At Vozvizhensk, the advanced fort situated¹ some ten miles from the aoul in which Hadji Murad was spending the night, three soldiers and a non-commissioned officer left the fort and went beyond the Shahgirinsk Gate. The soldiers, dressed as Caucasian soldiers used to be in those days, wore sheepskin coats and caps, and boots that reached above their knees, and they carried their cloaks tightly rolled up and fastened across their shoulders. Shouldering arms, they first went some five hundred paces along the road and then turned off it and went some twenty paces to the right — the dead leaves rustling² under their boots — till they reached the blackened trunk of a broken plane tree just visible through the darkness. There they stopped. It was at this plane tree that an ambush³ party was usually placed.

The bright stars, that had seemed to be running along the tree tops while the soldiers were walking through the forest, now stood still, shining brightly between the bare branches of the trees.

“A good job it’s dry,” said the non-commissioned officer Panov, bringing down his long gun and bayonet with a clang from his shoulder and placing it against the plane tree.

The three soldiers did the same.

“Sure enough I’ve lost it!” muttered Panov crossly. “Must have left it behind or I’ve dropped it on the way.”

“What are you looking for?” asked one of the soldiers in a bright, cheerful voice.

“The bowl of my pipe. Where the devil has it got to?”

“Have you got the stem?” asked the cheerful voice.

“Here it is.”

“Then why not stick it straight into the ground?”

“Not worth bothering!”

“We’ll manage that in a minute.”

smoking in ambush was forbidden, but this ambush hardly deserved the name. It was rather an outpost to prevent the mountaineers from bringing up a cannon⁴ unobserved and firing at the fort as they used to. Panov did not consider it necessary to forego the pleasure of smoking, and therefore accepted the cheerful soldier’s offer. the latter took a knife from his pocket and made a small round hole in the ground. Having smoothed it, he adjusted the pipe stem to it, then filled the hole with tobacco and pressed it down, and the pipe was ready. A sulphur match

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1 situated
adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的
参考例句：
The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。 She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

2 rustling
n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的
参考例句：
the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze 树木在微风中发出的沙沙声 the soft rustling of leaves 树叶柔和的沙沙声

3 ambush
n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击
参考例句：
Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。 Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

4 cannon
n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮
参考例句：
The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。 The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

5 Flared
adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
The match flared and went out. 火柴闪亮了一下就熄了。 The fire flared up when we thought it was out. 我们以为火已经熄灭，但它突然又燃烧起来。

6 smelt
v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼
参考例句：
Tin is a comparatively easy metal to smelt.锡是比较容易熔化的金属。 Darby was looking for a way to improve iron when he hit upon the idea of smelting it with coke instead of charcoal.达比一直在寻找改善铁质的方法，他猛然想到可以不用木炭熔炼，而改用焦炭。

7 prone
adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的
参考例句：
Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。 He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

8 inhale
v.吸入(气体等)，吸(烟)
参考例句：
Don't inhale dust into your lung.别把灰尘吸进肺里。 They are pleased to not inhale second hand smoke.他们很高兴他们再也不会吸到二手烟了。

9 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！

10 treasury
n.宝库；国库，金库；文库
参考例句：
The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。 This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

11 catered
提供饮食及服务( cater的过去式和过去分词 )； 满足需要，适合
参考例句：
We catered for forty but only twenty came. 我们准备了40客饭菜，但只来了20个人。 They catered for everyone regardless of social rank. 他们为所有人服务而不计较其社会地位。

12 morose
adj.脾气坏的，不高兴的
参考例句：
He was silent and morose.他沉默寡言、郁郁寡欢。 The publicity didn't make him morose or unhappy?公开以后，没有让他郁闷或者不开心吗？

13 rustled
v.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He rustled his papers. 他把试卷弄得沙沙地响。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Leaves rustled gently in the breeze. 树叶迎着微风沙沙作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 incessant
adj.不停的，连续的
参考例句：
We have had incessant snowfall since yesterday afternoon.从昨天下午开始就持续不断地下雪。 She is tired of his incessant demands for affection.她厌倦了他对感情的不断索取。

15 whining
n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚
参考例句：
That's the way with you whining, puny, pitiful players. 你们这种又爱哭、又软弱、又可怜的赌棍就是这样。 The dog sat outside the door whining (to be let in). 那条狗坐在门外狺狺叫着（要进来）。

16 chuckling
轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 )
参考例句：
I could hear him chuckling to himself as he read his book. 他看书时，我能听见他的轻声发笑。 He couldn't help chuckling aloud. 他忍不住的笑了出来。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

17 longing
n.（for）渴望
参考例句：
Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。 His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

18 proprietor
n.所有人；业主；经营者
参考例句：
The proprietor was an old acquaintance of his.业主是他的一位旧相识。 The proprietor of the corner grocery was a strange thing in my life.拐角杂货店店主是我生活中的一个怪物。

19 twigs
细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Some birds build nests of twigs. 一些鸟用树枝筑巢。 Willow twigs are pliable. 柳条很软。

20 peculiar
adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的
参考例句：
He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。 He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

21 scout
n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索
参考例句：
He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。 The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

22 scouts
侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员
参考例句：
to join the Scouts 参加童子军 The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

23 disapprovingly
adv.不以为然地，不赞成地，非难地
参考例句：
When I suggested a drink, she coughed disapprovingly. 我提议喝一杯时，她咳了一下表示反对。 来自《简明英汉词典》 He shook his head disapprovingly. 他摇了摇头，表示不赞成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 guts
v.狼吞虎咽，贪婪地吃，飞碟游戏（比赛双方每组5人，相距15码，互相掷接飞碟）；毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的第三人称单数 )；取出…的内脏n.勇气( gut的名词复数 )；内脏；消化道的下段；肠
参考例句：
I'll only cook fish if the guts have been removed. 鱼若已收拾干净，我只需烧一下即可。 Barbara hasn't got the guts to leave her mother. 巴巴拉没有勇气离开她妈妈。 来自《简明英汉词典》