He had now cast from him the last vestige1 of his loyalty2 for his employer, and thus freed had determined3 to use every means within his power to win Professor Maxon's daughter, and with her the heritage of wealth which he knew would be hers should her father, through some unforeseen mishap4, meet death before he could return to civilization and alter his will, a contingency5 which von Horn knew he might have to consider should he marry the girl against her father's wishes, and thus thwart6 the crazed man's mad, but no less dear project.
He realized that first he must let the girl fully7 understand the grave peril8 in which she stood, and turn her hope of protection from her father to himself. He imagined that the initial step in undermining Virginia's confidence in her father would be to narrate9 every detail of the weird10 experiments which Professor Maxon had brought to such successful issues during their residence upon the island.
The girl's own questioning gave him the lead he needed.
"Where could that horrid11 creature have come from that set upon me in the jungle and nearly killed poor Sing?" she asked.
"I cannot tell you, Miss Maxon," he said sadly, "how much I should hate to be the one to ignore your father's commands, and enlighten you upon this and other subjects which lie nearer to your personal welfare than you can possibly guess; but I feel that after the horrors of this day duty demands that I must lay all before you—you cannot again be exposed to the horrors from which you were rescued only by a miracle."
"I cannot imagine what you hint at, Dr. von Horn," said Virginia, "but if to explain to me will necessitate13 betraying my father's confidence I prefer that you remain silent."
"You do not understand," broke in the man, "you cannot guess the horrors that I have seen upon this island, or the worse horrors that are to come. Could you dream of what lies in store for you, you would seek death rather than face the future. I have been loyal to your father, Virginia, but were you not blind, or indifferent, you would long since have seen that your welfare means more to me than my loyalty to him—more to me than my life or my honor.
"You asked where the creature came from that attacked you today. I shall tell you. It is one of a dozen similarly hideous14 things that your father has created in his mad desire to solve the problem of life. He has solved it; but, God, at what a price in misshapen, soulless, hideous monsters!"
The girl looked up at him, horror stricken.
"Do you mean to say that my father in a mad attempt to usurp15 the functions of God created that awful thing?" she asked in a low, faint voice, "and that there are others like it upon the island?"
"In the campong next to yours there are a dozen others," replied von Horn, "nor would it be easy to say which is the most hideous and repulsive16. They are grotesque17 caricatures of humanity—without soul and almost without brain."
"God!" murmured the girl, burying her face in her hands, "he has gone mad; he has gone mad."
"I truly believe that he is mad," said von Horn, "nor could you doubt it for a moment were I to tell you the worst."
"The worst!" exclaimed the girl. "What could be worse than that which you already have divulged18? Oh, how could you have permitted it?"
"There is much worse than I have told you, Virginia. So much worse that I can scarce force my lips to frame the words, but you must be told. I would be more criminally liable than your father were I to keep it from you, for my brain, at least, is not crazed. Virginia, you have in your mind a picture of the hideous thing that carried you off into the jungle?"
Von Horn grasped her arm gently as he went on, as though to support and protect her during the shock that he was about to administer.
"Virginia," he said in a very low voice, "it is your father's intention to wed21 you to one of his creatures."
The girl broke from him with an angry cry.
"It is not true!" she exclaimed. "It is not true. Oh, Dr. von Horn how could you tell me such a cruel and terrible untruth."
"As God is my judge, Virginia," and the man reverently22 uncovered as he spoke23, "it is the truth. Your father told me it in so many words when I asked his permission to pay court to you myself—you are to marry Number Thirteen when his education is complete."
"I shall die first!" she cried.
"Why not accept me instead?" suggested the man.
For a moment Virginia looked straight into his eyes as though to read his inmost soul.
"Let me have time to consider it, Doctor," she replied. "I do not know that I care for you in that way at all."
"Think of Number Thirteen," he suggested. "It should not be difficult to decide."
"I could not marry you simply to escape a worse fate," replied the girl. "I am not that cowardly—but let me think it over. There can be no immediate24 danger, I am sure."
"One can never tell," replied von Horn, "what strange, new vagaries25 may enter a crazed mind to dictate26 this moment's action or the next."
"Where could we wed?" asked Virginia.
"The Ithaca would bear us to Singapore, and when we returned you would be under my legal protection and safe."
"I shall think about it from every angle," she answered sadly, "and now good night, my dear friend," and with a wan27 smile she entered her quarters.
For the next month Professor Maxon was busy educating Number Thirteen. He found the young man intelligent far beyond his most sanguine28 hopes, so that the progress made was little short of uncanny.
Von Horn during this time continued to urge upon Virginia the necessity for a prompt and favorable decision in the matter of his proposal; but when it came time to face the issue squarely the girl found it impossible to accede29 to his request—she thought that she loved him, but somehow she dared not say the word that would make her his for life.
Bududreen, the Malay mate was equally harassed30 by conflicting desires, though of a different nature, for he had his eye upon the main chance that was represented to him by the great chest, and also upon the lesser31 reward which awaited him upon delivery of the girl to Rajah Muda Saffir. The fact that he could find no safe means for accomplishing both these ends simultaneously32 was all that had protected either from his machinations.
The presence of the uncanny creatures of the court of mystery had become known to the Malay and he used this knowledge as an argument to foment33 discord34 and mutiny in the ignorant and superstitious35 crew under his command. By boring a hole in the partition wall separating their campong from the inner one he had disclosed to the horrified36 view of his men the fearsome brutes37 harbored so close to them. The mate, of course, had no suspicion of the true origin of these monsters, but his knowledge of the fact that they had not been upon the island when the Ithaca arrived and that it would have been impossible for them to have landed and reached the camp without having been seen by himself or some member of his company, was sufficient evidence to warrant him in attributing their presence to some supernatural and malignant38 power.
This explanation the crew embraced willingly, and with it Bududreen's suggestion that Professor Maxon had power to transform them all into similar atrocities40. The ball once started gained size and momentum41 as it progressed. The professor's ofttimes strange expression was attributed to an evil eye, and every ailment42 suffered by any member of the crew was blamed upon their employer's Satanic influence. There was but one escape from the horrors of such a curse—the death of its author; and when Bududreen discovered that they had reached this point, and were even discussing the method of procedure, he added all that was needed to the dangerously smouldering embers of bloody43 mutiny by explaining that should anything happen to the white men he would become sole owner of their belongings44, including the heavy chest, and that the reward of each member of the crew would be generous.
Von Horn was really the only stumbling block in Bududreen's path. With the natural cowardice45 of the Malay he feared this masterful American who never moved without a brace39 of guns slung46 about his hips47; and it was at just this psychological moment that the doctor played into the hands of his subordinate, much to the latter's inward elation48.
Von Horn had finally despaired of winning Virginia by peaceful court, and had about decided49 to resort to force when he was precipitately50 confirmed in his decision by a conversation with the girl's father.
He and the professor were talking in the workshop of the remarkable51 progress of Number Thirteen toward a complete mastery of English and the ways and manners of society, in which von Horn had been assisting his employer to train the young giant. The breach52 between the latter and von Horn had been patched over by Professor Maxon's explanations to Number Thirteen as soon as the young man was able to comprehend—in the meantime it had been necessary to keep von Horn out of the workshop except when the giant was confined in his own room off the larger one.
Von Horn had been particularly anxious, for the furtherance of certain plans he had in mind, to effect a reconciliation53 with Number Thirteen, to reach a basis of friendship with the young man, and had left no stone unturned to accomplish this result. To this end he had spent considerable time with Number Thirteen, coaching him in English and in the ethics54 of human association.
"He is progressing splendidly, Doctor," Professor Maxon had said. "It will be but a matter of a day or so when I can introduce him to Virginia, but we must be careful that she has no inkling of his origin until mutual55 affection has gained a sure foothold between them."
"And if that should not occur?" questioned von Horn.
"I should prefer that they mated voluntarily," replied the professor, the strange gleam leaping to his eyes at the suggestion of possible antagonism56 to his cherished plan, "but if not, then they shall be compelled by the force of my authority—they both belong to me, body and soul."
"You will wait for the final consummation of your desires until you return with them to civilization, I presume," said von Horn.
"And why?" returned the professor. "I can wed them here myself—it would be the surer way—yes, that is what I shall do."
It was this determination on the part of Professor Maxon that decided von Horn to act at once. Further, it lent a reasonable justification57 for his purposed act.
Shortly after their talk the older man left the workshop, and von Horn took the opportunity to inaugurate the second move of his campaign. Number Thirteen was sitting near a window which let upon the inner court, busy with the rudiments58 of written English. Von Horn approached him.
"You are getting along nicely, Jack59," he said kindly60, looking over the other's shoulder and using the name which had been adopted at his suggestion to lend a more human tone to their relations with the nameless man.
"Yes," replied the other, looking up with a smile. "Professor Maxon says that in another day or two I may come and live in his own house, and again meet his beautiful daughter. It seems almost too good to be true that I shall actually live under the same roof with her and see her every day—sit at the same table with her—and walk with her among the beautiful trees and flowers that witnessed our first meeting. I wonder if she will remember me. I wonder if she will be as glad to see me again as I shall be to see her."
"Jack," said von Horn, sadly, "I am afraid there is a terrible and disappointing awakening61 for you. It grieves me that it should be so, but it seems only fair to tell you, what Professor Maxon either does not know or has forgotten, that his daughter will not look with pleasure upon you when she learns your origin.
"You are not as other men. You are but the accident of a laboratory experiment. You have no soul, and the soul is all that raises man above the beasts. Jack, poor boy, you are not a human being—you are not even a beast. The world, and Miss Maxon is of the world, will look upon you as a terrible creature to be shunned—a horrible monstrosity far lower in the scale of creation than the lowest order of brutes.
"Look," and the man pointed62 through the window toward the group of hideous things that wandered aimlessly about the court of mystery. "You are of the same breed as those, you differ from them only in the symmetry of your face and features, and the superior development of your brain. There is no place in the world for them, nor for you.
"I am sorry that it is so. I am sorry that I should have to be the one to tell you; but it is better that you know it now from a friend than that you meet the bitter truth when you least expected it, and possibly from the lips of one like Miss Maxon for whom you might have formed a hopeless affection."
As von Horn spoke the expression on the young man's face became more and more hopeless, and when he had ceased he dropped his head into his open palms, sitting quiet and motionless as a carven statue. No sob63 shook his great frame, there was no outward indication of the terrible grief that racked him inwardly—only in the pose was utter dejection and hopelessness.
The older man could not repress a cold smile—it had had more effect than he had hoped.
"Don't take it too hard, my boy," he continued. "The world is wide. It would be easy to find a thousand places where your antecedents would be neither known nor questioned. You might be very happy elsewhere and there are a hundred thousand girls as beautiful and sweet as Virginia Maxon—remember that you have never seen another, so you can scarcely judge."
"Why did he ever bring me into the world?" exclaimed the young man suddenly. "It was wicked—wicked—terribly cruel and wicked."
"I agree with you," said von Horn quickly, seeing another possibility that would make his future plans immeasurably easier. "It was wicked, and it is still more wicked to continue the work and bring still other unfortunate creatures into the world to be the butt64 and plaything of cruel fate."
"He intends to do that?" asked the youth.
"Unless he is stopped," replied von Horn.
"He must be stopped," cried the other. "Even if it were necessary to kill him."
Von Horn was quite satisfied with the turn events had taken. He shrugged65 his shoulders and turned on his heel toward the outer campong.
"If he had wronged me as he has you, and those others," with a gesture toward the court of mystery, "I should not be long in reaching a decision." And with that he passed out, leaving the door unlatched.
Von Horn went straight to the south campong and sought out Bududreen. Motioning the Malay to follow him they walked across the clearing and entered the jungle out of sight and hearing of the camp. Sing, hanging clothes in the north end of the clearing saw them depart, and wondered a little.
"Bududreen," said von Horn, when the two had reached a safe distance from the enclosures, "there is no need of mincing66 matters—something must be done at once. I do not know how much you know of the work that Professor Maxon has been engaged in since we reached this island; but it has been hellish enough and it must go no further. You have seen the creatures in the campong next to yours?"
"I have seen," replied Bududreen, with a shudder.
"Professor Maxon intends to wed one of these to his daughter," von Horn continued. "She loves me and we wish to escape—can I rely on you and your men to aid us? There is a chest in the workshop which we must take along too, and I can assure you that you all will be well rewarded for your work. We intend merely to leave Professor Maxon here with the creatures he has created."
Bududreen could scarce repress a smile—it was indeed too splendid to be true.
"There will be the Professor Maxon," urged the Malay. "Some day he will escape from the island, and then we shall all hang."
"He will never escape," replied von Horn, "his own creatures will see to that. They are already commencing to realize the horrible crime he has committed against them, and when once they are fully aroused there will be no safety for any of us. If you wish to leave the island at all it will be best for you to accept my proposal and leave while your head yet remains68 upon your shoulders. Were we to suggest to the professor that he leave now he would not only refuse but he would take steps to make it impossible for any of us to leave, even to sinking the Ithaca. The man is mad—quite mad—Bududreen, and we cannot longer jeopardize69 our own throats merely to humor his crazy and criminal whims70."
The Malay was thinking fast, and could von Horn have guessed what thoughts raced through the tortuous71 channels of that semi-barbarous brain he would have wished himself safely housed in the American prison where he belonged.
"When do you wish to sail?" asked the Malay.
"Tonight," replied von Horn, and together they matured their plans. An hour later the second mate with six men disappeared into the jungle toward the harbor. They, with the three on watch, were to get the vessel72 in readiness for immediate departure.
After the evening meal von Horn sat on the verandah with Virginia Maxon until the Professor came from the workshop to retire for the night. As he passed them he stopped for a word with von Horn, taking him aside out of the girl's hearing.
"Have you noticed anything peculiar73 in the actions of Thirteen?" asked the older man. "He was sullen74 and morose75 this evening, and at times there was a strange, wild light in his eyes as he looked at me. Can it be possible that, after all, his brain is defective76? It would be terrible. My work would have gone for naught77, for I can see no way in which I can improve upon him."
"I will go and have a talk with him later," said von Horn, "so if you hear us moving about in the workshop, or even out here in the campong think nothing of it. I may take him for a long walk. It is possible that the hard study and close confinement78 to that little building have been too severe upon his brain and nerves. A long walk each evening may bring him around all right."
"Splendid—splendid," replied the professor. "You may be quite right. Do it by all means, my dear doctor," and there was a touch of the old, friendly, sane79 tone which had been so long missing, that almost caused von Horn to feel a trace of compunction for the hideous act of disloyalty that he was on the verge80 of perpetrating.
As Professor Maxon entered the house von Horn returned to Virginia and suggested that they take a short walk outside the campong before retiring. The girl readily acquiesced81 to the plan, and a moment later found them strolling through the clearing toward the southern end of the camp. In the dark shadows of the gateway82 leading to the men's enclosure a figure crouched83. The girl did not see it, but as they came opposite it von Horn coughed twice, and then the two passed on toward the edge of the jungle.
点击收听单词发音
1 vestige | |
n.痕迹,遗迹,残余 | |
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2 loyalty | |
n.忠诚,忠心 | |
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3 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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4 mishap | |
n.不幸的事,不幸;灾祸 | |
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5 contingency | |
n.意外事件,可能性 | |
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6 thwart | |
v.阻挠,妨碍,反对;adj.横(断的) | |
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7 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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8 peril | |
n.(严重的)危险;危险的事物 | |
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9 narrate | |
v.讲,叙述 | |
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10 weird | |
adj.古怪的,离奇的;怪诞的,神秘而可怕的 | |
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11 horrid | |
adj.可怕的;令人惊恐的;恐怖的;极讨厌的 | |
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12 query | |
n.疑问,问号,质问;vt.询问,表示怀疑 | |
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13 necessitate | |
v.使成为必要,需要 | |
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14 hideous | |
adj.丑陋的,可憎的,可怕的,恐怖的 | |
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15 usurp | |
vt.篡夺,霸占;vi.篡位 | |
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16 repulsive | |
adj.排斥的,使人反感的 | |
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17 grotesque | |
adj.怪诞的,丑陋的;n.怪诞的图案,怪人(物) | |
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18 divulged | |
v.吐露,泄露( divulge的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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19 divulge | |
v.泄漏(秘密等);宣布,公布 | |
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20 shudder | |
v.战粟,震动,剧烈地摇晃;n.战粟,抖动 | |
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21 wed | |
v.娶,嫁,与…结婚 | |
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22 reverently | |
adv.虔诚地 | |
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23 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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24 immediate | |
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
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25 vagaries | |
n.奇想( vagary的名词复数 );异想天开;异常行为;难以预测的情况 | |
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26 dictate | |
v.口授;(使)听写;指令,指示,命令 | |
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27 wan | |
(wide area network)广域网 | |
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28 sanguine | |
adj.充满希望的,乐观的,血红色的 | |
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29 accede | |
v.应允,同意 | |
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30 harassed | |
adj. 疲倦的,厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词 | |
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31 lesser | |
adj.次要的,较小的;adv.较小地,较少地 | |
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32 simultaneously | |
adv.同时发生地,同时进行地 | |
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33 foment | |
v.煽动,助长 | |
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34 discord | |
n.不和,意见不合,争论,(音乐)不和谐 | |
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35 superstitious | |
adj.迷信的 | |
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36 horrified | |
a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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37 brutes | |
兽( brute的名词复数 ); 畜生; 残酷无情的人; 兽性 | |
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38 malignant | |
adj.恶性的,致命的;恶意的,恶毒的 | |
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39 brace | |
n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备 | |
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40 atrocities | |
n.邪恶,暴行( atrocity的名词复数 );滔天大罪 | |
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41 momentum | |
n.动力,冲力,势头;动量 | |
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42 ailment | |
n.疾病,小病 | |
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43 bloody | |
adj.非常的的;流血的;残忍的;adv.很;vt.血染 | |
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44 belongings | |
n.私人物品,私人财物 | |
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45 cowardice | |
n.胆小,怯懦 | |
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46 slung | |
抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 ); 吊挂; 遣送; 押往 | |
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47 hips | |
abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯,耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 );[建筑学]屋脊;臀围(尺寸);臀部…的 | |
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48 elation | |
n.兴高采烈,洋洋得意 | |
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49 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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50 precipitately | |
adv.猛进地 | |
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51 remarkable | |
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
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52 breach | |
n.违反,不履行;破裂;vt.冲破,攻破 | |
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53 reconciliation | |
n.和解,和谐,一致 | |
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54 ethics | |
n.伦理学;伦理观,道德标准 | |
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55 mutual | |
adj.相互的,彼此的;共同的,共有的 | |
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56 antagonism | |
n.对抗,敌对,对立 | |
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57 justification | |
n.正当的理由;辩解的理由 | |
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58 rudiments | |
n.基础知识,入门 | |
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59 jack | |
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克 | |
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60 kindly | |
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地 | |
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61 awakening | |
n.觉醒,醒悟 adj.觉醒中的;唤醒的 | |
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62 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
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63 sob | |
n.空间轨道的轰炸机;呜咽,哭泣 | |
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64 butt | |
n.笑柄;烟蒂;枪托;臀部;v.用头撞或顶 | |
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65 shrugged | |
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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66 mincing | |
adj.矫饰的;v.切碎;切碎 | |
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67 perilous | |
adj.危险的,冒险的 | |
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68 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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69 jeopardize | |
vt.危及,损害 | |
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70 WHIMS | |
虚妄,禅病 | |
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71 tortuous | |
adj.弯弯曲曲的,蜿蜒的 | |
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72 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
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73 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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74 sullen | |
adj.愠怒的,闷闷不乐的,(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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75 morose | |
adj.脾气坏的,不高兴的 | |
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76 defective | |
adj.有毛病的,有问题的,有瑕疵的 | |
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77 naught | |
n.无,零 [=nought] | |
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78 confinement | |
n.幽禁,拘留,监禁;分娩;限制,局限 | |
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79 sane | |
adj.心智健全的,神志清醒的,明智的,稳健的 | |
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80 verge | |
n.边,边缘;v.接近,濒临 | |
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81 acquiesced | |
v.默认,默许( acquiesce的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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82 gateway | |
n.大门口,出入口,途径,方法 | |
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83 crouched | |
v.屈膝,蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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