HE found George sitting down in the verandah after waltzing. His partner was a sister of Logan’s, a dark girl whose husband was Resident somewhere in Lower Kashmir. The lady gave her hand to Lewis and he took the vacant seat on the other side.
He apologized for carrying off her companion, escorted her back to the
ballroom1, and then returned to satisfy the amazed George.
“I want to talk to you. Excuse my rudeness, but I have explained to Mrs. Tracy. I have a good many things I want to say to you.”
“Where on earth have you been all night, Lewis? I call it confoundedly mean to go off and leave me to do all the heavy work. I’ve never been so busy in my life. Lots of girls and far too few men. This is the first breathing space I’ve had. What is it that you want?”
“I am going off this very moment up into the hills. That letter Marker sent me this morning has been confirmed. Holm, who commands up at the Forza fort, has just come down very sick, and he says that the Bada-Mawidi are looking ugly, and that we should take Marker’s word. He wanted to go back himself but he is too ill, and Thwaite can’t leave here, so I am going. I don’t expect there will be much risk, but in case the rising should be serious I want you to do me a favour.”
“I suppose I can’t come with you,” said George ruefully. “I know I promised to let you go your own way before we came out, but I wish you would let me stick by you. What do you want me to do?”
“Nothing desperate,” said Lewis, laughing. “You can stay on here and dance till sunrise if you like. But to-morrow I want you to come up to a certain place at the foot of the hills which I will tell you about, and wait there. It’s about half distance between Forza and the two Khautmi forts. If the rising turns out to be a simple affair I’ll join you there to-morrow night and we can start our shooting. But if I don’t, I want you to go up to the Khautmi forts and rouse St. John and Mitchinson and get them to send to Forza. Do you see?”
Lewis had taken out a pencil and began to
sketch2 a rough plan on George’s shirt
cuff3. “This will give you an idea of the place. You can look up a bigger map in the hotel, and Thwaite or any one will give you directions about the road. There’s Forza, and there are the Khautmis about twenty miles west. Half-way between the two is that long Nazri valley, and at the top is a tableland strewn with
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收听单词发音
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1
ballroom
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| n.舞厅 |
参考例句： |
- The boss of the ballroom excused them the fee.舞厅老板给他们免费。
- I go ballroom dancing twice a week.我一个星期跳两次交际舞。
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2
sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 |
参考例句： |
- My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
- I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。
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3
cuff
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| n.袖口；手铐；护腕；vt.用手铐铐；上袖口 |
参考例句： |
- She hoped they wouldn't cuff her hands behind her back.她希望他们不要把她反铐起来。
- Would you please draw together the snag in my cuff?请你把我袖口上的裂口缝上好吗？
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4
boulders
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| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 |
参考例句： |
- Seals basked on boulders in a flat calm. 海面风平浪静，海豹在巨石上晒太阳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The river takes a headlong plunge into a maelstrom of rocks and boulders. 河水急流而下，入一个漂砾的漩涡中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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5
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 |
参考例句： |
- An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
- He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
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6
pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 |
参考例句： |
- His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
- They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。
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7
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 |
参考例句： |
- The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
- Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
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8
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 |
参考例句： |
- The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴，有阵雨。
- Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。
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9
distraction
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| n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐 |
参考例句： |
- Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
- Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。
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10
hieroglyphics
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| n.pl.象形文字 |
参考例句： |
- Hieroglyphics are carved into the walls of the temple. 寺庙的墙壁上刻着象形文字。
- His writing is so bad it just looks like hieroglyphics to me. 他写的糟透了，对我来说就像天书一样。
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11
scribbling
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| n.乱涂[写]胡[乱]写的文章[作品]v.潦草的书写( scribble的现在分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下 |
参考例句： |
- Once the money got into the book, all that remained were some scribbling. 折子上的钱只是几个字！ 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
- McMug loves scribbling. Mama then sent him to the Kindergarten. 麦唛很喜欢写字，妈妈看在眼里，就替他报读了幼稚园。 来自互联网
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12
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 |
参考例句： |
- After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
- They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
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13
jigging
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| n.跳汰选，簸选v.（使）上下急动( jig的现在分词 ) |
参考例句： |
- They were jigging up and down to the music. 他们随着音乐的节拍轻快地上下跳着。 来自互联网
- She hopped about on stage, jigging her feet. 她在舞台上用脚跳来跳去。 来自互联网
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14
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 |
参考例句： |
- He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
- The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。
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15
cleft
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| n.裂缝；adj.裂开的 |
参考例句： |
- I hid the message in a cleft in the rock.我把情报藏在石块的裂缝里。
- He was cleft from his brother during the war.在战争期间，他与他的哥哥分离。
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16
draughts
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| n. <英>国际跳棋 |
参考例句： |
- Seal (up) the window to prevent draughts. 把窗户封起来以防风。
- I will play at draughts with him. 我跟他下一盘棋吧！
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17
bucking
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| v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的现在分词 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃 |
参考例句： |
- a bucking bronco in the rodeo 牛仔竞技表演中一匹弓背跳跃的野马
- That means we'll be bucking grain bags, bustin's gut. 那就是说咱们要背这一袋袋的谷子，得把五脏都累坏。 来自辞典例句
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