I BOLTED TOWARD the village square, the pallor of a ghost upon my face.

Children stared at me, then ran toward their houses. It is Hugh. Hugh De Luc. He's back from the war, they shouted.

All that could have seemed familiar about me was my mane of red hair. People rushed up to me, neighbors I recognized, whom I had not set eyes upon in two years, their faces caught between shock and joy. Hugh, praise God, it is you.

But I pushed past, barely acknowledging them. I was drawn¹ on a direct path to our inn.

Our home... My heart sank as I came to the spot.

A burned-out hole was left where our inn had once been.

Among the cinders² stood a single charred³ support post that had once held up a two-story structure, built by the hands of my wife's father.

Our inn had been burned to the ground.

Where is Sophie? I muttered, first to the charred ruins of the inn, then to faces in the gathered crowd.

I went from person to person, sure that any moment I would spot her coming back from the well. But everyone stood silently.

My heart began to beat insanely.Where is Sophie ? I shouted. Where is my wife?

Sophie's older brother, Matthew, finally pushed out of the crowd. When he saw me, his expression shifted-from surprise to a look of deep concern. He stepped forward, hurling⁴ his arms around me. Hugh, I can't believe it. Thank God you've come back.

I knew the worst had happened. I searched his eyes. What's happened, Matthew? Tell me, where is my wife?

A look of deep sorrow came onto his face.Oh ,God...I almost did not want him to tell me the rest. He led me by the arm to the remains⁵ of our home. There were riders, Hugh. Ten, twelve... They swept in, in the dead of night, like devils, burning everything they could. Black crosses on their chests. They wore no colors. We had no hint of who they were. Just the crosses.

Riders... ? My blood was frozen with dread⁶. What riders, Matthew? What did they do to Sophie?

He placed a hand gently upon my shoulder. They burned three

点击收听单词发音  

1 drawn
v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的
参考例句：
All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。 Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

2 cinders
n.煤渣( cinder的名词复数 )；炭渣；煤渣路；煤渣跑道
参考例句：
This material is variously termed ash, clinker, cinders or slag. 这种材料有不同的名称，如灰、炉渣、煤渣或矿渣。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Rake out the cinders before you start a new fire. 在重新点火前先把煤渣耙出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 charred
v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦
参考例句：
the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸 The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 hurling
n.爱尔兰式曲棍球v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的现在分词 )；大声叫骂
参考例句：
The boat rocked wildly, hurling him into the water. 这艘船剧烈地晃动，把他甩到水中。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Fancy hurling away a good chance like that, the silly girl! 想想她竟然把这样一个好机会白白丢掉了，真是个傻姑娘！ 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 remains
n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹
参考例句：
He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。 The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 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。

7 dwellings
n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The development will consist of 66 dwellings and a number of offices. 新建楼区将由66栋住房和一些办公用房组成。 The hovels which passed for dwellings are being pulled down. 过去用作住室的陋屋正在被拆除。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 raped
v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸
参考例句：
A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句 We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

9 knights
骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马
参考例句：
stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事 He wove a fascinating tale of knights in shining armour. 他编了一个穿着明亮盔甲的骑士的迷人故事。

10 crests
v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的第三人称单数 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点
参考例句：
The surfers were riding in towards the beach on the crests of the waves. 冲浪者们顺着浪头冲向岸边。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The correspondent aroused, heard the crash of the toppled crests. 记者醒了，他听见了浪头倒塌下来的轰隆轰隆声。 来自辞典例句

11 bastards
私生子( bastard的名词复数 )； 坏蛋； 讨厌的事物； 麻烦事 （认为别人走运或不幸时说）家伙
参考例句：
Those bastards don't care a damn about the welfare of the factory! 这批狗养的，不顾大局！ 来自子夜部分 Let the first bastards to find out be the goddam Germans. 就让那些混账的德国佬去做最先发现的倒霉鬼吧。 来自演讲部分

12 rubble
n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾
参考例句：
After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。 After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。