The youth begged that he might accompany Bridge upon the road, pleading that his mother was dead and that he could not return home after his escapade. And Bridge could not find it in his heart to refuse him, for the man realized that the boyish waif possessed3 a subtile attraction, as forceful as it was inexplicable4. Not since he had followed the open road in company with Billy Byrne had Bridge met one with whom he might care to 'Pal5' before The Kid crossed his path on the dark and storm swept pike south of Oakdale.
In Byrne, mucker, pugilist, and MAN, Bridge had found a physical and moral counterpart of himself, for the slender Bridge was muscled as a Greek god, while the stocky Byrne, metamorphosed by the fire of a woman's love, possessed all the chivalry6 of the care free tramp whose vagabondage had never succeeded in submerging the evidences of his cultural birthright.
In the youth Bridge found an intellectual equal with the added charm of a physical dependent. The man did not attempt to fathom7 the evident appeal of the other's tacitly acknowledged cowardice8; he merely knew that he would not have had the youth otherwise if he could have changed him. Ordinarily he accepted male cowardice with the resignation of surfeited10 disgust; but in the case of The Oskaloosa Kid he realized a certain artless charm which but tended to strengthen his liking11 for the youth, so brazen12 and unaffected was the boy's admission of his terror of both the real and the unreal menaces of this night of horror.
That the girl also was well bred was quite evident to Bridge, while both the girl and the youth realized the refinement13 of the strange companion and protector which Fate had ordered for them, while they also saw in one another social counterparts of themselves. Thus, as the night dragged its slow course, the three came to trust each other more entirely14 and to speculate upon the strange train of circumstances which had brought them thus remarkably15 together—the thief, the murderer's accomplice16, and the vagabond.
It was during a period of thoughtful silence when the night was darkest just before the dawn and the rain had settled to a dismal17 drizzle18 unrelieved by lightning or by thunder that the five occupants of the room were suddenly startled by a strange pattering sound from the floor below. It was as the questioning fall of a child's feet upon the uncarpeted boards in the room beneath them. Frozen to silent rigidity19, the five sat straining every faculty21 to catch the minutest sound from the black void where the dead man lay, and as they listened there came up to them, mingled22 with the inexplicable footsteps, the hollow reverberation23 from the dank cellar—the hideous24 dragging of the chain behind the nameless horror which had haunted them through the interminable eons of the ghastly night.
Up, up, up it came toward the first floor. The pattering of the feet ceased. The clanking rose until the five heard the scraping of the chain against the door frame at the head of the cellar stairs. They heard it pass across the floor toward the center of the room and then, loud and piercing, there rang out against the silence of the awful night a woman's shriek26.
Instantly Bridge leaped to his feet. Without a word he tore the bed from before the door.
“I am going down to that woman,” said Bridge, and he drew the bolt, rusty28 and complaining, from its corroded29 seat.
“No!” screamed the girl, and seconding her the youth sprang to his feet and threw his arms about Bridge.
“Please! Please!” he cried. “Oh, please don't leave me.”
The girl also ran to the man's side and clutched him by the sleeve.
“Don't go!” she begged. “Oh, for God's sake, don't leave us here alone!”
“You heard a woman scream, didn't you?” asked Bridge. “Do you suppose I can stay in up here when a woman may be facing death a few feet below me?”
For answer the girl but held more tightly to his arm while the youth slipped to the floor and embraced the man's knees in a vice-like hold which he could not break without hurting his detainer.
“Come! Come!” expostulated Bridge. “Let me go.”
“Wait!” begged the girl. “Wait until you know that it is a human voice that screams through this horrible place.”
The youth only strained his hold tighter about the man's legs. Bridge felt a soft cheek pressed to his knee; and, for some unaccountable reason, the appeal was stronger than the pleading of the girl. Slowly Bridge realized that he could not leave this defenseless youth alone even though a dozen women might be menaced by the uncanny death below. With a firm hand he shot the bolt. “Leave go of me,” he said; “I shan't leave you unless she calls for help in articulate words.”
The boy rose and, trembling, pressed close to the man who, involuntarily, threw a protecting arm about the slim figure. The girl, too, drew nearer, while the two yeggmen rose and stood in rigid20 silence by the window. From below came an occasional rattle31 of the chain, followed after a few minutes by the now familiar clanking as the iron links scraped across the flooring. Mingled with the sound of the chain there rose to them what might have been the slow and ponderous32 footsteps of a heavy man, dragging painfully across the floor. For a few moments they heard it, and then all was silent.
For a dozen tense minutes the five listened; but there was no repetition of any sound from below. Suddenly the girl breathed a deep sigh, and the spell of terror was broken. Bridge felt rather than heard the youth sobbing33 softly against his breast, while across the room The General gave a quick, nervous laugh which he as immediately suppressed as though fearful unnecessarily of calling attention to their presence. The other vagabond fumbled34 with his hypodermic needle and the narcotic35 which would quickly give his fluttering nerves the quiet they craved36.
Bridge, the boy, and the girl shivered together in their soggy clothing upon the edge of the bed, feeling now in the cold dawn the chill discomfort37 of which the excitement of the earlier hours of the night had rendered them unconscious. The youth coughed.
“You've caught cold,” said Bridge, his tone almost self-reproachful, as though he were entirely responsible for the boy's condition. “We're a nice aggregation38 of mollycoddles—five of us sitting half frozen up here with a stove on the floor below, and just because we heard a noise which we couldn't explain and hadn't the nerve to investigate.” He rose. “I'm going down, rustle39 some wood and build a fire in that stove—you two kids have got to dry those clothes of yours and get warmed up or we'll have a couple of hospital cases on our hands.”
Once again rose a chorus of pleas and objections. Oh, wouldn't he wait until daylight? See! the dawn was even then commencing to break. They didn't dare go down and they begged him not to leave them up there alone.
At this Dopey Charlie spoke40 up. The 'hop41' had commenced to assert its dominion42 over his shattered nervous system instilling43 within him a new courage and a feeling of utter well-being44. “Go on down,” said he to Bridge. “The General an' I'll look after the kids—won't we bo?”
“I'll tell you what we'll do,” said Bridge; “we'll leave the kids up here and we three'll go down. They won't go, and I wouldn't leave them up here with you two morons47 on a bet.”
The General and Dopey Charlie didn't know what a moron46 was but they felt quite certain from Bridge's tone of voice that a moron was not a nice thing, and anyway no one could have bribed48 them to descend49 into the darkness of the lower floor with the dead man and the grisly THING that prowled through the haunted chambers50; so they flatly refused to budge51 an inch.
Bridge saw in the gradually lighting52 sky the near approach of full daylight; so he contented53 himself with making the girl and the youth walk briskly to and fro in the hope that stimulated55 circulation might at least partially56 overcome the menace of the damp clothing and the chill air, and thus they occupied the remaining hour of the night.
From below came no repetition of the inexplicable noises of that night of terror and at last, with every object plainly discernible in the light of the new day, Bridge would delay no longer; but voiced his final determination to descend and make a fire in the old kitchen stove. Both the boy and the girl insisted upon accompanying him. For the first time each had an opportunity to study the features of his companions of the night. Bridge found in the girl and the youth two dark eyed, good-looking young people. In the girl's face was, perhaps, just a trace of weakness; but it was not the face of one who consorts57 habitually58 with criminals. The man appraised59 her as a pretty, small-town girl who had been led into a temporary escapade by the monotony of village life, and he would have staked his soul that she was not a bad girl.
The boy, too, looked anything other than the role he had been playing. Bridge smiled as he looked at the clear eyes, the oval face, and the fine, sensitive mouth and thought of the youth's claim to the crime battered60 sobriquet61 of The Oskaloosa Kid. The man wondered if the mystery of the clanking chain would prove as harmlessly infantile as these two whom some accident of hilarious62 fate had cast in the roles of debauchery and crime.
Aloud, he said: “I'll go first, and if the spook materializes you two can beat it back into the room.” And to the two tramps: “Come on, boes, we'll all take a look at the lower floor together, and then we'll get a good fire going in the kitchen and warm up a bit.”
Down the hall they went, Bridge leading with the boy and girl close at his heels while the two yeggs brought up the rear. Their footsteps echoed through the deserted63 house; but brought forth64 no answering clanking from the cellar. The stairs creaked beneath the unaccustomed weight of so many bodies as they descended65 toward the lower floor. Near the bottom Bridge came to a questioning halt. The front room lay entirely within his range of vision, and as his eyes swept it he gave voice to a short exclamation66 of surprise.
The youth and the girl, shivering with cold and nervous excitement, craned their necks above the man's shoulder.
Bridge stepped quickly down the remaining steps, entered the rear room which had served as dining room and kitchen, inspected the two small bedrooms off this room, and the summer kitchen beyond. All were empty; then he turned and re-entering the front room bent68 his steps toward the cellar stairs. At the foot of the stairway leading to the second floor lay the flash lamp that the boy had dropped the night before. Bridge stooped, picked it up and examined it. It was uninjured and with it in his hand he continued toward the cellar door.
“Where are you going?” asked The Oskaloosa Kid.
“I'm going to solve the mystery of that infernal clanking,” he replied.
“You are not going down into that dark cellar!” It was an appeal, a question, and a command; and it quivered gaspingly upon the verge69 of hysteria.
Bridge turned and looked into the youth's face. The man did not like cowardice and his eyes were stern as he turned them on the lad from whom during the few hours of their acquaintance he had received so many evidences of cowardice; but as the clear brown eyes of the boy met his the man's softened70 and he shook his head perplexedly. What was there about this slender stripling which so disarmed71 criticism?
“Yes,” he replied, “I am going down. I doubt if I shall find anything there; but if I do it is better to come upon it when I am looking for it than to have it come upon us when we are not expecting it. If there is to be any hunting I prefer to be hunter rather than hunted.”
He wheeled and placed a foot upon the cellar stairs. The youth followed him.
“What are you going to do?” asked the man.
“I am going with you,” said the boy. “You think I am a coward because I am afraid; but there is a vast difference between cowardice and fear.”
The man made no reply as he resumed the descent of the stairs, flashing the rays of the lamp ahead of him; but he pondered the boy's words and smiled as he admitted mentally that it undoubtedly72 took more courage to do a thing in the face of fear than to do it if fear were absent. He felt a strange elation73 that this youth should choose voluntarily to share his danger with him, for in his roaming life Bridge had known few associates for whom he cared.
The beams of the little electric lamp, moving from side to side, revealed a small cellar littered with refuse and festooned with cob-webs. At one side tottered74 the remains75 of a series of wooden racks upon which pans of milk had doubtless stood to cool in a long gone, happier day. Some of the uprights had rotted away so that a part of the frail76 structure had collapsed77 to the earthen floor. A table with one leg missing and a crippled chair constituted the balance of the contents of the cellar and there was no living creature and no chain nor any other visible evidence of the presence which had clanked so lugubriously78 out of the dark depths during the vanished night. The boy breathed a heartfelt sigh of relief and Bridge laughed, not without a note of relief either.
“You see there is nothing,” he said—“nothing except some firewood which we can use to advantage. I regret that James is not here to attend me; but since he is not you and I will have to carry some of this stuff upstairs,” and together they returned to the floor above, their arms laden79 with pieces of the dilapidated milk rack. The girl was awaiting them at the head of the stairs while the two tramps whispered together at the opposite side of the room.
It took Bridge but a moment to have a roaring fire started in the old stove in the kitchen, and as the warmth rolled in comforting waves about them the five felt for the first time in hours something akin54 to relief and well being. With the physical relaxation80 which the heat induced came a like relaxation of their tongues and temporary forgetfulness of their antagonisms81 and individual apprehensions82. Bridge was the only member of the group whose conscience was entirely free. He was not 'wanted' anywhere, he had no unexpiated crimes to harry83 his mind, and with the responsibilities of the night removed he fell naturally into his old, carefree manner. He hazarded foolish explanations of the uncanny noises of the night and suggested various theories to account for the presence and the mysterious disappearance84 of the dead man.
The General, on the contrary, seriously maintained that the weird85 sounds had emanated86 from the ghost of the murdered man who was, unquestionably, none other than the long dead Squibb returned to haunt his former home, and that the scream had sprung from the ghostly lungs of his slain87 wife or daughter.
“I wouldn't spend anudder night in this dump,” he concluded, “for both them pockets full of swag The Oskaloosa Kid's packin' around.”
Immediately all eyes turned upon the flushing youth. The girl and Bridge could not prevent their own gazes from wandering to the bulging88 coat pockets, the owner of which moved uneasily, at last shooting a look of defiance89, not unmixed with pleading, at Bridge.
“He's a bad one,” interjected Dopey Charlie, a glint of cunning in his ordinarily glassy eyes. “He flashes a couple o' mitsful of sparklers, chesty-like, and allows as how he's a regular burglar. Then he pulls a gun on me, as wasn't doin' nothin' to him, and 'most croaks90 me. It's even money that if anyone's been croaked91 in Oakdale last night they won't have to look far for the guy that done it. Least-wise they won't have to look far if he doesn't come across,” and Dopey Charlie looked meaningly and steadily92 at the side pockets of The Oskaloosa Kid.
“I think,” said Bridge, after a moment of general silence, “that you two crooks93 had better beat it. Do you get me?” and he looked from Dopey Charlie to The General and back again.
“We don't go,” said Dopey Charlie, belligerently94, “until we gets half the Kid's swag.”
“You go now,” said Bridge, “without anybody's swag,” and he drew the boy's automatic from his side pocket. “You go now and you go quick—beat it!”
The two rose and shuffled95 toward the door. “We'll get you, you colledge Lizzy,” threatened Dopey Charlie, “an' we'll get that phoney punk, too.”
“'And speed the parting guest,'” quoted Bridge, firing a shot that splintered the floor at the crook's feet. When the two hoboes had departed the others huddled96 again close to the stove until Bridge suggested that he and The Oskaloosa Kid retire to another room while the girl removed and dried her clothing; but she insisted that it was not wet enough to matter since she had been covered by a robe in the automobile97 until just a moment before she had been hurled98 out.
“Then, after you are warmed up,” said Bridge, “you can step into this other room while the kid and I strip and dry our things, for there's no question but that we are wet enough.”
At the suggestion the kid started for the door. “Oh, no,” he insisted; “it isn't worth while. I am almost dry now, and as soon as we get out on the road I'll be all right. I—I—I like wet clothes,” he ended, lamely99.
Bridge looked at him questioningly; but did not urge the matter. “Very well,” he said; “you probably know what you like; but as for me, I'm going to pull off every rag and get good and dry.”
The girl had already quitted the room and now The Kid turned and followed her. Bridge shook his head. “I'll bet the little beggar never was away from his mother before in his life,” he mused100; “why the mere9 thought of undressing in front of a strange man made him turn red—and posing as The Oskaloosa Kid! Bless my soul; but he's a humorist—a regular, natural born one.”
Bridge found that his clothing had dried to some extent during the night; so, after a brisk rub, he put on the warmed garments and though some were still a trifle damp he felt infinitely101 more comfortable than he had for many hours.
Outside the house he came upon the girl and the youth standing102 in the sunshine of a bright, new day. They were talking together in a most animated103 manner, and as he approached wondering what the two had found of so great common interest he discovered that the discussion hinged upon the relative merits of ham and bacon as a breakfast dish.
“Oh, my heart it is just achin',” quoted Bridge,
“For a little bite of bacon,
“I'm tired of seein' scenery,
“Just lead me to a beanery
“Where there's something more than only air to
chew.”
The two looked up, smiling. “You're a funny kind of tramp, to be quoting poetry,” said The Oskaloosa Kid, “even if it is Knibbs'.”
“Almost as funny,” replied Bridge, “as a burglar who recognizes Knibbs when he hears him.”
The Oskaloosa Kid flushed. “He wrote for us of the open road,” he replied quickly. “I don't know of any other class of men who should enjoy him more.”
“Or any other class that is less familiar with him,” retorted Bridge; “but the burning question just now is pots, not poetry—flesh pots. I'm hungry. I could eat a cow.”
“That happens to be a bull,” said Bridge. “I was particular to mention cow, which, in this instance, is proverbially less dangerous than the male, and much better eating.
“'Blind baggage, hoof107 it, ride or climb—we always put it through.' Who's going to rustle the grub?”
The girl looked at The Oskaloosa Kid. “You don't seem like a tramp at all, to talk to,” she said; “but I suppose you are used to asking for food. I couldn't do it—I should die if I had to.”
The Oskaloosa Kid looked uncomfortable. “So should—” he commenced, and then suddenly subsided108. “Of course I'd just as soon,” he said. “You two stay here—I'll be back in a minute.”
They watched him as he walked down to the road and until he disappeared over the crest109 of the hill a short distance from the Squibbs' house.
“I like him,” said the girl, turning toward Bridge.
“So do I,” replied the man.
“There must be some good in him,” she continued, “even if he is such a desperate character; but I know he's not The Oskaloosa Kid. Do you really suppose he robbed a house last night and then tried to kill that Dopey person?”
Bridge shook his head. “I don't know,” he said; “but I am inclined to believe that he is more imaginative than criminal. He certainly shot up the Dopey person; but I doubt if he ever robbed a house.”
While they waited, The Oskaloosa Kid trudged110 along the muddy road to the nearest farm house, which lay a full mile beyond the Squibbs' home. As he approached the door a lank25, sallow man confronted him with a suspicious eye.
“Good morning,” greeted The Oskaloosa Kid.
“I want to get something to eat,” explained the youth.
If the boy had hurled a dynamite112 bomb at him the result could have been no more surprising. The lank, sallow man went up into the air, figuratively. He went up a mile or more, and on the way down he reached his hand inside the kitchen door and brought it forth enveloping113 the barrel of a shot gun.
“Durn ye!” he cried. “I'll lam ye! Get offen here. I knows ye. Yer one o' that gang o' bums114 that come here last night, an' now you got the gall115 to come back beggin' for food, eh? I'll lam ye!” and he raised the gun to his shoulder.
The Oskaloosa Kid quailed116 but he held his ground. “I wasn't here last night,” he cried, “and I'm not begging for food—I want to buy some. I've got plenty of money,” in proof of which assertion he dug into a side pocket and brought forth a large roll of bills. The man lowered his gun.
“Wy didn't ye say so in the first place then?” he growled117. “How'd I know you wanted to buy it, eh? Where'd ye come from anyhow, this early in the mornin'? What's yer name, eh? What's yer business, that's what Jeb Case'd like to know, eh?” He snapped his words out with the rapidity of a machine gun, nor waited for a reply to one query118 before launching the next. “What do ye want to buy, eh? How much money ye got? Looks suspicious. That's a sight o' money yew119 got there, eh? Where'dje get it?”
“It's mine,” said The Oskaloosa Kid, “and I want to buy some eggs and milk and ham and bacon and flour and onions and sugar and cream and strawberries and tea and coffee and a frying pan and a little oil stove, if you have one to spare, and—”
Jeb Case's jaw120 dropped and his eyes widened. “You're in the wrong pasture, bub,” he remarked feelingly. “What yer lookin' fer is Sears, Roebuck & Company.”
The Oskaloosa Kid flushed up to the tips of his ears. “But can't you sell me something?” he begged.
“I might let ye have some milk an' eggs an' butter an' a leetle bacon an' mebby my ol' woman's got a loaf left from her last bakin'; but we ain't been figgerin' on supplyin' grub fer the United States army ef that's what yew be buyin' fer.”
A frowsy, rat-faced woman and a gawky youth of fourteen stuck their heads out the doorway121 at either side of the man. “I ain't got nothin' to sell,” snapped the woman; but as she spoke her eyes fell upon the fat bank roll in the youth's hand. “Or, leastwise,” she amended122, “I ain't got much more'n we need an' the price o' stuff's gone up so lately that I'll hev to ask ye more'n I would of last fall. 'Bout30 what did ye figger on wantin'?”
“Anything you can spare,” said the youth. “There are three of us and we're awful hungry.”
“Where yew stoppin'?” asked the woman.
“We're at the old Squibbs' place,” replied The Kid. “We got caught by the storm last night and had to put up there.”
“The Squibbs' place!” ejaculated the woman. “Yew didn't stop there over night?”
“Yes we did,” replied the youth.
“See anything funny?” asked Mrs. Case.
“We didn't SEE anything,” replied The Oskaloosa Kid; “but we heard things. At least we didn't see what we heard; but we saw a dead man on the floor when we went in and this morning he was gone.”
The Kid nodded.
“I never tuk much stock in them stories,” said Jeb, with a shake of his head; “but ef you SEEN it! Gosh! Thet beats me. Come on M'randy, les see what we got to spare,” and he turned into the kitchen with his wife.
The lanky124 boy stepped out, and planting himself in front of The Oskaloosa Kid proceeded to stare at him. “Yew seen it?” he asked in awestruck tone.
“Yes,” said the Kid in a low voice, and bending close toward the other; “it had bloody125 froth on its lips!”
“Something that dragged a chain behind it and came up out of the cellar and tried to get in our room on the second floor,” explained the youth. “It almost got us, too,” he added, “and it did it all night.”
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resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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candor
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| n.坦白，率真 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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inexplicable
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| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
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pal
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| n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友 | |
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chivalry
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| n.骑士气概，侠义；（男人）对女人彬彬有礼，献殷勤 | |
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fathom
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| v.领悟，彻底了解 | |
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cowardice
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| n.胆小，怯懦 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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surfeited
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| v.吃得过多( surfeit的过去式和过去分词 )；由于过量而厌腻 | |
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liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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brazen
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| adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的 | |
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refinement
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| n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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accomplice
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| n.从犯，帮凶，同谋 | |
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dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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drizzle
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| v.下毛毛雨；n.毛毛雨，蒙蒙细雨 | |
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rigidity
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| adj.钢性，坚硬 | |
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rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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reverberation
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| 反响； 回响； 反射； 反射物 | |
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hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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lank
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shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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corroded
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| 已被腐蚀的 | |
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bout
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| n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛 | |
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rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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ponderous
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| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
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sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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34
fumbled
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| （笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下 | |
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35
narcotic
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| n.麻醉药，镇静剂；adj.麻醉的，催眠的 | |
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36
craved
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| 渴望，热望( crave的过去式 )； 恳求，请求 | |
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37
discomfort
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| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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38
aggregation
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| n.聚合，组合；凝聚 | |
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39
rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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40
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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41
hop
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| n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过 | |
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42
dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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43
instilling
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| v.逐渐使某人获得（某种可取的品质），逐步灌输( instil的现在分词 )；逐渐使某人获得（某种可取的品质），逐步灌输( instill的现在分词 ) | |
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44
well-being
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| n.安康，安乐，幸福 | |
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45
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46
moron
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| n.极蠢之人，低能儿 | |
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47
morons
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| 傻子( moron的名词复数 )； 痴愚者（指心理年龄在8至12岁的成年人） | |
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48
bribed
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| v.贿赂( bribe的过去式和过去分词 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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49
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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50
chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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51
budge
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| v.移动一点儿；改变立场 | |
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52
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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53
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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54
akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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55
stimulated
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| a.刺激的 | |
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56
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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57
consorts
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| n.配偶( consort的名词复数 )；（演奏古典音乐的）一组乐师；一组古典乐器；一起v.结伴( consort的第三人称单数 )；交往；相称；调和 | |
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58
habitually
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| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
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59
appraised
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| v.估价( appraise的过去式和过去分词 )；估计；估量；评价 | |
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60
battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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61
sobriquet
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| n.绰号 | |
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62
hilarious
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| adj.充满笑声的，欢闹的；[反]depressed | |
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63
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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64
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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65
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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66
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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67
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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68
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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69
verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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70
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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71
disarmed
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| v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒 | |
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72
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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73
elation
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| n.兴高采烈，洋洋得意 | |
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74
tottered
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| v.走得或动得不稳( totter的过去式和过去分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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75
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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76
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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77
collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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78
lugubriously
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79
laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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80
relaxation
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| n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐 | |
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81
antagonisms
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| 对抗，敌对( antagonism的名词复数 ) | |
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82
apprehensions
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| 疑惧 | |
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83
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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84
disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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85
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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86
emanated
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| v.从…处传出，传出( emanate的过去式和过去分词 )；产生，表现，显示 | |
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87
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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88
bulging
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| 膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱 | |
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89
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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90
croaks
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的第三人称单数 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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91
croaked
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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92
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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93
crooks
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| n.骗子( crook的名词复数 )；罪犯；弯曲部分；（牧羊人或主教用的）弯拐杖v.弯成钩形( crook的第三人称单数 ) | |
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94
belligerently
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95
shuffled
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| v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼 | |
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96
huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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97
automobile
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| n.汽车，机动车 | |
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98
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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99
lamely
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| 一瘸一拐地，不完全地 | |
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100
mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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101
infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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102
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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103
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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104
brew
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| v.酿造，调制 | |
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105
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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106
rustled
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| v.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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107
hoof
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| n.(马，牛等的)蹄 | |
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108
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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109
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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110
trudged
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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111
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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112
dynamite
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| n./vt.(用)炸药(爆破) | |
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113
enveloping
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的现在分词 ) | |
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114
bums
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| n. 游荡者，流浪汉，懒鬼，闹饮，屁股 adj. 没有价值的，不灵光的，不合理的 vt. 令人失望，乞讨 vi. 混日子，以乞讨为生 | |
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115
gall
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| v.使烦恼，使焦躁，难堪；n.磨难 | |
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116
quailed
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| 害怕，发抖，畏缩( quail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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117
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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118
query
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| n.疑问，问号，质问；vt.询问，表示怀疑 | |
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119
yew
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| n.紫杉属树木 | |
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120
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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121
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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122
Amended
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| adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词 | |
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123
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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124
lanky
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| adj.瘦长的 | |
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125
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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126
glutton
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| n.贪食者，好食者 | |
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