The Purple Fern
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CHAPTER XXII THE ANONYMOUS LETTER

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 The announcement of Ackworth was so terrible, and so unexpected, that Clarice could scarcely believe her ears. She knew that Frank Clarke was a rascal1 and extravagant2, that he was selfish and dishonourable, but it never entered her head that he would turn out to be a cold-blooded murderer. No wonder the vicar, who had forgiven much to his prodigal3 son, had stopped short of finally pardoning such an unmitigated scoundrel.
 
"He must have known what Frank was," said: Clarice, involuntarily.
 
"Who must have known?" asked Anthony, quickly.
 
"Mr. Clarke. He was here a short time ago, and would not let me mention his son's name. He must know. Yes," Clarice struck her hands together, "this was why he refused to let Prudence4 marry Ferdy."
 
"I thought that it was Prudence herself who refused to marry Ferdy."
 
"Yes, but for another reason. I told you that reason--the accusation5 of Mr. Clarke by Zara Dumps."
 
"I remember." Anthony ruffled6 his hair in sore perplexity. "What have you done about that?"
 
"I have seen Zara."
 
"You have seen that girl? When? Where?"
 
"Last night--in London. At the Mascot7 Music Hall, and at her own rooms. You look surprised."
 
"I am. You should not have gone to her rooms, let alone the Mascot Music Hall."
 
"I know that--but to save Ferdy I did so. It was just as well that I went, for several reasons. Oh, I have much to tell you"--Clarice drew her lover to the sofa with gentle force--"and perhaps you will be angry with me."
 
"I said that I would trust you," remarked Ackworth, slowly.

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1 rascal mAIzd     
n.流氓；不诚实的人
参考例句：
  • If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做，我就认为他是个恶棍。
  • The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。
2 extravagant M7zya     
adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的
参考例句：
  • They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
  • He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。
3 prodigal qtsym     
adj.浪费的，挥霍的，放荡的
参考例句：
  • He has been prodigal of the money left by his parents.他已挥霍掉他父母留下的钱。
  • The country has been prodigal of its forests.这个国家的森林正受过度的采伐。
4 prudence 9isyI     
n.谨慎，精明，节俭
参考例句：
  • A lack of prudence may lead to financial problems.不够谨慎可能会导致财政上出现问题。
  • The happy impute all their success to prudence or merit.幸运者都把他们的成功归因于谨慎或功德。
5 accusation GJpyf     
n.控告，指责，谴责
参考例句：
  • I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
  • She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。
6 ruffled e4a3deb720feef0786be7d86b0004e86     
adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
  • She ruffled his hair affectionately. 她情意绵绵地拨弄着他的头发。
  • All this talk of a strike has clearly ruffled the management's feathers. 所有这些关于罢工的闲言碎语显然让管理层很不高兴。
7 mascot E7xzm     
n.福神，吉祥的东西
参考例句：
  • The football team's mascot is a goat.足球队的吉祥物是山羊。
  • We had a panda as our mascot.我们把熊猫作为吉详物。
8 justified 7pSzrk     
a.正当的，有理的
参考例句：
  • She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
  • The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。
9 apprehensive WNkyw     
adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的
参考例句：
  • She was deeply apprehensive about her future.她对未来感到非常担心。
  • He was rather apprehensive of failure.他相当害怕失败。
10 bunked 43154a7b085c8f8cb6f5c9efa3d235c1     
v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的过去式和过去分词 )；空话，废话
参考例句：
  • He bunked with a friend for the night. 他和一个朋友同睡一张床过夜。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • We bunked in an old barn. 我们将就着睡在旧谷仓里。 来自辞典例句
11 delightful 6xzxT     
adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的
参考例句：
  • We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
  • Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。
12 miserable g18yk     
adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的
参考例句：
  • It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
  • Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。
13 hereditary fQJzF     
adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的
参考例句：
  • The Queen of England is a hereditary ruler.英国女王是世袭的统治者。
  • In men,hair loss is hereditary.男性脱发属于遗传。
14 plausible hBCyy     
adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的
参考例句：
  • His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
  • Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。
15 exonerate FzByr     
v.免除责任，确定无罪
参考例句：
  • Nothing can exonerate her from that.任何解释都难辞其咎。
  • There is no reason to exonerate him from the ordinary duties of a citizen.没有理由免除他做公民应尽的义务。
16 spotted 7FEyj     
adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的
参考例句：
  • The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
  • Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。
17 influenza J4NyD     
n.流行性感冒，流感
参考例句：
  • They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
  • Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。
18 caressingly 77d15bfb91cdfea4de0eee54a581136b     
爱抚地，亲切地
参考例句：
  • His voice was caressingly sweet. 他的嗓音亲切而又甜美。
19 detailed xuNzms     
adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的
参考例句：
  • He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
  • A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。
20 implicated 8443a53107b44913ed0a3f12cadfa423     
adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的
参考例句：
  • These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
21 sarcastically sarcastically     
adv.挖苦地，讽刺地
参考例句：
  • 'What a surprise!' Caroline murmured sarcastically.“太神奇了!”卡罗琳轻声挖苦道。
  • Pierce mocked her and bowed sarcastically. 皮尔斯嘲笑她，讽刺地鞠了一躬。
22 irritably e3uxw     
ad.易生气地
参考例句：
  • He lost his temper and snapped irritably at the children. 他发火了，暴躁地斥责孩子们。
  • On this account the silence was irritably broken by a reproof. 为了这件事，他妻子大声斥责，令人恼火地打破了宁静。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
23 recital kAjzI     
n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会
参考例句：
  • She is going to give a piano recital.她即将举行钢琴独奏会。
  • I had their total attention during the thirty-five minutes that my recital took.在我叙述的35分钟内，他们完全被我吸引了。
24 agitated dzgzc2     
adj.被鼓动的，不安的
参考例句：
  • His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定，回答全乱了。
  • She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时，她十分焦虑。
25 tricky 9fCzyd     
adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的
参考例句：
  • I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
  • He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。
26 accomplice XJsyq     
n.从犯，帮凶，同谋
参考例句：
  • She was her husband's accomplice in murdering a rich old man.她是她丈夫谋杀一个老富翁的帮凶。
  • He is suspected as an accomplice of the murder.他涉嫌为这次凶杀案的同谋。
27 coerced d9f1e897cffdd8ee96b8978b69159a6b     
v.迫使做( coerce的过去式和过去分词 )；强迫；（以武力、惩罚、威胁等手段）控制；支配
参考例句：
  • They were coerced into negotiating a settlement. 他们被迫通过谈判解决。
  • He was coerced into making a confession. 他被迫招供。 来自《简明英汉词典》
28 killing kpBziQ     
n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财
参考例句：
  • Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
  • Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
29 feigned Kt4zMZ     
a.假装的，不真诚的
参考例句：
  • He feigned indifference to criticism of his work. 他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。
  • He accepted the invitation with feigned enthusiasm. 他假装热情地接受了邀请。
30 alibi bVSzb     
n.某人当时不在犯罪现场的申辩或证明；借口
参考例句：
  • Do you have any proof to substantiate your alibi? 你有证据表明你当时不在犯罪现场吗？
  • The police are suspicious of his alibi because he already has a record.警方对他不在场的辩解表示怀疑，因为他已有前科。
31 apparently tMmyQ     
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。
32 irrelevantly 364499529287275c4068bbe2e17e35de     
adv.不恰当地，不合适地；不相关地
参考例句：
  • To-morrow!\" Then she added irrelevantly: \"You ought to see the baby.\" 明天，”随即她又毫不相干地说：“你应当看看宝宝。” 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比
  • Suddenly and irrelevantly, she asked him for money. 她突然很不得体地向他要钱。 来自互联网
33 anonymous lM2yp     
adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的
参考例句：
  • Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
  • The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。
34 promptly LRMxm     
adv.及时地，敏捷地
参考例句：
  • He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
  • She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。
35 amazement 7zlzBK     
n.惊奇，惊讶
参考例句：
  • All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
  • He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。
36 obstinately imVzvU     
ad.固执地，顽固地
参考例句：
  • He obstinately asserted that he had done the right thing. 他硬说他做得对。
  • Unemployment figures are remaining obstinately high. 失业数字仍然顽固地居高不下。
37 junction N34xH     
n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站
参考例句：
  • There's a bridge at the junction of the two rivers.两河的汇合处有座桥。
  • You must give way when you come to this junction.你到了这个路口必须让路。

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