“It seems a pity to waste that box,” said Gray. “Suppose we look in at the Gaiety for an hour?”
His humor was vastly improved, and he watched the passing throngs1 with an expression more suited to his boyish good looks than that of anger and mortification2 which had rested upon him an hour earlier.
Seton Pasha tossed a match into the road.
“My official business is finished for the day,” he replied. “I place myself unreservedly in your hands.”
“Well, then,” began Gray—and paused.
A long, low car, the chauffeur3 temporarily detained by the stoppage of a motorbus ahead, had slowed up within three yards of the spot where they were standing4. Gray seized Seton's arm in a fierce grip.
“Seton,” he said, his voice betraying intense excitement, “Look! There is Monte Irvin!”
“In the car?”
“Yes, yes! But—he has two police with him! Seton, what can it mean?”
The car moved away, swinging to the right across the traffic stream and clearly heading for old Bond Street. Quentin Gray's mercurial5 color deserted6 him, and he turned to Seton a face grown suddenly pale.
“Good God,” he whispered, “something has happened to Rita!”
Neglectful of his personal safety, he plunged7 out into the traffic, dodging8 this way and that, and making after Monte Irvin's car. Of the fact that his friend was close beside him he remained unaware9 until, on the corner of old Bond Street, a firm grip settled upon his shoulder. Gray turned angrily. But the grip was immovable, and he found himself staring into the unemotional face of Seton Pasha.
“Seton, for God's sake, don't detain me! I must learn what's wrong.”
“Pull up, Gray.”
“Listen to me, Seton. This is no time for interference. I—”
“You are about to become involved in some very unsavory business; and I repeat—pull up. In a moment we shall learn all there is to be learned. But are you determined11 openly to thrust yourself into the family affairs of Mr. Monte Irvin?”
“If anything has happened to Rita I'll kill that damned cur Pyne!”
“You are determined to intrude12 upon this man in your present frame of mind at a time of evident trouble?”
“Quite so. Rely upon me. But endeavor to behave more like a man of the world and less like a dangerous lunatic, or we shall quarrel atrociously.”
Quentin Gray audibly gnashed his teeth, but the cool stare of the other's eyes was quelling15, and now as their glances met and clashed, a sympathetic smile softened16 the lines of Seton's grim mouth, and:
“I quite understand, old chap,” he said, linking his arm in Gray's. “But can't you see how important it is, for everybody's sake, that we should tackle the thing coolly?”
“Seton”—Gray's voice broke—“I'm sorry. I know I'm mad; but I was with her only an hour ago, and now—”
“And now 'her' husband appears on the scene accompanied by a police inspector17 and a sergeant18. What are your relations with Mr. Monte Irvin?”
They were walking rapidly again along Bond Street.
“What do you mean, Seton?” asked Gray.
“I mean does he approve of your friendship with his wife, or is it a clandestine19 affair?”
“Clandestine?—certainly not. I was on my way to call at the house when I met her with Pyne this evening.”
“That is what I wanted to know. Very well; since you intend to follow the thing up, it simplifies matters somewhat. Here is the car.”
“At Kazmah's door! What in heaven's name does it mean?”
“It means that we shall get a very poor reception if we intrude. Question the chauffeur.”
But Gray had already approached the man, who touched his cap in recognition.
“What's the trouble, Pattison?” he demanded breathlessly. “I saw police in the car a moment ago.”
“Yes, sir. I don't rightly know, sir, what's happened. But Mr. Irvin drove from home to the corner of old Bond Street a quarter of an hour ago and told me to wait, then came back again and drove round to Vine Street to fetch the police. They're inside now.”
Even as he spoke20, with excitement ill-concealed21, a police-sergeant came out of the doorway22, and:
“Move on, there,” he said to Seton and Gray. “You mustn't hang about this door.”
“Excuse me, Sergeant,” cried Gray, “but if the matter concerns Mrs. Monte Irvin I can probably supply information.”
The Sergeant stared at him hard, saw that both he and his friend wore evening dress, and grew proportionately respectful.
“What is your name, sir?” he asked. “I'll mention it to the officer in charge.”
“Quentin Gray. Inform Mr. Monte Irvin that I wish to speak to him.”
“Very good, sir.” He turned to the chauffeur. “Hand me out the bag I gave you at Vine Street.” Pattison leaned over the door at the front of the car, and brought out a big leather grip. With this in hand the police-sergeant returned into the doorway.
“We're in for it now,” said Seton grimly, “whatever it is.”
Gray returned no answer, moving restlessly up and down before the door in a fever of excitement and dread23. Presently the Sergeant reappeared.
“Step this way, please,” he said.
Followed by Seton and Gray he led the way up to the landing before Kazmah's apartments. It was vaguely24 lighted by two police-lanterns. Four men were standing there, and four pairs of eyes were focussed upon the stair-head.
“That you, Gray?” Quentin Gray would not have recognized the voice. “Thanks for offering your help. God knows I need all I can get. You were with Rita tonight. What happened? Where is she?”
“Heaven knows where she is!” cried Gray. “I left her here with Pyne shortly after seven o'clock.”
He paused, fixing his gaze upon the face of Brisley, whose shifty eyes avoided him and who was licking his lips in the manner of a dog who has seen the whip.
“Why,” said Gray, “I believe you are the fellow who has been following me all night for some reason.”
He stepped toward the foxy little man but:
“Never mind, Gray,” interrupted Irvin. “I was to blame. But he was following my wife, not you. Tell me quickly: Why did she come here?”
Gray raised his hand to his brow with a gesture of bewilderment.
“To consult this man, Kazmah. I actually saw her enter the inner room, I went to get a cab, and when I returned the door was locked.”
“You knocked?”
“Of course. I made no end of a row. But I could get no reply and went away.”
Monte Irvin turned, a pathetic figure, to the Inspector who stood beside him.
“We may as well proceed, Inspector Whiteleaf,” he said. “Mr. Gray's evidence throws no light on the matter at all.”
“Very well, sir,” was the reply; “we have the warrant, and have given the usual notice to whoever may be hiding inside. Burton!”
The Sergeant stepped forward, placed the leather bag on the floor, and stooping, opened it, revealing a number of burglarious-looking instruments.
“Shall I try to cut through the panel?” he asked.
“No, no!” cried Monte Irvin. “Waste no time. You have a crowbar there. Force the door from its hinges. Hurry, man!”
“It doesn't work on hinges!” Gray interrupted excitedly. “It slides to the right by means of some arrangement concealed under the mat.”
“Pass that lantern,” directed Burton, glancing over his shoulder to Gunn.
Setting it beside him, the Sergeant knelt and examined the threshold of the door.
“A metal plate,” he said. “The weight moves a lever, I suppose, which opens the door if it isn't locked. The lock will be on the left of the door as it opens to the right. Let's see what we can do.”
He stood up, crowbar in hand, and inserted the chisel27 blade of the implement28 between the edge of the door and the doorcase.
“Hold steady!” said the Inspector, standing at his elbow.
The dull metallic29 sound of hammer blows on steel echoed queerly around the well of the staircase. Brisley and Gunn, standing very close together on the bottom step of the stair to the third floor, watched the police furtively30. Irvin and Gray found a common fascination31 in the door itself, and Seton, cheroot in mouth, looked from group to group with quiet interest.
“Right!” cried the Sergeant.
The blows ceased.
Firmly grasping the bar, Burton brought all his weight to bear upon it. There was a dull, cracking sound and a sort of rasping. The door moved slightly.
“There's where it locks!” said the Inspector, directing the light of a lantern upon the crevice32 created. “Three inches lower. But it may be bolted as well.”
Wrenching34 the crowbar from its place he attacked the lower panel of the door, and amid a loud splintering and crashing created a hole big enough to allow of the passage of a hand and arm.
The Inspector reached in, groped about, and then uttered an exclamation35 of triumph.
“I've unfastened the bolt,” he said. “If there isn't another at the top you ought to be able to force the door now, Burton.”
The jimmy was thrust back into position, and:
“Stand clear!” cried Burton.
Again he threw his weight upon the bar—and again.
“Drive it further in!” said Monte Irvin; and snatching up the heavy hammer, he rained blows upon the steel butt36. “Now try.”
Burton exerted himself to the utmost.
“Take hold up here, someone!” he panted. “Two of us can pull.”
There came a dull report of parting mechanism38, more sounds of splintering wood... and the door rolled open!
A moment of tense silence, then:
“Is anyone inside there?” cried the Inspector loudly.
Not a sound came from the dark interior.
“The lantern!” whispered Monte Irvin.
He stumbled into the room, from which a heavy smell of perfume swept out upon the landing. Quentin Gray, snatching the lantern from the floor, where it had been replaced, was the next to enter.
“Look for the switch, and turn the lights on!” called the Inspector, following.
Even as he spoke, Gray had found the switch, and the apartment of Kazmah became flooded with subdued39 light.
A glance showed it to be unoccupied.
Gray ran across to the mushrabiyeh cabinet and jerked the curtains aside. There was no one in the cabinet. It contained a chair and a table. Upon the latter was a telephone and some papers and books. “This way!” he cried, his voice high pitched and unnatural40.
He burst through the doorway into the inner room which he had seen Mrs. Irvin enter. The air was laden41 with the smell of frankincense.
But Monte Irvin had caught it up and was already at his elbow. His hand was shaking so that the light danced wildly now upon the carpet, now upon the green walls. This room also was deserted. A black gap in the curtain showed where the material had been roughly torn. Suddenly:
“My God, look!” muttered the Inspector, who, with the others, now stood in the curious draped apartment.
Monte Irvin staggered and fell back against the Inspector, clutching at him for support. But Sergeant Burton, who carried the second lantern, crossed the room and wrenched44 the green draperies bodily from their fastenings.
They had masked a wooden partition or stout45 screen, having an aperture46 in the centre which could be closed by means of another of the sliding doors. A space some five feet deep was thus walled off from this second room. It contained a massive ebony chair. Behind the chair, and dividing the second room into yet a third section, extended another wooden partition in one end of which was an ordinary office door; and immediately at the back of the chair appeared a little opening or window, some three feet up from the floor. The sound of a groan47, followed by that of a dull thud, came from the outer room.
“Hullo!” cried Inspector Whiteleaf. “Mr. Irvin has fainted. Lend a hand.”
“I am here,” replied the quiet voice of Seton Pasha.
“My God!” whispered Gray. “Seton! Seton!”
“Touch nothing,” cried the Inspector from outside, “until I come!”
And now the narrow apartment became filled with all the awe-stricken company, only excepting Monte Irvin, and Brisley, who was attending to the swooning man.
Flat upon the floor, between the door and the ebony chair, arms extended and eyes staring upward at the ceiling, lay Sir Lucien Pyne, his white shirt front redly dyed. In the hush48 which had fallen, the footsteps of Inspector Whiteleaf sounded loudly as he opened the final door, and swept the interior of an inner room with the rays of the lantern.
The room was barely furnished as an office. There was another half-glazed door opening on to a narrow corridor. This door was locked.
“Pyne!” whispered Gray, pale now to the lips. “Do you understand, Seton? It's Pyne! Look! He has been stabbed!”
Sergeant Burton knelt down and gingerly laid his hand upon the stained linen49 over the breast of Sir Lucien.
“Dead?” asked the Inspector, speaking from the inner doorway.
“Yes.”
“You say, sir,” turning to Quentin Gray, “that this is Sir Lucien Pyne?”
“Yes.”
Inspector Whiteleaf rather clumsily removed his cap. The odor of Seton's cheroot announced itself above the oriental perfume with which the place was laden.
“Burton!”
“Yes?”
“See if this telephone in the office is in order. It appears to be an extension from the outer room.”
While the others stood grouped about that still figure on the floor, Sergeant Burton entered the little office.
“Gentlemen,” said the Inspector, firmly and authoritatively52, “I am about to telephone to Vine Street for instructions. No one will leave the premises53.”
Amid an intense hush:
“Regent 201,” called Sergeant Burton.
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收听单词发音
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1
throngs
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| n.人群( throng的名词复数 )v.成群，挤满( throng的第三人称单数 ) | |
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mortification
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| n.耻辱，屈辱 | |
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chauffeur
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| n.(受雇于私人或公司的)司机；v.为…开车 | |
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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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mercurial
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| adj.善变的，活泼的 | |
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6
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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dodging
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| n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避 | |
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9
unaware
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| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
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10
clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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11
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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intrude
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| vi.闯入；侵入；打扰，侵扰 | |
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13
prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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14
hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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15
quelling
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| v.（用武力）制止，结束，镇压( quell的现在分词 ) | |
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16
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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17
inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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19
clandestine
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| adj.秘密的，暗中从事的 | |
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20
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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21
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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22
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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23
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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24
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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distressing
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| a.使人痛苦的 | |
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ashen
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| adj.灰的 | |
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chisel
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| n.凿子；v.用凿子刻，雕，凿 | |
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28
implement
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| n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行 | |
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29
metallic
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| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
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30
furtively
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| adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地 | |
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31
fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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32
crevice
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| n.(岩石、墙等)裂缝；缺口 | |
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33
lust
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| n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望 | |
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34
wrenching
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| n.修截苗根，苗木铲根（铲根时苗木不起土或部分起土）v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的现在分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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35
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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36
butt
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| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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37
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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38
mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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39
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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40
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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41
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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42
divan
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| n.长沙发；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集 | |
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43
trickling
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| n.油画底色含油太多而成泡沫状突起v.滴( trickle的现在分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
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44
wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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46
aperture
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| n.孔，隙，窄的缺口 | |
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47
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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48
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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49
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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50
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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51
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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52
authoritatively
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| 命令式地，有权威地，可信地 | |
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53
premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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