Joe in a Fit of Rage.--The Death of a Good Man.--The Night of watching by the Body.--Barrenness and Drought.--The Burial.--The Quartz1 Rocks. --Joe's Hallucinations.--A Precious Ballast.--A Survey of the Gold-bearing Mountains.--The Beginning of Joe's Despair.
A magnificent night overspread the earth, and the missionary2 lay quietly asleep in utter exhaustion3.
"He'll not get over it!" sighed Joe. "Poor young fellow--scarcely thirty years of age!"
"He'll die in our arms. His breathing, which was so feeble before, is growing weaker still, and I can do nothing to save him," said the doctor, despairingly.
"The infamous4 scoundrels!" exclaimed Joe, grinding his teeth, in one of those fits of rage that came over him at long intervals5; "and to think that, in spite of all, this good man could find words only to pity them, to excuse, to pardon them!"
"Heaven has given him a lovely night, Joe--his last on earth, perhaps! He will suffer but little more after this, and his dying will be only a peaceful falling asleep."
The dying man uttered some broken words, and the doctor at once went to him. His breathing became difficult, and he asked for air. The curtains were drawn6 entirely7 back, and he inhaled8 with rapture9 the light breezes of that clear, beautiful night. The stars sent him their trembling rays, and the moon wrapped him in the white winding-sheet of its effulgence10.
"My friends," said he, in an enfeebled voice, "I am going. May God requite11 you, and bring you to your safe harbor! May he pay for me the debt of gratitude12 that I owe to you!"
"You must still hope," replied Kennedy. "This is but a passing fit of weakness. You will not die. How could any one die on this beautiful summer night?"
"Death is at hand," replied the missionary, "I know it! Let me look it in the face! Death, the commencement of things eternal, is but the end of earthly cares. Place me upon my knees, my brethren, I beseech13 you!"
Kennedy lifted him up, and it was distressing14 to see his weakened limbs bend under him.
"My God! my God!" exclaimed the dying apostle, "have pity on me!"
His countenance15 shone. Far above that earth on which he had known no joys; in the midst of that night which sent to him its softest radiance; on the way to that heaven toward which he uplifted his spirit, as though in a miraculous16 assumption, he seemed already to live and breathe in the new existence.
His last gesture was a supreme17 blessing18 on his new friends of only one day. Then he fell back into the arms of Kennedy, whose countenance was bathed in hot tears.
"Dead!" said the doctor, bending over him, "dead!" And with one common accord, the three friends knelt together in silent prayer.
"To-morrow," resumed the doctor, "we shall bury him in the African soil which he has besprinkled with his blood."
During the rest of the night the body was watched, turn by turn, by the three travellers, and not a word disturbed the solemn silence. Each of them was weeping.
The next day the wind came from the south, and the balloon moved slowly over a vast plateau of mountains: there, were extinct craters19; here, barren ravines; not a drop of water on those parched20 crests21; piles of broken rocks; huge stony22 masses scattered23 hither and thither24, and, interspersed25 with whitish marl, all indicated the most complete sterility26.
Toward noon, the doctor, for the purpose of burying the body, decided27 to descend28 into a ravine, in the midst of some plutonic rocks of primitive29 formation. The surrounding mountains would shelter him, and enable him to bring his car to the ground, for there was no tree in sight to which he could make it fast.
But, as he had explained to Kennedy, it was now impossible for him to descend, except by releasing a quantity of gas proportionate to his loss of ballast at the time when he had rescued the missionary. He therefore opened the valve of the outside balloon. The hydrogen escaped, and the Victoria quietly descended31 into the ravine.
As soon as the car touched the ground, the doctor shut the valve. Joe leaped out, holding on the while to the rim30 of the car with one hand, and with the other gathering32 up a quantity of stones equal to his own weight. He could then use both hands, and had soon heaped into the car more than five hundred pounds of stones, which enabled both the doctor and Kennedy, in their turn, to get out. Thus the Victoria found herself balanced, and her ascensional force insufficient33 to raise her.
Moreover, it was not necessary to gather many of these stones, for the blocks were extremely heavy, so much so, indeed, that the doctor's attention was attracted by the circumstance. The soil, in fact, was bestrewn with quartz and porphyritic rocks.
"This is a singular discovery!" said the doctor, mentally.
In the mean while, Kennedy and Joe had strolled away a few paces, looking up a proper spot for the grave. The heat was extreme in this ravine, shut in as it was like a sort of furnace. The noonday sun poured down its rays perpendicularly34 into it.
The first thing to be done was to clear the surface of the fragments of rock that encumbered35 it, and then a quite deep grave had to be dug, so that the wild animals should not be able to disinter the corpse36.
The body of the martyred missionary was then solemnly placed in it. The earth was thrown in over his remains37, and above it masses of rock were deposited, in rude resemblance to a tomb.
The doctor, however, remained motionless, and lost in his reflections. He did not even heed38 the call of his companions, nor did he return with them to seek a shelter from the heat of the day.
"What are you thinking about, doctor?" asked Kennedy.
"About a singular freak of Nature, a curious effect of chance. Do you know, now, in what kind of soil that man of self-denial, that poor one in spirit, has just been buried?"
"No! what do you mean, doctor?"
"That priest, who took the oath of perpetual poverty, now reposes39 in a gold-mine!"
"A gold-mine!" exclaimed Kennedy and Joe in one breath.
"Yes, a gold-mine," said the doctor, quietly. "Those blocks which you are trampling40 under foot, like worthless stones, contain gold-ore of great purity."
"Impossible! impossible!" repeated Joe.
"You would not have to look long among those fissures41 of slaty42 schist without finding peptites of considerable value."
Joe at once rushed like a crazy man among the scattered fragments, and Kennedy was not long in following his example.
"Keep cool, Joe," said his master.
"Why, doctor, you speak of the thing quite at your ease."
"What! a philosopher of your mettle--"
"Ah, master, no philosophy holds good in this case!"
"Come! come! Let us reflect a little. What good would all this wealth do you? We cannot carry any of it away with us."
"We can't take any of it with us, indeed?"
"It's rather too heavy for our car! I even hesitated to tell you any thing about it, for fear of exciting your regret!"
"What!" said Joe, again, "abandon these treasures --a fortune for us!--really for us--our own--leave it behind!"
"Take care, my friend! Would you yield to the thirst for gold? Has not this dead man whom you have just helped to bury, taught you the vanity of human affairs?"
"All that is true," replied Joe, "but gold! Mr. Kennedy, won't you help to gather up a trifle of all these millions?"
"What could we do with them, Joe?" said the hunter, unable to repress a smile. "We did not come hither in search of fortune, and we cannot take one home with us."
"The millions are rather heavy, you know," resumed the doctor, "and cannot very easily be put into one's pocket."
"But, at least," said Joe, driven to his last defences, "couldn't we take some of that ore for ballast, instead of sand?"
"Very good! I consent," said the doctor, "but you must not make too many wry43 faces when we come to throw some thousands of crowns' worth overboard."
"Thousands of crowns!" echoed Joe; "is it possible that there is so much gold in them, and that all this is the same?"
"Yes, my friend, this is a reservoir in which Nature has been heaping up her wealth for centuries! There is enough here to enrich whole nations! An Australia and a California both together in the midst of the wilderness44!"
"And the whole of it is to remain useless!"
"Perhaps! but at all events, here's what I'll do to console you."
"That would be rather difficult to do!" said Joe, with a contrite45 air.
"Listen! I will take the exact bearings of this spot, and give them to you, so that, upon your return to England, you can tell our countrymen about it, and let them have a share, if you think that so much gold would make them happy."
"Ah! master, I give up; I see that you are right, and that there is nothing else to be done. Let us fill our car with the precious mineral, and what remains at the end of the trip will be so much made."
And Joe went to work. He did so, too, with all his might, and soon had collected more than a thousand pieces of quartz, which contained gold enclosed as though in an extremely hard crystal casket.
The doctor watched him with a smile; and, while Joe went on, he took the bearings, and found that the missionary's grave lay in twenty-two degrees twenty-three minutes east longitude46, and four degrees fifty-five minutes north latitude47.
Then, casting one glance at the swelling48 of the soil, beneath which the body of the poor Frenchman reposed49, he went back to his car.
He would have erected50 a plain, rude cross over the tomb, left solitary51 thus in the midst of the African deserts, but not a tree was to be seen in the environs.
"God will recognize it!" said Kennedy.
An anxiety of another sort now began to steal over the doctor's mind. He would have given much of the gold before him for a little water--for he had to replace what had been thrown overboard when the negro was carried up into the air. But it was impossible to find it in these arid52 regions; and this reflection gave him great uneasiness. He had to feed his cylinder53 continually; and he even began to find that he had not enough to quench54 the thirst of his party. Therefore he determined55 to lose no opportunity of replenishing his supply.
Upon getting back to the car, he found it burdened with the quartz-blocks that Joe's greed had heaped in it. He got in, however, without saying any thing. Kennedy took his customary place, and Joe followed, but not without casting a covetous56 glance at the treasures in the ravine.
The doctor rekindled57 the light in the cylinder; the spiral became heated; the current of hydrogen came in a few minutes, and the gas dilated58; but the balloon did not stir an inch.
Joe looked on uneasily, but kept silent.
"Joe!" said the doctor.
Joe made no reply.
"Joe! Don't you hear me?"
Joe made a sign that he heard; but he would not understand.
"Do me the kindness to throw out some of that quartz!"
"But, doctor, you gave me leave--"
"I gave you leave to replace the ballast; that was all!"
"But--"
"Do you want to stay forever in this desert?"
Joe cast a despairing look at Kennedy; but the hunter put on the air of a man who could do nothing in the matter.
"Well, Joe?"
"Then your cylinder don't work," said the obstinate59 fellow.
"My cylinder? It is lit, as you perceive. But the balloon will not rise until you have thrown off a little ballast."
Joe scratched his ear, picked up a piece of quartz, the smallest in the lot, weighed and reweighed it, and tossed it up and down in his hand. It was a fragment of about three or four pounds. At last he threw it out.
But the balloon did not budge60.
"Humph!" said he; "we're not going up yet."
"Not yet," said the doctor. "Keep on throwing."
Kennedy laughed. Joe now threw out some ten pounds, but the balloon stood still.
Joe got very pale.
"Poor fellow!" said the doctor. "Mr. Kennedy, you and I weigh, unless I am mistaken, about four hundred pounds--so that you'll have to get rid of at least that weight, since it was put in here to make up for us."
"Throw away four hundred pounds!" said Joe, piteously.
"And some more with it, or we can't rise. Come, courage, Joe!"
The brave fellow, heaving deep sighs, began at last to lighten the balloon; but, from time to time, he would stop, and ask:
"Are you going up?"
"No, not yet," was the invariable response.
"It moves!" said he, at last.
"Keep on!" replied the doctor.
"It's going up; I'm sure."
"Keep on yet," said Kennedy.
And Joe, picking up one more block, desperately61 tossed it out of the car. The balloon rose a hundred feet or so, and, aided by the cylinder, soon passed above the surrounding summits.
"Now, Joe," resumed the doctor, "there still remains a handsome fortune for you; and, if we can only keep the rest of this with us until the end of our trip, there you are--rich for the balance of your days!"
Joe made no answer, but stretched himself out luxuriously62 on his heap of quartz.
"See, my dear Dick!" the doctor went on. "Just see the power of this metal over the cleverest lad in the world! What passions, what greed, what crimes, the knowledge of such a mine as that would cause! It is sad to think of it!"
By evening the balloon had made ninety miles to the westward63, and was, in a direct line, fourteen hundred miles from Zanzibar.
乔的愤怒——殉教者之死——守灵——干旱地带——埋葬死者——石英块——乔的幻觉——一块珍贵的压载物——金矿山的测量——乔开始失望
晴朗的夜空渐渐笼罩了大地，传教士安详地昏睡着。
“他再也醒不过来了！”乔痛惜地叫道，“可怜的年青人呀！恐怕还不到30岁呢！”
“他就要在我们身边离开人世了！”博士绝望地叹道，“他的呼吸本来就很微弱，现在更弱，我实在无能为力，没办法救他了！”
“那些下流的无赖！”乔愤愤地叫道。他总觉得胸中有股无名怒火要发泄，特别是想到这位可敬的神甫竟然还找话可怜他们，为他们辩解，原谅他们！
“上帝为他安排了一个多么美好的夜晚。乔，这也许是他的最后一夜，他从此再也不用受罪了。再说，死对于他只是一种安详的睡眠。”
垂死的人断断续续地喃喃了几句，博士马上凑过去。病人的呼吸变得急促起来，他要求透透气。帐篷幕帘很快被完全掀开。他快活地吸了几口清夜的新鲜空气。满天的星星闪烁着光芒，仿佛在向他召唤，月亮给他裹上了用它皎洁的光亮织成的白寿衣。
“朋友们，”他气息奄奄地说，“我要走了。愿赏罚分明的上帝引导你们到达成功的彼岸吧。愿上帝替我偿还我欠你们的恩情吧！”
“您别绝望，”肯尼迪安慰他，“这不过是一时的衰弱，您不会死的！这么美好的夏夜，怎么能死去呢？”
“死神已经来了。”传教土又说，“我知道他在这儿，让我正视死神吧！死亡是永恒的开始，死亡只是人世间烦恼的终结。请扶我跪下，兄弟们，求求你们！”
肯尼迪把他搀了起来。看到他瘫软无力地跪倒在地上，肯尼迪的心都酸了。
“上帝啊！”垂死的传教者竭尽全力地喊道，“可怜可怜我吧！”
他两眼发光；在这个向他投来最恬静月光的夜晚中，从这个他从未享受过喜悦的尘世间离去，踏上奔向天堂的空中之路，这犹如在显示圣迹的圣母升天日里一样，他仿佛已经获得了新生。他最后做了个手势，为他仅仅相识一日的朋友们祝福，接着，倒在肯尼迪的怀中死去了。肯尼迪的脸上滚下颗颗泪珠。
“死了！”博士俯身查看了一下，说，“他死了！”
于是，3位朋友不约而同地跪下来，默默地祈祷。
“明天早晨，我们把他埋葬在他用鲜血浇灌的这块非洲大地上。”稍停片刻，博士开口说。
这一夜剩下的时间里，博士、肯尼迪和乔三人轮流为死者守灵。他们一句话没说，惟恐扰乱肃静，每个人都在流泪。
第二天，风从南面刮来。“维多利亚号”在一片辽阔的山地高原上空缓慢地前行。这里，不是一座座死火山，就是一条条荒芜的细谷。干涸的山峦上滴水皆无。层层叠叠的岩石，遍地撒落的砾石和微微泛白的泥灰岩石，所有这一切证实了这里是一片不毛之地。
将近中午，为了着手埋葬尸体，博士决定把气球降到一条细谷里的一片原始形态的火成岩地带上。周围的山或许是些好屏障，可以使吊篮直接落到地上，因为一棵树也没有，气球无法抛下锚。现在，博士只有放掉一部分氢气才能使气球着陆了。当初为了救神甫，扔掉了所有的压载物，其中的道理，弗格森博士当时曾讲给肯尼迪听过。他打开了外面大气球的活门，氢气泄露出来，“维多利亚号”平平稳稳地向细谷下降。
吊篮刚一触到地面，弗格森博士立即关闭活门。乔跳到陆地上，他一只手抓住吊篮的外沿，另一只手捡一些石块扔进吊篮里，用以填补气球因他下去而缺少的负重。一直到吊篮里的石头与他自身的重量相等，他才松开抓住吊篮的手。这时，他可以用两只手来捡石头了。 不大会儿，乔就往吊篮里装了500多斤石头。这样，博士和肯尼迪也可以下来了。“维多利亚号”依然保持着平衡，而且它的上升力也不足以使它飞起来。再说，不需要使用大量的石头，因为乔捡的石块都特别重。这一点一下子引起了弗格森博士的注意。地上布满了石英和斑岩石。
“这倒是一个特别的发现。”博士心里嘀咕。
这时，肯尼迪和乔走了几步挑一块地方好挖坑。这个夹在陡壁之间的细谷，就像一个大火炉，正午的太阳垂直泻下灼热的光辉，人在这儿，热得难以忍受。
首先，必须把地面上到处充斥的岩石碎块清理干净，收拾出一块地方；然后，挖一个深度足可以使野兽不能把尸体刨出来的穴。 最后，3人把殉教者的遗体毕恭毕敬地放入穴中。
土填了进去。临末了，上面摆了几块大点的岩石，模样像座墓。
一切完毕后，肯尼迪和乔发现博士仍一动不动地站在那儿，仿佛陷入了遐思。他甚至没有听见朋友的召唤声，也不去和同伴们一起找个地方避避白天的暑气。
“弗格森，你到底在想什么？”肯尼迪问他。
“我在想大自然中存在的奇怪对比和天地间各种各样的巧合。你们知道这位舍己为人的人，这个可怜的好心人被埋在了什么地方吗？”
“你想说什么呀，弗格森？”苏格兰人问。
“这个神甫，他曾发誓过苦日子，而现在却躺在一座金矿里！”
“一座金矿！”肯尼迪和乔异口同声地惊呼起来。
“是一座金矿。”博士沉静地答道，“你们当成无用在脚下踩来踩去的这些石块其实是纯度很高的金矿石。”
“这不可能！不可能！”乔反复地说。
“你们在这深灰色的页岩缝中找找，用不多大会儿，肯定能找到大块的天然金块。”
乔听后，立即发疯般地扑向那些散乱的碎石。肯尼迪也跟上去端详了一番这些石头。
“冷静点吧，亲爱的乔。”主人对他说。
“先生，您说的倒容易。”
“怎么！你这样一位刚毅的哲学家，……”
“嗨！先生，没有站得住脚的哲学嘛。”
“喂！你动动脑子吧。这些财富对我们有什么用？我们没法带走的。”
“啊！我们无法带走？”
“这东西对我们的吊篮来说重了点儿。我刚才甚至就犹豫要不要告诉你这个发现，怕的就是又让你懊悔个没完。”
“怎么！”乔说，“要我放弃这些财宝，放弃这笔属于我们的财富吗？它可完完全全属于我们呀！难道全都扔了不要？”
“当心点，朋友！你莫非得了‘黄金热’？难道你刚刚埋葬的那位死者没有教你如何评价人间财产的价值吗？”
“您说的这些全都非常对。”乔回答说，“但这毕竟是金子呀！肯尼迪先生，您不帮我捡点这些价值几百万的石头吗？”
“可怜的乔，我们拿它干什么呢？”肯尼迪说着，忍不住一笑，“我们来这儿不是发财的。况且，我们也不打算带走这些东西。”
“这些价值几百万的东西是有点重，再说，又不容易装在口袋里。”博士补充了一句。
“但是至少不用沙子，改用这些金矿石做压载物总是行的吧？”乔被逼得忍痛割爱，只好这么说。
“唔，这倒可以，我同意。”弗格森答应道，“可是，当我们需要扔掉价值几千利佛尔①的石头时，你可不要哭丧着脸。”
①法国古代的记账货币，相当于半公斤银的价格。
“几千利佛尔！”乔心疼地重复道，“这些都可能是黄金呀！”
“是的，朋友，这儿是大自然几个世纪来堆放财富的金库。这儿的金子能使整整几个国家富起来！足可以在一片沙漠深处重建一个澳洲和一个加利福尼亚！”
“可是，这些金子就这么白白地永远扔在这儿吗？”
“有可能！可是不管怎样，为了安慰你，乔，下面我将做的是……。”
“先生，安慰我可不那么容易。”乔沮丧地打断博士的话。
“你听着，乔，我打算把这个金矿的准确方位测定一下；然后把测量图交给你。如果你认为这么多的金子能使你的同胞幸福，那么等你回到英国，可以把这件事告诉他们。”
“来吧，主人，咱们干吧。我知道您说的对，既然没有其他办法，我愿意听您的。咱们把吊篮装满这种珍贵的矿石怎么样？旅行结束时，剩下的一些好歹也能发点儿财。”
说完，乔动起手来。他干得很卖力，一会儿的功夫，就堆了近千斤石英碎块。别看这些硬度很高的石头表面粗糙，里面包藏的可是金子啊！
博士微笑着看乔忙乎来忙乎去。趁这时候，他测量了所在的高地。他发现，如果以传教士墓地的矿藏作基准点，他们现在的方位是东经22度23分，北纬4度55分。之后，博士朝安葬着那位可怜的法国人的坟包瞧了最后一眼，转身走回吊篮。
他原想为这被座舍弃在非洲荒山僻野中的坟墓立个简朴粗糙的十字架。可是，附近连一棵树都没有，他只好作罢。
“上帝一定会认得这个地方。”他自慰地说。
现在，弗格森的头脑中无时无刻不在挂虑着一个相当严峻的问题：只要能找来哪怕一点点水，他宁可付出大量的金子。救传教士时，由于黑人拉住了吊篮，不得已扔掉了一箱水，他想填补上；但是，在这片干涸的土地上，根本不可能办得到；这不能不让博士感到担忧。由于必须不断地供应氢氧喷嘴用，喝的水已开始短缺。他最后打定主意，不放过任何可以补充储备水的机会。
回到吊篮前，他发现吊篮已被贪心的乔塞满了石头。他一言不发上了吊篮，肯尼迪也到他习惯待的位置坐了下来。乔跟着他们俩最后爬进了吊篮，眼睛贪婪地不住望着谷里的财富。
博士点着氢氧喷嘴，蛇形管热了。几分钟后，氢气产生气流，逐渐膨胀起来。可是，气球没动地方。乔提心吊胆地看着气球膨胀，没有吭声。
“乔！”博士说了一声。
乔没有回答。
“乔，你没听到我的话吗？”
乔打了个手势，表示听见了，但不想弄明白什么意思。
“如果你把这矿石扔到地上一些，我会高兴的。”弗格森接着说。
“可是，先生，您曾答应过我……”
“我答应过你用石头代替任载物，就这些。”
“不过……”
“你真想要我们一辈子待在这荒山野谷里吗？”
乔失望地瞥了肯尼迪一眼。但是，猎人装出一付无能为力的样子。
“乔，怎么了？”
“先生，您的氢氧喷嘴就不工作吗？”倔强的乔又说。
“我的喷嘴烧着呢，你看得很清楚嘛！可是，你不扔掉一点压载物，气球是飞不起来的。”
乔搔了搔耳朵，拿起一块最小的石头，两只手掂来掂去，又往上抛了抛，估计大概有三、四斤重。他一咬牙，扔了出去。
“维多利亚号”仍然纹丝不动。
“嗯？”他说，“我们还没往上升？”
“还没呢，”博士答道，“接着扔。”
肯尼迪笑了。乔又扔了10斤左右，气球还是一动不动，乔的脸色变得苍白。
“可怜的孩子，”弗格森博士说，“如果我没弄错的话，肯尼迪，你和我两人共重400斤左右。既然这样，乔，你必须扔掉至少与我们俩重量相等的石头。”
“要扔掉400斤呀！”乔可怜巴巴地叫了起来。
“我们想升上去，还得再多扔点。来吧，振作起来！”
满脸愁容的乔深深叹了几口气，开始往吊篮外扔石头。他不时地停下来，问：
“能升起了吗？”
“不行。”他得到的总是博士一成不变的回答。
“气球动了。”他终于叫道。
“还要扔。”弗格森重复道。
“上升了呀！我敢肯定！”
“再扔些！”肯尼迪插话道。
于是，乔绝望地最后拿起一块石头，扔出了吊篮。“维多利亚号”很快向上升了100尺左右。接着，它在氢氧喷嘴的帮助下，很快超过了四周山峰的高度。
“乔，你现在还剩下一笔很可观的财产。”博士说，“如果我们最终能这样一直保持到旅行结束的话，你的下半辈子会很富有的。”
乔不作任何回答，蔫不唧地在他的矿石床上躺下。
“亲爱的肯尼迪，你瞧，”博士接着说，“这种金属的能量有多大，竟能把世界上最优秀的小伙子搞成这般模样。知道了这么一个金矿，竟然使多少人滋生出欲望和贪心，竟然产生多少罪孽啊！实在是让人痛心。”
到了晚上，“维多利亚号”已经向西前进了90英里。按直线距离计算，气球距桑给巴尔1400英里。
收听单词发音 |
1
quartz
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| n.石英 | |
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missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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infamous
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| adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的 | |
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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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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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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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inhaled
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| v.吸入( inhale的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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effulgence
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| n.光辉 | |
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requite
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| v.报酬，报答 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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beseech
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| v.祈求，恳求 | |
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distressing
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| a.使人痛苦的 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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craters
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| n.火山口( crater的名词复数 )；弹坑等 | |
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parched
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| adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干 | |
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crests
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| v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的第三人称单数 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点 | |
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stony
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| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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interspersed
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| adj.[医]散开的；点缀的v.intersperse的过去式和过去分词 | |
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sterility
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| n.不生育，不结果，贫瘠，消毒，无菌 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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29
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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32
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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33
insufficient
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| adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的 | |
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perpendicularly
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| adv. 垂直地, 笔直地, 纵向地 | |
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encumbered
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| v.妨碍，阻碍，拖累( encumber的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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reposes
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的第三人称单数 ) | |
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40
trampling
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| 踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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41
fissures
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| n.狭长裂缝或裂隙( fissure的名词复数 )；裂伤；分歧；分裂v.裂开( fissure的第三人称单数 ) | |
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slaty
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| 石板一样的，石板色的 | |
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wry
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| adj.讽刺的；扭曲的 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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contrite
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| adj.悔悟了的，后悔的，痛悔的 | |
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longitude
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| n.经线，经度 | |
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latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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49
reposed
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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51
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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arid
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| adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的 | |
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cylinder
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| n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸 | |
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54
quench
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| vt.熄灭，扑灭；压制 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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covetous
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| adj.贪婪的，贪心的 | |
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rekindled
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| v.使再燃( rekindle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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58
dilated
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| adj.加宽的，扩大的v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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59
obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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60
budge
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| v.移动一点儿；改变立场 | |
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61
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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62
luxuriously
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| adv.奢侈地，豪华地 | |
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63
westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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