Numa, the lion, was hungry and very savage5. For two days he had not eaten and now he hunted in the ugliest of humors. No more did Numa roar forth6 a rumbling7 challenge to the world but rather he moved silent and grim, stepping softly that no cracking twig8 might betray his presence to the keen-eared quarry9 he sought.
Fresh was the spoor of Bara, the deer, that Numa picked up in the well-beaten game trail he was following. No hour had passed since Bara had come this way; the time could be measured in minutes and so the great lion redoubled the cautiousness of his advance as he crept stealthily in pursuit of his quarry.
A light wind was moving through the jungle aisles10, and it wafted11 down now to the nostrils12 of the eager carnivore the strong scent13 spoor of the deer, exciting his already avid14 appetite to a point where it became a gnawing15 pain. Yet Numa did not permit himself to be carried away by his desires into any premature16 charge such as had recently lost him the juicy meat of Pacco, the zebra. Increasing his gait but slightly he followed the tortuous17 windings18 of the trail until suddenly just before him, where the trail wound about the bole of a huge tree, he saw a young buck20 moving slowly ahead of him.
Numa judged the distance with his keen eyes, glowing now like two terrible spots of yellow fire in his wrinkled, snarling21 face. He could do it—this time he was sure. One terrific roar that would paralyze the poor creature ahead of him into momentary22 inaction, and a simultaneous charge of lightning-like rapidity and Numa, the lion, would feed. The sinuous23 tail, undulating slowly at its tufted extremity24, whipped suddenly erect25. It was the signal for the charge and the vocal26 organs were shaped for the thunderous roar when, as lightning out of a clear sky, Sheeta, the panther, leaped suddenly into the trail between Numa and the deer.
A blundering charge made Sheeta, for with the first crash of his spotted27 body through the foliage28 verging29 the trail, Bara gave a single startled backward glance and was gone.
The roar that was intended to paralyze the deer broke horribly from the deep throat of the great cat—an angry roar of rage against the meddling30 Sheeta who had robbed him of his kill, and the charge that was intended for Bara was launched against the panther; but here too Numa was doomed31 to disappointment, for with the first notes of his fearsome roar Sheeta, considering well the better part of valor32, leaped into a near-by tree.
A half-hour later it was a thoroughly33 furious Numa who came unexpectedly upon the scent of man. Heretofore the lord of the jungle had disdained34 the unpalatable flesh of the despised man-thing. Such meat was only for the old, the toothless, and the decrepit35 who no longer could make their kills among the fleet-footed grass-eaters. Bara, the deer, Horta, the boar, and, best and wariest36, Pacco, the zebra, were for the young, the strong, and the agile37, but Numa was hungry—hungrier than he ever had been in the five short years of his life.
What if he was a young, powerful, cunning, and ferocious38 beast? In the face of hunger, the great leveler, he was as the old, the toothless, and the decrepit. His belly39 cried aloud in anguish40 and his jowls slavered for flesh. Zebra or deer or man, what mattered it so that it was warm flesh, red with the hot juices of life? Even Dango, the hyena41, eater of offal, would, at the moment, have seemed a tidbit to Numa.
The great lion knew the habits and frailties42 of man, though he never before had hunted man for food. He knew the despised Gomangani as the slowest, the most stupid, and the most defenseless of creatures. No woodcraft, no cunning, no stealth was necessary in the hunting of man, nor had Numa any stomach for either delay or silence.
His rage had become an almost equally consuming passion with his hunger, so that now, as his delicate nostrils apprised43 him of the recent passage of man, he lowered his head and rumbled44 forth a thunderous roar, and at a swift walk, careless of the noise he made, set forth upon the trail of his intended quarry.
Majestic45 and terrible, regally careless of his surroundings, the king of beasts strode down the beaten trail. The natural caution that is inherent to all creatures of the wild had deserted46 him. What had he, lord of the jungle, to fear and, with only man to hunt, what need of caution? And so he did not see or scent what a more wary Numa might readily have discovered until, with the cracking of twigs47 and a tumbling of earth, he was precipitated48 into a cunningly devised pit that the wily Wamabos had excavated49 for just this purpose in the center of the game trail.
Tarzan of the Apes stood in the center of the clearing watching the plane shrinking to diminutive50 toy-like proportions in the eastern sky. He had breathed a sigh of relief as he saw it rise safely with the British flier and Fr?ulein Bertha Kircher. For weeks he had felt the hampering51 responsibility of their welfare in this savage wilderness52 where their utter helplessness would have rendered them easy prey53 for the savage carnivores or the cruel Wamabos. Tarzan of the Apes loved unfettered freedom, and now that these two were safely off his hands, he felt that he could continue upon his journey toward the west coast and the long-untenanted cabin of his dead father.
And yet, as he stood there watching the tiny speck54 in the east, another sigh heaved his broad chest, nor was it a sigh of relief, but rather a sensation which Tarzan had never expected to feel again and which he now disliked to admit even to himself. It could not be possible that he, the jungle bred, who had renounced55 forever the society of man to return to his beloved beasts of the wilds, could be feeling anything akin56 to regret at the departure of these two, or any slightest loneliness now that they were gone. Lieutenant57 Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick Tarzan had liked, but the woman whom he had known as a German spy he had hated, though he never had found it in his heart to slay58 her as he had sworn to slay all Huns. He had attributed this weakness to the fact that she was a woman, although he had been rather troubled by the apparent inconsistency of his hatred59 for her and his repeated protection of her when danger threatened.
With an irritable60 toss of his head he wheeled suddenly toward the west as though by turning his back upon the fast disappearing plane he might expunge61 thoughts of its passengers from his memory. At the edge of the clearing he paused; a giant tree loomed62 directly ahead of him and, as though actuated by sudden and irresistible63 impulse, he leaped into the branches and swung himself with apelike agility64 to the topmost limbs that would sustain his weight. There, balancing lightly upon a swaying bough65, he sought in the direction of the eastern horizon for the tiny speck that would be the British plane bearing away from him the last of his own race and kind that he expected ever again to see.
At last his keen eyes picked up the ship flying at a considerable altitude far in the east. For a few seconds he watched it speeding evenly eastward66, when, to his horror, he saw the speck dive suddenly downward. The fall seemed interminable to the watcher and he realized how great must have been the altitude of the plane before the drop commenced. Just before it disappeared from sight its downward momentum67 appeared to abate68 suddenly, but it was still moving rapidly at a steep angle when it finally disappeared from view behind the far hills.
For half a minute the ape-man stood noting distant landmarks70 that he judged might be in the vicinity of the fallen plane, for no sooner had he realized that these people were again in trouble than his inherent sense of duty to his own kind impelled71 him once more to forego his plans and seek to aid them.
The ape-man feared from what he judged of the location of the machine that it had fallen among the almost impassable gorges72 of the arid74 country just beyond the fertile basin that was bounded by the hills to the east of him. He had crossed that parched75 and desolate76 country of the dead himself and he knew from his own experience and the narrow escape he had had from succumbing77 to its relentless78 cruelty no lesser79 man could hope to win his way to safety from any considerable distance within its borders. Vividly80 he recalled the bleached81 bones of the long-dead warrior82 in the bottom of the precipitous gorge73 that had all but proved a trap for him as well. He saw the helmet of hammered brass83 and the corroded84 breastplate of steel and the long straight sword in its scabbard and the ancient harquebus—mute testimonials to the mighty physique and the warlike spirit of him who had somehow won, thus illy caparisoned and pitifully armed, to the center of savage, ancient Africa; and he saw the slender English youth and the slight figure of the girl cast into the same fateful trap from which this giant of old had been unable to escape—cast there wounded and broken perhaps, if not killed.
His judgment86 told him that the latter possibility was probably the fact, and yet there was a chance that they might have landed without fatal injuries, and so upon this slim chance he started out upon what he knew would be an arduous87 journey, fraught88 with many hardships and unspeakable peril89, that he might attempt to save them if they still lived.
He had covered a mile perhaps when his quick ears caught the sound of rapid movement along the game trail ahead of him. The sound, increasing in volume, proclaimed the fact that whatever caused it was moving in his direction and moving rapidly. Nor was it long before his trained senses convinced him that the footfalls were those of Bara, the deer, in rapid flight. Inextricably confused in Tarzan's character were the attributes of man and of beasts. Long experience had taught him that he fights best or travels fastest who is best nourished, and so, with few exceptions, Tarzan could delay his most urgent business to take advantage of an opportunity to kill and feed. This perhaps was the predominant beast trait in him. The transformation90 from an English gentleman, impelled by the most humanitarian91 motives93, to that of a wild beast crouching94 in the concealment95 of a dense96 bush ready to spring upon its approaching prey, was instantaneous.
And so, when Bara came, escaping the clutches of Numa and Sheeta, his terror and his haste precluded97 the possibility of his sensing that other equally formidable foe98 lying in ambush99 for him. Abreast100 of the ape-man came the deer; a light-brown body shot from the concealing101 verdure of the bush, strong arms encircled the sleek102 neck of the young buck and powerful teeth fastened themselves in the soft flesh. Together the two rolled over in the trail and a moment later the ape-man rose, and, with one foot upon the carcass of his kill, raised his voice in the victory cry of the bull ape.
Like an answering challenge came suddenly to the ears of the ape-man the thunderous roar of a lion, a hideous103 angry roar in which Tarzan thought that he discerned a note of surprise and terror. In the breast of the wild things of the jungle, as in the breasts of their more enlightened brothers and sisters of the human race, the characteristic of curiosity is well developed. Nor was Tarzan far from innocent of it. The peculiar104 note in the roar of his hereditary105 enemy aroused a desire to investigate, and so, throwing the carcass of Bara, the deer, across his shoulder, the ape-man took to the lower terraces of the forest and moved quickly in the direction from which the sound had come, which was in line with the trail he had set out upon.
As the distance lessened106, the sounds increased in volume, which indicated that he was approaching a very angry lion and presently, where a jungle giant overspread the broad game trail that countless107 thousands of hoofed108 and padded feet had worn and trampled109 into a deep furrow110 during perhaps countless ages, he saw beneath him the lion pit of the Wamabos and in it, leaping futilely112 for freedom such a lion as even Tarzan of the Apes never before had beheld113. A mighty beast it was that glared up at the ape-man—large, powerful and young, with a huge black mane and a coat so much darker than any Tarzan ever had seen that in the depths of the pit it looked almost black—a black lion!
Tarzan who had been upon the point of taunting114 and reviling115 his captive foe was suddenly turned to open admiration116 for the beauty of the splendid beast. What a creature! How by comparison the ordinary forest lion was dwarfed117 into insignificance118! Here indeed was one worthy119 to be called king of beasts. With his first sight of the great cat the ape-man knew that he had heard no note of terror in that initial roar; surprise doubtless, but the vocal chords of that mighty throat never had reacted to fear.
With growing admiration came a feeling of quick pity for the hapless situation of the great brute120 rendered futile111 and helpless by the wiles121 of the Gomangani. Enemy though the beast was, he was less an enemy to the ape-man than those blacks who had trapped him, for though Tarzan of the Apes claimed many fast and loyal friends among certain tribes of African natives, there were others of degraded character and bestial122 habits that he looked upon with utter loathing123, and of such were the human flesh-eaters of Numabo the chief. For a moment Numa, the lion, glared ferociously124 at the naked man-thing upon the tree limb above him. Steadily125 those yellow-green eyes bored into the clear eyes of the ape-man, and then the sensitive nostrils caught the scent of the fresh blood of Bara and the eyes moved to the carcass lying across the brown shoulder, and there came from the cavernous depths of the savage throat a low whine126.
Tarzan of the Apes smiled. As unmistakably as though a human voice had spoken, the lion had said to him "I am hungry, even more than hungry. I am starving," and the ape-man looked down upon the lion beneath him and smiled, a slow quizzical smile, and then he shifted the carcass from his shoulder to the branch before him and, drawing the long blade that had been his father's, deftly127 cut off a hind69 quarter and, wiping the bloody128 blade upon Bara's smooth coat, he returned it to its scabbard. Numa, with watering jaws129, looked up at the tempting130 meat and whined131 again and the ape-man smiled down upon him his slow smile and, raising the hind quarter in his strong brown hands buried his teeth in the tender, juicy flesh.
For the third time Numa, the lion, uttered that low pleading whine and then, with a rueful and disgusted shake of his head, Tarzan of the Apes raised the balance of the carcass of Bara, the deer, and hurled132 it to the famished133 beast below.
"Old woman," muttered the ape-man. "Tarzan has become a weak old woman. Presently he would shed tears because he has killed Bara, the deer. He cannot see Numa, his enemy, go hungry, because Tarzan's heart is turning to water by contact with the soft, weak creatures of civilization." But yet he smiled, nor was he sorry that he had given way to the dictates134 of a kindly135 impulse.
As Tarzan tore the flesh from that portion of the kill he had retained for himself his eyes were taking in each detail of the scene below. He saw the avidity with which Numa devoured136 the carcass; he noted137 with growing admiration the finer points of the beast, and also the cunning construction of the trap. The ordinary lion pit with which Tarzan was familiar had stakes imbedded in the bottom, upon whose sharpened points the hapless lion would be impaled138, but this pit was not so made. Here the short stakes were set at intervals139 of about a foot around the walls near the top, their sharpened points inclining downward so that the lion had fallen unhurt into the trap but could not leap out because each time he essayed it his head came in contact with the sharp end of a stake above him.
Evidently, then, the purpose of the Wamabos was to capture a lion alive. As this tribe had no contact whatsoever140 with white men in so far as Tarzan knew, their motive92 was doubtless due to a desire to torture the beast to death that they might enjoy to the utmost his dying agonies.
Having fed the lion, it presently occurred to Tarzan that his act would be futile were he to leave the beast to the mercies of the blacks, and then too it occurred to him that he could derive141 more pleasure through causing the blacks discomfiture142 than by leaving Numa to his fate. But how was he to release him? By removing two stakes there would be left plenty of room for the lion to leap from the pit, which was not of any great depth. However, what assurance had Tarzan that Numa would not leap out instantly the way to freedom was open, and before the ape-man could gain the safety of the trees? Regardless of the fact that Tarzan felt no such fear of the lion as you and I might experience under like circumstances, he yet was imbued143 with the sense of caution that is necessary to all creatures of the wild if they are to survive. Should necessity require, Tarzan could face Numa in battle, although he was not so egotistical as to think that he could best a full-grown lion in mortal combat other than through accident or the utilization144 of the cunning of his superior man-mind. To lay himself liable to death futilely, he would have considered as reprehensible145 as to have shunned146 danger in time of necessity; but when Tarzan elected to do a thing he usually found the means to accomplish it.
He had now fully85 determined147 to liberate148 Numa, and having so determined, he would accomplish it even though it entailed149 considerable personal risk. He knew that the lion would be occupied with his feeding for some time, but he also knew that while feeding he would be doubly resentful of any fancied interference. Therefore Tarzan must work with caution.
Coming to the ground at the side of the pit, he examined the stakes and as he did so was rather surprised to note that Numa gave no evidence of anger at his approach. Once he turned a searching gaze upon the ape-man for a moment and then returned to the flesh of Bara. Tarzan felt of the stakes and tested them with his weight. He pulled upon them with the muscles of his strong arms, presently discovering that by working them back and forth he could loosen them: and then a new plan was suggested to him so that he fell to work excavating150 with his knife at a point above where one of the stakes was imbedded. The loam151 was soft and easily removed, and it was not long until Tarzan had exposed that part of one of the stakes which was imbedded in the wall of the pit to almost its entire length, leaving only enough imbedded to prevent the stake from falling into the excavation152. Then he turned his attention to an adjoining stake and soon had it similarly exposed, after which he threw the noose153 of his grass rope over the two and swung quickly to the branch of the tree above. Here he gathered in the slack of the rope and, bracing154 himself against the bole of the tree, pulled steadily upward. Slowly the stakes rose from the trench155 in which they were imbedded and with them rose Numa's suspicion and growling156.
Was this some new encroachment157 upon his rights and his liberties? He was puzzled and, like all lions, being short of temper, he was irritated. He had not minded it when the Tarmangani squatted158 upon the verge159 of the pit and looked down upon him, for had not this Tarmangani fed him? But now something else was afoot and the suspicion of the wild beast was aroused. As he watched, however, Numa saw the stakes rise slowly to an erect position, tumble against each other and then fall backwards160 out of his sight upon the surface of the ground above. Instantly the lion grasped the possibilities of the situation, and, too, perhaps he sensed the fact that the man-thing had deliberately161 opened a way for his escape. Seizing the remains162 of Bara in his great jaws, Numa, the lion, leaped agilely163 from the pit of the Wamabos and Tarzan of the Apes melted into the jungles to the east.
On the surface of the ground or through the swaying branches of the trees the spoor of man or beast was an open book to the ape-man, but even his acute senses were baffled by the spoorless trail of the airship. Of what good were eyes, or ears, or the sense of smell in following a thing whose path had lain through the shifting air thousands of feet above the tree tops? Only upon his sense of direction could Tarzan depend in his search for the fallen plane. He could not even judge accurately164 as to the distance it might lie from him, and he knew that from the moment that it disappeared beyond the hills it might have traveled a considerable distance at right angles to its original course before it crashed to earth. If its occupants were killed or badly injured the ape-man might search futilely in their immediate165 vicinity for some time before finding them.
There was but one thing to do and that was to travel to a point as close as possible to where he judged the plane had landed, and then to follow in ever-widening circles until he picked up their scent spoor. And this he did.
Before he left the valley of plenty he made several kills and carried the choicest cuts of meat with him, leaving all the dead weight of bones behind. The dense vegetation of the jungle terminated at the foot of the western slope, growing less and less abundant as he neared the summit beyond which was a sparse166 growth of sickly scrub and sunburned grasses, with here and there a gnarled and hardy167 tree that had withstood the vicissitudes168 of an almost waterless existence.
From the summit of the hills Tarzan's keen eyes searched the arid landscape before him. In the distance he discerned the ragged169 tortuous lines that marked the winding19 course of the hideous gorges which scored the broad plain at intervals—the terrible gorges that had so nearly claimed his life in punishment for his temerity170 in attempting to invade the sanctity of their ancient solitude171.
For two days Tarzan sought futilely for some clew to the whereabouts of the machine or its occupants. He cached portions of his kills at different points, building cairns of rock to mark their locations. He crossed the first deep gorge and circled far beyond it. Occasionally he stopped and called aloud, listening for some response but only silence rewarded him—a sinister172 silence that his cries only accentuated173.
Late in the evening of the second day he came to the well-remembered gorge in which lay the clean-picked bones of the ancient adventurer, and here, for the first time, Ska, the vulture, picked up his trail. "Not this time, Ska," cried the ape-man in a taunting voice, "for now indeed is Tarzan Tarzan. Before, you stalked the grim skeleton of a Tarmangani and even then you lost. Waste not your time upon Tarzan of the Apes in the full of his strength." But still Ska, the vulture, circled and soared above him, and the ape-man, notwithstanding his boasts, felt a shudder174 of apprehension175. Through his brain ran a persistent176 and doleful chant to which he involuntarily set two words, repeated over and over again in horrible monotony: "Ska knows! Ska knows!" until, shaking himself in anger, he picked up a rock and hurled it at the grim scavenger177.
Lowering himself over the precipitous side of the gorge Tarzan half clambered and half slid to the sandy floor beneath. He had come upon the rift178 at almost the exact spot at which he had clambered from it weeks before, and there he saw, just as he had left it, just, doubtless, as it had lain for centuries, the mighty skeleton and its mighty armor.
As he stood looking down upon this grim reminder179 that another man of might had succumbed180 to the cruel powers of the desert, he was brought to startled attention by the report of a firearm, the sound of which came from the depths of the gorge to the south of him, and reverberated181 along the steep walls of the narrow rift.
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1
wary
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| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
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elude
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| v.躲避，困惑 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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talons
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| n.（尤指猛禽的）爪( talon的名词复数 )；（如爪般的）手指；爪状物；锁簧尖状突出部 | |
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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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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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7
rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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8
twig
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| n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解 | |
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quarry
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| n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找 | |
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aisles
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| n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊 | |
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wafted
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| v.吹送，飘送，（使）浮动( waft的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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avid
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| adj.热心的；贪婪的；渴望的；劲头十足的 | |
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gnawing
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| a.痛苦的，折磨人的 | |
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premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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tortuous
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| adj.弯弯曲曲的，蜿蜒的 | |
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windings
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| （道路、河流等）蜿蜒的，弯曲的( winding的名词复数 )； 缠绕( wind的现在分词 )； 卷绕； 转动（把手） | |
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winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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buck
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| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 | |
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snarling
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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sinuous
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| adj.蜿蜒的，迂回的 | |
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extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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vocal
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| adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目 | |
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spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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verging
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| 接近，逼近（verge的现在分词形式） | |
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meddling
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| v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 ) | |
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doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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valor
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| n.勇气，英勇 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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disdained
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| 鄙视( disdain的过去式和过去分词 )； 不屑于做，不愿意做 | |
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decrepit
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| adj.衰老的，破旧的 | |
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wariest
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| 谨慎的，小心翼翼的( wary的最高级 ) | |
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agile
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| adj.敏捷的，灵活的 | |
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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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belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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41
hyena
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| n.土狼，鬣狗 | |
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42
frailties
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| n.脆弱( frailty的名词复数 )；虚弱；（性格或行为上的）弱点；缺点 | |
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43
apprised
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| v.告知，通知( apprise的过去式和过去分词 )；评价 | |
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44
rumbled
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| 发出隆隆声，发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 轰鸣着缓慢行进； 发现…的真相； 看穿（阴谋） | |
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45
majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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46
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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47
twigs
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| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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48
precipitated
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| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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49
excavated
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| v.挖掘( excavate的过去式和过去分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘 | |
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50
diminutive
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| adj.小巧可爱的，小的 | |
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51
hampering
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| 妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的现在分词 ) | |
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52
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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53
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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54
speck
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| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
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55
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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56
akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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57
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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58
slay
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| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
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59
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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60
irritable
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| adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的 | |
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61
expunge
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| v.除去，删掉 | |
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62
loomed
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| 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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63
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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64
agility
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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65
bough
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| n.大树枝，主枝 | |
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66
eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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67
momentum
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| n.动力，冲力，势头；动量 | |
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68
abate
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| vi.(风势，疼痛等)减弱，减轻，减退 | |
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69
hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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70
landmarks
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| n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址） | |
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71
impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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72
gorges
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| n.山峡，峡谷( gorge的名词复数 )；咽喉v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的第三人称单数 )；作呕 | |
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73
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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74
arid
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| adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的 | |
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75
parched
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| adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干 | |
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76
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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77
succumbing
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的现在分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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78
relentless
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| adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的 | |
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79
lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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80
vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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81
bleached
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| 漂白的，晒白的，颜色变浅的 | |
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82
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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83
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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84
corroded
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| 已被腐蚀的 | |
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85
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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86
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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87
arduous
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| adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的 | |
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88
fraught
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| adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的 | |
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89
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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90
transformation
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| n.变化；改造；转变 | |
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91
humanitarian
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| n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者 | |
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92
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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93
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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94
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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95
concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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96
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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97
precluded
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| v.阻止( preclude的过去式和过去分词 )；排除；妨碍；使…行不通 | |
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98
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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99
ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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100
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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101
concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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102
sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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103
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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104
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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105
hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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106
lessened
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| 减少的，减弱的 | |
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107
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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108
hoofed
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|
| adj.有蹄的，蹄形状的，装蹄的v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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109
trampled
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| 踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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110
furrow
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| n.沟；垄沟；轨迹；车辙；皱纹 | |
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111
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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112
futilely
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| futile（无用的）的变形； 干 | |
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113
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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114
taunting
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| 嘲讽( taunt的现在分词 )； 嘲弄； 辱骂； 奚落 | |
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115
reviling
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| v.辱骂，痛斥( revile的现在分词 ) | |
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116
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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117
dwarfed
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| vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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118
insignificance
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| n.不重要；无价值；无意义 | |
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119
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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120
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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121
wiles
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| n.（旨在欺骗或吸引人的）诡计，花招；欺骗，欺诈( wile的名词复数 ) | |
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122
bestial
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| adj.残忍的；野蛮的 | |
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123
loathing
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| n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢 | |
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124
ferociously
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| 野蛮地，残忍地 | |
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125
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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126
whine
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| v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣 | |
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127
deftly
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| adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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128
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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129
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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130
tempting
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| a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
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131
whined
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| v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 )；哀诉，诉怨 | |
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132
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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133
famished
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| adj.饥饿的 | |
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134
dictates
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| n.命令，规定，要求( dictate的名词复数 )v.大声讲或读( dictate的第三人称单数 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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135
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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136
devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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137
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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138
impaled
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| 钉在尖桩上( impale的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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139
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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140
whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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141
derive
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| v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自 | |
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142
discomfiture
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| n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑 | |
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143
imbued
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| v.使（某人/某事）充满或激起（感情等）( imbue的过去式和过去分词 )；使充满；灌输；激发（强烈感情或品质等） | |
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144
utilization
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| n.利用，效用 | |
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145
reprehensible
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| adj.该受责备的 | |
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146
shunned
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| v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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147
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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148
liberate
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| v.解放，使获得自由，释出，放出；vt.解放，使获自由 | |
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149
entailed
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| 使…成为必要( entail的过去式和过去分词 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
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150
excavating
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| v.挖掘( excavate的现在分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘 | |
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151
loam
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| n.沃土 | |
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152
excavation
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| n.挖掘，发掘；被挖掘之地 | |
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153
noose
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| n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑 | |
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154
bracing
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| adj.令人振奋的 | |
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155
trench
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| n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕 | |
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156
growling
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| n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼 | |
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157
encroachment
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| n.侵入，蚕食 | |
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158
squatted
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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159
verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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160
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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161
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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162
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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163
agilely
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| adv.敏捷地 | |
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164
accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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166
sparse
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| adj.稀疏的，稀稀落落的，薄的 | |
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167
hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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168
vicissitudes
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| n.变迁，世事变化；变迁兴衰( vicissitude的名词复数 )；盛衰兴废 | |
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169
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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170
temerity
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| n.鲁莽，冒失 | |
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171
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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172
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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173
accentuated
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| v.重读( accentuate的过去式和过去分词 )；使突出；使恶化；加重音符号于 | |
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174
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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175
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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176
persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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177
scavenger
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| n.以腐尸为食的动物，清扫工 | |
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178
rift
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| n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入 | |
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179
reminder
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| n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示 | |
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180
succumbed
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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181
reverberated
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| 回响，回荡( reverberate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射 | |
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