At the United States end of an international river bridge, four armed rangers1 sweltered in a little 'dobe hut, keeping a fairly faithful espionage3 upon the lagging trail of passengers from the Mexican side.
Bud Dawson, proprietor4 of the Top Notch5 Saloon, had, on the evening previous, violently ejected from his premises6 one Leandro Garcia, for alleged7 violation8 of the Top Notch code of behaviour. Garcia had mentioned twenty-four hours as a limit, by which time he would call and collect a painful indemnity9 for personal satisfaction.
This Mexican, although a tremendous braggart10, was thoroughly11 courageous12, and each side of the river respected him for one of these attributes. He and a following of similar bravoes were addicted13 to the pastime of retrieving14 towns from stagnation15.
The day designated by Garcia for retribution was to be further signalised on the American side by a cattlemen's convention, a bull fight, and an old settlers' barbecue and picnic. Knowing the avenger16 to be a man of his word, and believing it prudent17 to court peace while three such gently social relaxations18 were in progress, Captain McNulty, of the ranger2 company stationed there, detailed19 his lieutenant20 and three men for duty at the end of the bridge. Their instructions were to prevent the invasion of Garcia, either alone or attended by his gang.
Travel was slight that sultry afternoon, and the rangers swore gently, and mopped their brows in their convenient but close quarters. For an hour no one had crossed save an old woman enveloped21 in a brown wrapper and a black mantilla, driving before her a burro loaded with kindling23 wood tied in small bundles for peddling24. Then three shots were fired down the street, the sound coming clear and snappy through the still air.
The four rangers quickened from sprawling25, symbolic26 figures of indolence to alert life, but only one rose to his feet. Three turned their eyes beseechingly27 but hopelessly upon the fourth, who had gotten nimbly up and was buckling29 his cartridge-belt around him. The three knew that Lieutenant Bob Buckley, in command, would allow no man of them the privilege of investigating a row when he himself might go.
The agile31, broad-chested lieutenant, without a change of expression in his smooth, yellow-brown, melancholy32 face, shot the belt strap33 through the guard of the buckle30, hefted his sixes in their holsters as a belle34 gives the finishing touches to her toilette, caught up his Winchester, and dived for the door. There he paused long enough to caution his comrades to maintain their watch upon the bridge, and then plunged35 into the broiling36 highway.
The three relapsed into resigned inertia37 and plaintive38 comment.
"I've heard of fellows," grumbled39 Broncho Leathers, "what was wedded40 to danger, but if Bob Buckley ain't committed bigamy with trouble, I'm a son of a gun."
"Peculiarness of Bob is," inserted the Nueces Kid, "he ain't had proper trainin'. He never learned how to git skeered. Now, a man ought to be skeered enough when he tackles a fuss to hanker after readin' his name on the list of survivors41, anyway."
"Buckley," commented Ranger No. 3, who was a misguided Eastern man, burdened with an education, "scraps42 in such a solemn manner that I have been led to doubt its spontaneity. I'm not quite onto his system, but he fights, like Tybalt, by the book of arithmetic."
"I never heard," mentioned Broncho, "about any of Dibble's ways of mixin' scrappin' and cipherin'."
"Triggernometry?" suggested the Nueces infant.
"That's rather better than I hoped from you," nodded the Easterner, approvingly. "The other meaning is that Buckley never goes into a fight without giving away weight.
He seems to dread44 taking the slightest advantage. That's quite close to foolhardiness when you are dealing45 with horse-thieves and fence-cutters who would ambush46 you any night, and shoot you in the back if they could. Buckley's too full of sand. He'll play Horatius and hold the bridge once too often some day."
"I'm on there," drawled the Kid; "I mind that bridge gang in the reader. Me, I go instructed for the other chap--Spurious Somebody--the one that fought and pulled his freight, to fight 'em on some other day."
"Anyway," summed up Broncho, "Bob's about the gamest man I ever see along the Rio Bravo. Great Sam Houston! If she gets any hotter she'll sizzle!" Broncho whacked47 at a scorpion48 with his four-pound Stetson felt, and the three watchers relapsed into comfortless silence.
How well Bob Buckley had kept his secret, since these men, for two years his side comrades in countless49 border raids and dangers, thus spake of him, not knowing that he was the most arrant50 physical coward in all that Rio Bravo country! Neither his friends nor his enemies had suspected him of aught else than the finest courage. It was purely51 a physical cowardice52, and only by an extreme, grim effort of will had he forced his craven body to do the bravest deeds. Scourging53 himself always, as a monk54 whips his besetting55 sin, Buckley threw himself with apparent recklessness into every danger, with the hope of some day ridding himself of the despised affliction. But each successive test brought no relief, and the ranger's face, by nature adapted to cheerfulness and good-humour, became set to the guise57 of gloomy melancholy. Thus, while the frontier admired his deeds, and his prowess was celebrated58 in print and by word of mouth in many camp- fires in the valley of the Bravo, his heart was sick within him. Only himself knew of the horrible tightening59 of the chest, the dry mouth, the weakening of the spine60, the agony of the strung nerves--the never- failing symptoms of his shameful61 malady62.
One mere63 boy in his company was wont64 to enter a fray65 with a leg perched flippantly about the horn of his saddle, a cigarette hanging from his lips, which emitted smoke and original slogans of clever invention. Buckley would have given a year's pay to attain66 that devil- may-care method. Once the debonair67 youth said to him: "Buck28, you go into a scrap43 like it was a funeral. Not," he added, with a complimentary68 wave of his tin cup, "but what it generally is."
Buckley's conscience was of the New England order with Western adjustments, and he continued to get his rebellious69 body into as many difficulties as possible; wherefore, on that sultry afternoon he chose to drive his own protesting limbs to investigation70 of that sudden alarm that had startled the peace and dignity of the State.
Two squares down the street stood the Top Notch Saloon. Here Buckley came upon signs of recent upheaval71. A few curious spectators pressed about its front entrance, grinding beneath their heels the fragments of a plate-glass window. Inside, Buckley found Bud Dawson utterly72 ignoring a bullet wound in his shoulder, while he feelingly wept at having to explain why he failed to drop the "blamed masquerooter," who shot him. At the entrance of the ranger Bud turned appealingly to him for confirmation73 of the devastation74 he might have dealt.
"You know, Buck, I'd 'a' plum got him, first rattle75, if I'd thought a minute. Come in a-masque-rootin', playin' female till he got the drop, and turned loose. I never reached for a gun, thinkin' it was sure Chihuahua Betty, or Mrs. Atwater, or anyhow one of the Mayfield girls comin' a-gunnin', which they might, liable as not. I never thought of that blamed Garcia until--"
"Garcia!" snapped Buckley. "How did he get over here?"
Bud's bartender took the ranger by the arm and led him to the side door. There stood a patient grey burro cropping the grass along the gutter76, with a load of kindling wood tied across its back. On the ground lay a black shawl and a voluminous brown dress.
"Masquerootin' in them things," called Bud, still resisting attempted ministrations to his wounds. "Thought he was a lady till he gave a yell and winged me."
"He went down this side street," said the bartender. "He was alone, and he'll hide out till night when his gang comes over. You ought to find him in that Mexican lay-out below the depot77. He's got a girl down there--Pancha Sales."
"How was he armed?" asked Buckley.
"Two pearl-handled sixes, and a knife."
"Keep this for me, Billy," said the ranger, handing over his Winchester. Quixotic, perhaps, but it was Bob Buckley's way. Another man--and a braver one--might have raised a posse to accompany him. It was Buckley's rule to discard all preliminary advantage.
The Mexican had left behind him a wake of closed doors and an empty street, but now people were beginning to emerge from their places of refuge with assumed unconsciousness of anything having happened. Many citizens who knew the ranger pointed78 out to him with alacrity79 the course of Garcia's retreat.
As Buckley swung along upon the trail he felt the beginning of the suffocating80 constriction81 about his throat, the cold sweat under the brim of his hat, the old, shameful, dreaded82 sinking of his heart as it went down, down, down in his bosom83.
*****
The morning train of the Mexican Central had that day been three hours late, thus failing to connect with the I. & G.N. on the other side of the river. Passengers for Los Estados Unidos grumblingly84 sought entertainment in the little swaggering mongrel town of two nations, for, until the morrow, no other train would come to rescue them. Grumblingly, because two days later would begin the great fair and races in San Antone. Consider that at that time San Antone was the hub of the wheel of Fortune, and the names of its spokes85 were Cattle, Wool, Faro, Running Horses, and Ozone86. In those times cattlemen played at crack-loo on the sidewalks with double-eagles, and gentlemen backed their conception of the fortuitous card with stacks limited in height only by the interference of gravity. Wherefore, thither87 journeyed the sowers and the reapers--they who stampeded the dollars, and they who rounded them up. Especially did the caterers to the amusement of the people haste to San Antone. Two greatest shows on earth were already there, and dozens of smallest ones were on the way.
On a side track near the mean little 'dobe depot stood a private car, left there by the Mexican train that morning and doomed89 by an ineffectual schedule to ignobly90 await, amid squalid surroundings, connection with the next day's regular.
The car had been once a common day-coach, but those who had sat in it and gringed to the conductor's hat-band slips would never have recognised it in its transformation91. Paint and gilding92 and certain domestic touches had liberated93 it from any suspicion of public servitude. The whitest of lace curtains judiciously94 screened its windows. From its fore22 end drooped95 in the torrid air the flag of Mexico. From its rear projected the Stars and Stripes and a busy stovepipe, the latter reinforcing in its suggestion of culinary comforts the general suggestion of privacy and ease. The beholder's eye, regarding its gorgeous sides, found interest to culminate96 in a single name in gold and blue letters extending almost its entire length--a single name, the audacious privilege of royalty97 and genius. Doubly, then, was this arrogant98 nomenclature here justified99; for the name was that of "Alvarita, Queen of the Serpent Tribe." This, her car, was back from a triumphant100 tour of the principal Mexican cities, and now headed for San Antonio, where, according to promissory advertisement, she would exhibit her "Marvellous Dominion101 and Fearless Control over Deadly and Venomous Serpents, Handling them with Ease as they Coil and Hiss102 to the Terror of Thousands of Tongue-tied Tremblers!"
One hundred in the shade kept the vicinity somewhat depeopled. This quarter of the town was a ragged103 edge; its denizens104 the bubbling froth of five nations; its architecture tent, jacal, and 'dobe; its distractions105 the hurdy-gurdy and the informal contribution to the sudden stranger's store of experience. Beyond this dishonourable fringe upon the old town's jowl rose a dense106 mass of trees, surmounting107 and filling a little hollow. Through this bickered108 a small stream that perished down the sheer and disconcerting side of the great canon of the Rio Bravo del Norte.
In this sordid109 spot was condemned110 to remain for certain hours the impotent transport of the Queen of the Serpent Tribe.
The front door of the car was open. Its forward end was curtained off into a small reception-room. Here the admiring and propitiatory112 reporters were wont to sit and transpose the music of Senorita Alvarita's talk into the more florid key of the press. A picture of Abraham Lincoln hung against a wall; one of a cluster of school-girls grouped upon stone steps was in another place; a third was Easter lilies in a blood-red frame. A neat carpet was under foot. A pitcher113, sweating cold drops, and a glass stood on a fragile stand. In a willow114 rocker, reading a newspaper, sat Alvarita.
Spanish, you would say; Andalusian, or, better still, Basque; that compound, like the diamond, of darkness and fire. Hair, the shade of purple grapes viewed at midnight. Eyes, long, dusky, and disquieting115 with their untroubled directness of gaze. Face, haughty117 and bold, touched with a pretty insolence118 that gave it life. To hasten conviction of her charm, but glance at the stacks of handbills in the corner, green, and yellow, and white. Upon them you see an incompetent119 presentment of the senorita in her professional garb120 and pose. Irresistible121, in black lace and yellow ribbons, she faces you; a blue racer is spiralled upon each bare arm; coiled twice about her waist and once about her neck, his horrid122 head close to hers, you perceive Kuku, the great eleven-foot Asian python.
A hand drew aside the curtain that partitioned the car, and a middle- aged123, faded woman holding a knife and a half-peeled potato looked in and said:
"Alviry, are you right busy?"
"I'm reading the home paper, ma. What do you think! that pale, tow- headed Matilda Price got the most votes in the News for the prettiest girl in Gallipo--lees."
"Shush! She wouldn't of done it if you'd been home, Alviry. Lord knows, I hope we'll be there before fall's over. I'm tired gallopin' round the world playin' we are dagoes, and givin' snake shows. But that ain't what I wanted to say. That there biggest snake's gone again. I've looked all over the car and can't find him. He must have been gone an hour. I remember hearin' somethin' rustlin' along the floor, but I thought it was you."
"Oh, blame that old rascal124!" exclaimed the Queen, throwing down her paper. "This is the third time he's got away. George never will fasten down the lid to his box properly. I do believe he's afraid of Kuku. Now I've got to go hunt him."
"Better hurry; somebody might hurt him."
The Queen's teeth showed in a gleaming, contemptuous smile. "No danger. When they see Kuku outside they simply scoot away and buy bromides. There's a crick over between here and the river. That old scamp'd swap125 his skin any time for a drink of running water. I guess I'll find him there, all right."
A few minutes later Alvarita stopped upon the forward platform, ready for her quest. Her handsome black skirt was shaped to the most recent proclamation of fashion. Her spotless shirt-waist gladdened the eye in that desert of sunshine, a swelling126 oasis127, cool and fresh. A man's split-straw hat sat firmly on her coiled, abundant hair.
Beneath her serene128, round, impudent129 chin a man's four-in-hand tie was jauntily130 knotted about a man's high, stiff collar. A parasol she carried, of white silk, and its fringe was lace, yellowly genuine.
I will grant Gallipolis as to her costume, but firmly to Seville or Valladolid I am held by her eyes; castanets, balconies, mantillas, serenades, ambuscades, escapades--all these their dark depths guaranteed.
"Ain't you afraid to go out alone, Alviry?" queried131 the Queen-mother anxiously. "There's so many rough people about. Mebbe you'd better--"
"I never saw anything I was afraid of yet, ma. 'Specially88 people. And men in particular. Don't you fret132. I'll trot133 along back as soon as I find that runaway134 scamp."
The dust lay thick upon the bare ground near the tracks. Alvarita's eye soon discovered the serrated trail of the escaped python. It led across the depot grounds and away down a smaller street in the direction of the little canon, as predicted by her. A stillness and lack of excitement in the neighbourhood encouraged the hope that, as yet, the inhabitants were unaware135 that so formidable a guest traversed their highways. The heat had driven them indoors, whence outdrifted occasional shrill136 laughs, or the depressing whine137 of a maltreated concertina. In the shade a few Mexican children, like vivified stolid138 idols139 in clay, stared from their play, vision-struck and silent, as Alvarita came and went. Here and there a woman peeped from a door and stood dumb, reduced to silence by the aspect of the white silk parasol.
A hundred yards and the limits of the town were passed, scattered140 chaparral succeeding, and then a noble grove141, overflowing142 the bijou canon. Through this a small bright stream meandered143. Park-like it was, with a kind of cockney ruralness further endorsed144 by the waste papers and rifled tins of picnickers. Up this stream, and down it, among its pseudo-sylvan glades145 and depressions, wandered the bright and unruffled Alvarita. Once she saw evidence of the recreant146 reptile's progress in his distinctive147 trail across a spread of fine sand in the arroyo148. The living water was bound to lure149 him; he could not be far away.
So sure was she of his immediate150 proximity151 that she perched herself to idle for a time in the curve of a great creeper that looped down from a giant water-elm. To reach this she climbed from the pathway a little distance up the side of a steep and rugged152 incline. Around her chaparral grew thick and high. A late-blooming ratama tree dispensed153 from its yellow petals154 a sweet and persistent155 odour. Adown the ravine rustled156 a seductive wind, melancholy with the taste of sodden157, fallen leaves.
Alvarita removed her hat, and undoing158 the oppressive convolutions of her hair, began to slowly arrange it in two long, dusky plaits.
From the obscure depths of a thick clump159 of evergreen160 shrubs161 five feet away, two small jewel-bright eyes were steadfastly162 regarding her. Coiled there lay Kuku, the great python; Kuku, the magnificent, he of the plated muzzle163, the grooved164 lips, the eleven-foot stretch of elegantly and brilliantly mottled skin. The great python was viewing his mistress without a sound or motion to disclose his presence. Perhaps the splendid truant165 forefelt his capture, but, screened by the foliage166, thought to prolong the delight of his escapade. What pleasure it was, after the hot and dusty car, to lie thus, smelling the running water, and feeling the agreeable roughness of the earth and stones against his body! Soon, very soon the Queen would find him, and he, powerless as a worm in her audacious hands, would be returned to the dark chest in the narrow house that ran on wheels.
Alvarita heard a sudden crunching167 of the gravel168 below her. Turning her head she saw a big, swarthy Mexican, with a daring and evil expression, contemplating169 her with an ominous170, dull eye.
"What do you want?" she asked as sharply as five hairpins171 between her lips would permit, continuing to plait her hair, and looking him over with placid172 contempt. The Mexican continued to gaze at her, and showed his teeth in a white, jagged smile.
"I no hurt-y you, Senorita," he said.
"You bet you won't," answered the Queen, shaking back one finished, massive plait. "But don't you think you'd better move on?"
"Not hurt-y you--no. But maybeso take one beso--one li'l kees, you call him."
The man smiled again, and set his foot to ascend173 the slope. Alvarita leaned swiftly and picked up a stone the size of a cocoanut.
"Vamoose, quick," she ordered peremptorily174, "you coon!"
The red of insult burned through the Mexican's dark skin.
"Hidalgo, Yo!" he shot between his fangs175. "I am not neg-r-ro! Diabla bonita, for that you shall pay me."
He made two quick upward steps this time, but the stone, hurled176 by no weak arm, struck him square in the chest. He staggered back to the footway, swerved177 half around, and met another sight that drove all thoughts of the girl from his head. She turned her eyes to see what had diverted his interest. A man with red-brown, curling hair and a melancholy, sunburned, smooth-shaven face was coming up the path, twenty yards away. Around the Mexican's waist was buckled178 a pistol belt with two empty holsters.
He had laid aside his sixes--possibly in the jacal of the fair Pancha--and had forgotten them when the passing of the fairer Alvarita had enticed179 him to her trail. His hands now flew instinctively180 to the holsters, but finding the weapons gone, he spread his fingers outward with the eloquent182, abjuring183, deprecating Latin gesture, and stood like a rock. Seeing his plight184, the newcomer unbuckled his own belt containing two revolvers, threw it upon the ground, and continued to advance.
"Splendid!" murmured Alvarita, with flashing eyes.
*****
As Bob Buckley, according to the mad code of bravery that his sensitive conscience imposed upon his cowardly nerves, abandoned his guns and closed in upon his enemy, the old, inevitable185 nausea186 of abject187 fear wrung188 him. His breath whistled through his constricted189 air passages. His feet seemed like lumps of lead. His mouth was dry as dust. His heart, congested with blood, hurt his ribs190 as it thumped191 against them. The hot June day turned to moist November. And still he advanced, spurred by a mandatory192 pride that strained its uttermost against his weakling flesh.
The distance between the two men slowly lessened193. The Mexican stood, immovable, waiting. When scarce five yards separated them a little shower of loosened gravel rattled194 down from above to the ranger's feet. He glanced upward with instinctive181 caution. A pair of dark eyes, brilliantly soft, and fierily195 tender, encountered and held his own. The most fearful heart and the boldest one in all the Rio Bravo country exchanged a silent and inscrutable communication. Alvarita, still seated within her vine, leaned forward above the breast-high chaparral. One hand was laid across her bosom. One great dark braid curved forward over her shoulder. Her lips were parted; her face was lit with what seemed but wonder--great and absolute wonder. Her eyes lingered upon Buckley's. Let no one ask or presume to tell through what subtle medium the miracle was performed. As by a lightning flash two clouds will accomplish counterpoise and compensation of electric surcharge, so on that eyeglance the man received his complement196 of manhood, and the maid conceded what enriched her womanly grace by its loss.
The Mexican, suddenly stirring, ventilated his attitude of apathetic197 waiting by conjuring198 swiftly from his bootleg a long knife. Buckley cast aside his hat, and laughed once aloud, like a happy school-boy at a frolic. Then, empty-handed, he sprang nimbly, and Garcia met him without default.
So soon was the engagement ended that disappointment imposed upon the ranger's warlike ecstasy199. Instead of dealing the traditional downward stroke, the Mexican lunged straight with his knife. Buckley took the precarious200 chance, and caught his wrist, fair and firm. Then he delivered the good Saxon knock-out blow--always so pathetically disastrous201 to the fistless Latin races--and Garcia was down and out, with his head under a clump of prickly pears. The ranger looked up again to the Queen of the Serpents.
Alvarita scrambled202 down to the path.
"I'm mighty203 glad I happened along when I did," said the ranger.
"He--he frightened me so!" cooed Alvarita.
They did not hear the long, low hiss of the python under the shrubs. Wiliest of the beasts, no doubt he was expressing the humiliation204 he felt at having so long dwelt in subjection to this trembling and colouring mistress of his whom he had deemed so strong and potent111 and fearsome.
Then came galloping205 to the spot the civic206 authorities; and to them the ranger awarded the prostrate207 disturber of the peace, whom they bore away limply across the saddle of one of their mounts. But Buckley and Alvarita lingered.
Slowly, slowly they walked. The ranger regained208 his belt of weapons. With a fine timidity she begged the indulgence of fingering the great .45's, with little "Ohs" and "Ahs" of new-born, delicious shyness.
The canoncito was growing dusky. Beyond its terminus in the river bluff209 they could see the outer world yet suffused210 with the waning211 glory of sunset.
A scream--a piercing scream of fright from Alvarita. Back she cowered212, and the ready, protecting arm of Buckley formed her refuge. What terror so dire116 as to thus beset56 the close of the reign213 of the never- before-daunted Queen?
Across the path there crawled a caterpillar214--a horrid, fuzzy, two- inch caterpillar! Truly, Kuku, thou went avenged215. Thus abdicated216 the Queen of the Serpent Tribe--viva la reina!
收听单词发音 |
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rangers
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| 护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员 | |
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ranger
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| n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员 | |
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espionage
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| n.间谍行为，谍报活动 | |
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proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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notch
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| n.(V字形)槽口，缺口，等级 | |
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premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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violation
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| n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯 | |
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indemnity
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| n.赔偿，赔款，补偿金 | |
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braggart
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| n.吹牛者；adj.吹牛的，自夸的 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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addicted
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| adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的 | |
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retrieving
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| n.检索（过程），取还v.取回( retrieve的现在分词 )；恢复；寻回；检索（储存的信息） | |
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stagnation
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avenger
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| n. 复仇者 | |
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prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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relaxations
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| n.消遣( relaxation的名词复数 )；松懈；松弛；放松 | |
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detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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fore
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kindling
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| n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式 | |
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peddling
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| 忙于琐事的，无关紧要的 | |
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sprawling
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| adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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symbolic
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| adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的 | |
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beseechingly
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buck
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| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 | |
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buckling
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| 扣住 | |
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buckle
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| n.扣子，带扣；v.把...扣住，由于压力而弯曲 | |
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agile
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| adj.敏捷的，灵活的 | |
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32
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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33
strap
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| n.皮带，带子；v.用带扣住，束牢；用绷带包扎 | |
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34
belle
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| n.靓女 | |
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35
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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36
broiling
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| adj.酷热的，炽热的，似烧的v.（用火）烤（焙、炙等）( broil的现在分词 )；使卷入争吵；使混乱；被烤（或炙） | |
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37
inertia
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| adj.惰性，惯性，懒惰，迟钝 | |
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38
plaintive
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| adj.可怜的，伤心的 | |
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39
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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40
wedded
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|
| adj.正式结婚的；渴望…的，执著于…的v.嫁，娶，（与…）结婚( wed的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41
survivors
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| 幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
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42
scraps
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| 油渣 | |
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43
scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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44
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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45
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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46
ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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47
whacked
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| a.精疲力尽的 | |
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48
scorpion
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| n.蝎子，心黑的人，蝎子鞭 | |
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49
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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50
arrant
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| adj.极端的；最大的 | |
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51
purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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52
cowardice
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| n.胆小，怯懦 | |
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53
scourging
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| 鞭打( scourge的现在分词 )； 惩罚，压迫 | |
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54
monk
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| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
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55
besetting
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| adj.不断攻击的v.困扰( beset的现在分词 )；不断围攻；镶；嵌 | |
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56
beset
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| v.镶嵌；困扰，包围 | |
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57
guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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58
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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59
tightening
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| 上紧，固定，紧密 | |
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60
spine
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| n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊 | |
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61
shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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62
malady
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| n.病，疾病(通常做比喻) | |
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63
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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64
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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65
fray
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| v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗 | |
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66
attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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67
debonair
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| adj.殷勤的，快乐的 | |
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68
complimentary
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| adj.赠送的，免费的，赞美的，恭维的 | |
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69
rebellious
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| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
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70
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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71
upheaval
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| n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱 | |
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72
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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73
confirmation
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| n.证实，确认，批准 | |
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74
devastation
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| n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤 | |
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75
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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76
gutter
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| n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟 | |
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77
depot
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| n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站 | |
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78
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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79
alacrity
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| n.敏捷，轻快，乐意 | |
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80
suffocating
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| a.使人窒息的 | |
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81
constriction
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| 压缩； 紧压的感觉； 束紧； 压缩物 | |
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82
dreaded
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|
| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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83
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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84
grumblingly
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| 喃喃报怨着，发牢骚着 | |
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85
spokes
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| n.（车轮的）辐条( spoke的名词复数 )；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 | |
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86
ozone
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| n.臭氧，新鲜空气 | |
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87
thither
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|
| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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88
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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89
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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90
ignobly
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| 卑贱地，下流地 | |
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91
transformation
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| n.变化；改造；转变 | |
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92
gilding
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|
| n.贴金箔，镀金 | |
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93
liberated
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|
| a.无拘束的，放纵的 | |
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94
judiciously
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|
| adv.明断地，明智而审慎地 | |
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95
drooped
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| 弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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96
culminate
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|
| v.到绝顶，达于极点，达到高潮 | |
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97
royalty
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| n.皇家，皇族 | |
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98
arrogant
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|
| adj.傲慢的，自大的 | |
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99
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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100
triumphant
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|
| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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101
dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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102
hiss
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| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
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103
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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104
denizens
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| n.居民，住户( denizen的名词复数 ) | |
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105
distractions
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| n.使人分心的事[人]( distraction的名词复数 )；娱乐，消遣；心烦意乱；精神错乱 | |
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106
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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107
surmounting
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|
| 战胜( surmount的现在分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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108
bickered
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| v.争吵( bicker的过去式和过去分词 )；口角；（水等）作潺潺声；闪烁 | |
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109
sordid
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| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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110
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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111
potent
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| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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112
propitiatory
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| adj.劝解的；抚慰的；谋求好感的；哄人息怒的 | |
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113
pitcher
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| n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手 | |
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114
willow
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| n.柳树 | |
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115
disquieting
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|
| adj.令人不安的，令人不平静的v.使不安，使忧虑，使烦恼( disquiet的现在分词 ) | |
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116
dire
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| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
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117
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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118
insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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119
incompetent
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| adj.无能力的，不能胜任的 | |
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120
garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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121
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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122
horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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123
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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124
rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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125
swap
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| n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易 | |
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126
swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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127
oasis
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| n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方 | |
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128
serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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129
impudent
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| adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的 | |
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130
jauntily
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| adv.心满意足地；洋洋得意地；高兴地；活泼地 | |
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131
queried
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| v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问 | |
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132
fret
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| v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损 | |
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133
trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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134
runaway
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| n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的 | |
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135
unaware
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| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
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136
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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137
whine
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| v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣 | |
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138
stolid
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| adj.无动于衷的，感情麻木的 | |
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139
idols
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| 偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像 | |
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140
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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141
grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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142
overflowing
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| n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
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143
meandered
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| （指溪流、河流等）蜿蜒而流( meander的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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144
endorsed
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| vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品 | |
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145
glades
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| n.林中空地( glade的名词复数 ) | |
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146
recreant
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| n.懦夫；adj.胆怯的 | |
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147
distinctive
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|
| adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的 | |
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148
arroyo
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| n.干涸的河床，小河 | |
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149
lure
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| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
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150
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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151
proximity
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| n.接近，邻近 | |
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152
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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153
dispensed
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| v.分配( dispense的过去式和过去分词 )；施与；配（药） | |
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154
petals
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| n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 ) | |
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155
persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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156
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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157
sodden
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| adj.浑身湿透的；v.使浸透；使呆头呆脑 | |
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158
undoing
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| n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭 | |
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159
clump
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|
| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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160
evergreen
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| n.常青树；adj.四季常青的 | |
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161
shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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162
steadfastly
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| adv.踏实地，不变地；岿然；坚定不渝 | |
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163
muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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164
grooved
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| v.沟( groove的过去式和过去分词 )；槽；老一套；（某种）音乐节奏 | |
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165
truant
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| n.懒惰鬼，旷课者；adj.偷懒的，旷课的，游荡的；v.偷懒，旷课 | |
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166
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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167
crunching
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| v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的现在分词 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄 | |
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168
gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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169
contemplating
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| 深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想 | |
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170
ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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171
hairpins
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| n.发夹( hairpin的名词复数 ) | |
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172
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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173
ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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174
peremptorily
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| adv.紧急地，不容分说地，专横地 | |
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175
fangs
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| n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座 | |
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176
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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177
swerved
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| v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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178
buckled
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| a. 有带扣的 | |
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179
enticed
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| 诱惑，怂恿( entice的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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180
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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181
instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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182
eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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183
abjuring
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| v.发誓放弃( abjure的现在分词 )；郑重放弃（意见）；宣布撤回（声明等）；避免 | |
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184
plight
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| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
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185
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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186
nausea
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| n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶) | |
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187
abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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188
wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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189
constricted
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| adj.抑制的，约束的 | |
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190
ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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191
thumped
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| v.重击， （指心脏）急速跳动( thump的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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192
mandatory
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| adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者 | |
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193
lessened
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| 减少的，减弱的 | |
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194
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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195
fierily
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| 如火地，炽热地，猛烈地 | |
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196
complement
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| n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足 | |
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197
apathetic
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| adj.冷漠的，无动于衷的 | |
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198
conjuring
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| n.魔术 | |
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199
ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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200
precarious
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| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
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201
disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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202
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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203
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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204
humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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205
galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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206
civic
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| adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的 | |
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207
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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208
regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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209
bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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210
suffused
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| v.（指颜色、水气等）弥漫于，布满( suffuse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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211
waning
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| adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡 | |
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212
cowered
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| v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的过去式 ) | |
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213
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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214
caterpillar
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| n.毛虫，蝴蝶的幼虫 | |
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215
avenged
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| v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的过去式和过去分词 )；为…报复 | |
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216
abdicated
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| 放弃（职责、权力等）( abdicate的过去式和过去分词 )； 退位，逊位 | |
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