nor did any of us who had been upon that expedition of indescribable danger and glory lack for plaudits.
That night a messenger came to me as I sat with Dejah Thoris and Carthoris upon the roof of my city palace, where we had long since caused a lovely garden to be made that we three might find seclusion73 and quiet happiness among ourselves, far from the pomp and ceremony of court, to summon us to the Temple of Reward—"where one is to be judged this night," the summons concluded.
I racked my brain to try and determine what important case there might be pending which could call the royal family from their palaces on the eve of their return to Helium after years of absence; but when the jeddak summons no man delays.
As our flier touched the landing stage at the temple's top we saw countless other craft arriving and departing. In the streets below a great multitude surged toward the great gates of the temple.
Slowly there came to me the recollection of the deferred74 doom75 that awaited me since that time I had been tried here in the Temple by Zat Arras for the sin of returning from the Valley Dor and the Lost Sea of Korus.
Could it be possible that the strict sense of justice which dominates the men of Mars had caused them to overlook the great good that had come out of my heresy76? Could they ignore the fact that to me, and me alone, was due the rescue of Carthoris, of Dejah Thoris, of Mors Kajak, of Tardos Mors?
I could not believe it, and yet for what other purpose could I have been summoned to the Temple of Reward immediately upon the return of Tardos Mors to his throne?
My first surprise as I entered the temple and approached the Throne of Righteousness was to note the men who sat there as judges. There was Kulan Tith, Jeddak of Kaol, whom we had but just left within his own palace a few days since; there was Thuvan Dihn, Jeddak of Ptarth—how came he to Helium as soon as we?
There was Tars Tarkas, Jeddak of Thark, and Xodar, Jeddak of the First Born; there was Talu, Jeddak of Jeddaks of the North, whom I could have sworn was still in his ice-bound hothouse city beyond the northern barrier, and among them sat Tardos Mors and Mors Kajak, with enough lesser77 jeds and jeddaks to make up the thirty-one who must sit in judgment78 upon their fellow-man.
A right royal tribunal indeed, and such a one, I warrant, as never before sat together during all the history of ancient Mars.
As I entered, silence fell upon the great concourse of people that packed the auditorium79. Then Tardos Mors arose.
"John Carter," he said in his deep, martial80 voice, "take your place upon the Pedestal of Truth, for you are to be tried by a fair and impartial81 tribunal of your fellow-men."
With level eye and high-held head I did as he bade, and as I glanced about that circle of faces that a moment before I could have sworn contained the best friends I had upon Barsoom, I saw no single friendly glance—only stern, uncompromising judges, there to do their duty.
A clerk rose and from a great book read a long list of the more notable deeds that I had thought to my credit, covering a long period of twenty-two years since first I had stepped the ocher sea bottom beside the incubator of the Tharks. With the others he read of all that I had done within the circle of the Otz Mountains where the Holy Therns and the First Born had held sway.
It is the way upon Barsoom to recite a man's virtues82 with his sins when he is come to trial, and so I was not surprised that all that was to my credit should be read there to my judges—who knew it all by heart—even down to the present moment. When the reading had ceased Tardos Mors arose.
"Most righteous judges," he exclaimed, "you have heard recited all that is known of John Carter, Prince of Helium—the good with the bad. What is your judgment?"
Then Tars Tarkas came slowly to his feet, unfolding all his mighty, towering height until he loomed83, a green-bronze statue, far above us all. He turned a baleful eye upon me—he, Tars Tarkas, with whom I had fought through countless battles; whom I loved as a brother.
I could have wept had I not been so mad with rage that I almost whipped my sword out and had at them all upon the spot.
"Judges," he said, "there can be but one verdict. No longer may John Carter be Prince of Helium"—he paused—"but instead let him be Jeddak of Jeddaks, Warlord of Barsoom!"
As the thirty-one judges sprang to their feet with drawn and upraised swords in unanimous concurrence84 in the verdict, the storm broke throughout the length and breadth and height of that mighty building until I thought the roof would fall from the thunder of the mad shouting.
Now, at last, I saw the grim humor of the method they had adopted to do me this great honor, but that there was any hoax85 in the reality of the title they had conferred upon me was readily disproved by the sincerity of the congratulations that were heaped upon me by the judges first and then the nobles.
Presently fifty of the mightiest86 nobles of the greatest courts of Mars marched down the broad Aisle87 of Hope bearing a splendid car upon their shoulders, and as the people saw who sat within, the cheers that had rung out for me paled into insignificance88 beside those which thundered through the vast edifice89 now, for she whom the nobles carried was Dejah Thoris, beloved Princess of Helium.
Straight to the Throne of Righteousness they bore her, and there Tardos Mors assisted her from the car, leading her forward to my side.
"Let a world's most beautiful woman share the honor of her husband," he said.
Before them all I drew my wife close to me and kissed her upon the lips.
The End
The End
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1 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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2 mid | |
adj.中央的,中间的 | |
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3 chasm | |
n.深坑,断层,裂口,大分岐,利害冲突 | |
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4 corpses | |
n.死尸,尸体( corpse的名词复数 ) | |
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5 dagger | |
n.匕首,短剑,剑号 | |
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6 shriek | |
v./n.尖叫,叫喊 | |
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7 foul | |
adj.污秽的;邪恶的;v.弄脏;妨害;犯规;n.犯规 | |
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8 wrested | |
(用力)拧( wrest的过去式和过去分词 ); 费力取得; (从…)攫取; ( 从… ) 强行取去… | |
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9 eternity | |
n.不朽,来世;永恒,无穷 | |
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10 imprisonment | |
n.关押,监禁,坐牢 | |
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11 hatred | |
n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨 | |
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12 chamber | |
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所 | |
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13 proceeding | |
n.行动,进行,(pl.)会议录,学报 | |
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14 din | |
n.喧闹声,嘈杂声 | |
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15 vengeance | |
n.报复,报仇,复仇 | |
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16 meting | |
v.(对某人)施以,给予(处罚等)( mete的现在分词 ) | |
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17 warriors | |
武士,勇士,战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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18 warrior | |
n.勇士,武士,斗士 | |
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19 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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20 ruse | |
n.诡计,计策;诡计 | |
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21 shrieked | |
v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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22 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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23 villains | |
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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24 tyrant | |
n.暴君,专制的君主,残暴的人 | |
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25 savage | |
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人 | |
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26 renounced | |
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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27 demonstration | |
n.表明,示范,论证,示威 | |
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28 suffocate | |
vt.使窒息,使缺氧,阻碍;vi.窒息,窒息而亡,阻碍发展 | |
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29 tars | |
焦油,沥青,柏油( tar的名词复数 ) | |
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30 exuberance | |
n.丰富;繁荣 | |
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31 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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32 deafening | |
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33 throng | |
n.人群,群众;v.拥挤,群集 | |
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34 saluting | |
v.欢迎,致敬( salute的现在分词 );赞扬,赞颂 | |
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35 inquiries | |
n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 );疑问;探究;打听 | |
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36 apprehended | |
逮捕,拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 ); 理解 | |
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37 imprisoned | |
下狱,监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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38 courageous | |
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39 dungeons | |
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40 pending | |
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41 scouring | |
擦[洗]净,冲刷,洗涤 | |
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42 sincerity | |
n.真诚,诚意;真实 | |
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43 strife | |
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44 loyalty | |
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45 solidarity | |
n.团结;休戚相关 | |
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46 gratitude | |
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47 consultation | |
n.咨询;商量;商议;会议 | |
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48 disapproval | |
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49 dissenting | |
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50 victorious | |
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51 tumult | |
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52 wondrous | |
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53 bower | |
n.凉亭,树荫下凉快之处;闺房;v.荫蔽 | |
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54 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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55 induction | |
n.感应,感应现象 | |
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56 demolition | |
n.破坏,毁坏,毁坏之遗迹 | |
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57 guardian | |
n.监护人;守卫者,保护者 | |
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58 carrion | |
n.腐肉 | |
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59 cleansed | |
弄干净,清洗( cleanse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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60 specimen | |
n.样本,标本 | |
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61 hideous | |
adj.丑陋的,可憎的,可怕的,恐怖的 | |
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62 hovered | |
鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 ); 靠近(某事物); (人)徘徊; 犹豫 | |
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63 vessels | |
n.血管( vessel的名词复数 );船;容器;(具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的)人 | |
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64 gaily | |
adv.欢乐地,高兴地 | |
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65 costly | |
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的 | |
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66 tapestries | |
n.挂毯( tapestry的名词复数 );绣帷,织锦v.用挂毯(或绣帷)装饰( tapestry的第三人称单数 ) | |
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67 scattered | |
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的 | |
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68 plaza | |
n.广场,市场 | |
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69 ablaze | |
adj.着火的,燃烧的;闪耀的,灯火辉煌的 | |
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70 burnished | |
adj.抛光的,光亮的v.擦亮(金属等),磨光( burnish的过去式和过去分词 );被擦亮,磨光 | |
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71 countless | |
adj.无数的,多得不计其数的 | |
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72 hues | |
色彩( hue的名词复数 ); 色调; 信仰; 观点 | |
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73 seclusion | |
n.隐遁,隔离 | |
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74 deferred | |
adj.延期的,缓召的v.拖延,延缓,推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 );服从某人的意愿,遵从 | |
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75 doom | |
n.厄运,劫数;v.注定,命定 | |
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76 heresy | |
n.异端邪说;异教 | |
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77 lesser | |
adj.次要的,较小的;adv.较小地,较少地 | |
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78 judgment | |
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见 | |
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79 auditorium | |
n.观众席,听众席;会堂,礼堂 | |
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80 martial | |
adj.战争的,军事的,尚武的,威武的 | |
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81 impartial | |
adj.(in,to)公正的,无偏见的 | |
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82 virtues | |
美德( virtue的名词复数 ); 德行; 优点; 长处 | |
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83 loomed | |
v.隐约出现,阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 );隐约出现,阴森地逼近 | |
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84 concurrence | |
n.同意;并发 | |
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85 hoax | |
v.欺骗,哄骗,愚弄;n.愚弄人,恶作剧 | |
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86 mightiest | |
adj.趾高气扬( mighty的最高级 );巨大的;强有力的;浩瀚的 | |
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87 aisle | |
n.(教堂、教室、戏院等里的)过道,通道 | |
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88 insignificance | |
n.不重要;无价值;无意义 | |
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89 edifice | |
n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿,教室) | |
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