“Above all, make haste!” Maurice had said to the messenger charged with bearing a letter to the baroness².

Nevertheless, the man did not reach Escorval until nightfall.

Beset³ by a thousand fears, he had taken the unfrequented roads and had made long circuits to avoid all the people he saw approaching in the distance.

Mme. d’Escorval tore the letter rather than took it from his hands. She opened it, read it aloud to Marie-Anne, and merely said:

“Let us go — at once.”

But this was easier said than done.

They kept but three horses at Escorval. One was nearly dead from its terrible journey of the previous night; the other two were in Montaignac.

What were the ladies to do? To trust to the kindness of their neighbors was the only resource open to them.

But these neighbors having heard of the baron¹’s arrest, firmly refused to lend their horses. They believed they would gravely compromise themselves by rendering⁴ any service to the wife of a man upon whom the burden of the most terrible of accusations⁵ was resting.

Mme. d’Escorval and Marie-Anne were talking of pursuing their journey on foot, when Corporal Bavois, enraged⁶ at such cowardice⁷, swore by the sacred name of thunder that this should not be.

“One moment!” said he. “I will arrange the matter.”

He went away, but reappeared about a quarter of an hour afterward⁸, leading an old plough-horse by the mane. This clumsy and heavy steed he harnessed into the cabriolet as best he could.

But even this did not satisfy the old trooper’s complaisance⁹.

His duties at the

点击收听单词发音  

1 baron
n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王
参考例句：
Henry Ford was an automobile baron.亨利·福特是一位汽车业巨头。 The baron lived in a strong castle.男爵住在一座坚固的城堡中。

2 baroness
n.男爵夫人，女男爵
参考例句：
I'm sure the Baroness will be able to make things fine for you.我相信男爵夫人能够把家里的事替你安排妥当的。 The baroness,who had signed,returned the pen to the notary.男爵夫人这时已签过字，把笔交回给律师。

3 beset
v.镶嵌；困扰，包围
参考例句：
She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。 The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。

4 rendering
n.表现，描写
参考例句：
She gave a splendid rendering of Beethoven's piano sonata.她精彩地演奏了贝多芬的钢琴奏鸣曲。 His narrative is a super rendering of dialect speech and idiom.他的叙述是方言和土语最成功的运用。

5 accusations
n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名
参考例句：
There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。 He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

6 enraged
使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤
参考例句：
I was enraged to find they had disobeyed my orders. 发现他们违抗了我的命令，我极为恼火。 The judge was enraged and stroke the table for several times. 大法官被气得连连拍案。

7 cowardice
n.胆小，怯懦
参考例句：
His cowardice reflects on his character.他的胆怯对他的性格带来不良影响。 His refusal to help simply pinpointed his cowardice.他拒绝帮助正显示他的胆小。

8 afterward
adv.后来；以后
参考例句：
Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。 Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

9 complaisance
n.彬彬有礼，殷勤，柔顺
参考例句：
She speaks with complaisance.她说话彬彬有礼。 His complaisance leaves a good impression on her.他的彬彬有礼给她留下了深刻的印象。

10 chateau
n.城堡，别墅
参考例句：
The house was modelled on a French chateau.这房子是模仿一座法国大别墅建造的。 The chateau was left to itself to flame and burn.那府第便径自腾起大火燃烧下去。

11 regiment
n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制
参考例句：
As he hated army life,he decide to desert his regiment.因为他嫌恶军队生活，所以他决心背弃自己所在的那个团。 They reformed a division into a regiment.他们将一个师整编成为一个团。

12 civilian
adj.平民的，民用的，民众的
参考例句：
There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。 He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

13 molest
vt.骚扰，干扰，调戏
参考例句：
If the man continues to molest her,I promise to keep no measures with the delinquent.如果那人继续对她进行骚扰，我将对他这个违法者毫不宽容。 If I were gone,all these would molest you.如果没有我，这一切都会来骚扰你。

14 assented
同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The judge assented to allow the prisoner to speak. 法官同意允许犯人申辩。 "No," assented Tom, "they don't kill the women -- they're too noble. “对，”汤姆表示赞同地说，“他们不杀女人——真伟大！

15 forsake
vt.遗弃，抛弃；舍弃，放弃
参考例句：
She pleaded with her husband not to forsake her.她恳求丈夫不要抛弃她。 You must forsake your bad habits.你必须革除你的坏习惯。

16 citadel
n.城堡；堡垒；避难所
参考例句：
The citadel was solid.城堡是坚固的。 This citadel is built on high ground for protecting the city.这座城堡建于高处是为保护城市。

17 affixed
adj.[医]附着的，附着的v.附加( affix的过去式和过去分词 )；粘贴；加以；盖（印章）
参考例句：
The label should be firmly affixed to the package. 这张标签应该牢牢地贴在包裹上。 He affixed the sign to the wall. 他将标记贴到墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 jurisdiction
n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权
参考例句：
It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。 Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

19 rabble
n.乌合之众，暴民；下等人
参考例句：
They formed an army out of rabble.他们用乌合之众组成一支军队。 Poverty in itself does not make men into a rabble.贫困自身并不能使人成为贱民。

20 judicial
adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的
参考例句：
He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。 Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

21 condemns
v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地
参考例句：
Her widowhood condemns her to a lonely old age. 守寡使她不得不过着孤独的晚年生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The public opinion condemns prostitution. 公众舆论遣责卖淫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

22 condemn
vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑
参考例句：
Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。 We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

23 testimony
n.证词；见证，证明
参考例句：
The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。 He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

24 sinister
adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的
参考例句：
There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。 Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值，而且包藏祸心。

25 apprehensions
疑惧
参考例句：
He stood in a mixture of desire and apprehensions. 他怀着渴望和恐惧交加的心情伫立着。 But subsequent cases have removed many of these apprehensions. 然而，随后的案例又消除了许多类似的忧虑。

26 spoke
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
参考例句：
They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。 The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

27 investigation
n.调查，调查研究
参考例句：
In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。 He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

28 decided
adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的
参考例句：
This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。 There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

29 conspirators
n.共谋者，阴谋家( conspirator的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The conspirators took no part in the fighting which ensued. 密谋者没有参加随后发生的战斗。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The French conspirators were forced to escape very hurriedly. 法国同谋者被迫匆促逃亡。 来自辞典例句

30 guilt
n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责
参考例句：
She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。 Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

31 countenance
n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同
参考例句：
At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。 I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

32 dread
vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧
参考例句：
We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。 Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

33 swollen
adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀
参考例句：
Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。 A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

34 chamber
n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所
参考例句：
For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。 The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

35 worthy
adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的
参考例句：
I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。 There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

36 presidency
n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)
参考例句：
Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。 Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

37 vengeance
n.报复，报仇，复仇
参考例句：
He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。 For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。

38 hatred
n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨
参考例句：
He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。 The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

39 bestowed
赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
It was a title bestowed upon him by the king. 那是国王赐给他的头衔。 He considered himself unworthy of the honour they had bestowed on him. 他认为自己不配得到大家赋予他的荣誉。

40 indifference
n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎
参考例句：
I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。 He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

41 apparently
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。