"You have returned," he answered, but without moving. "Where



from?"

"Riolama."



He shook his head, then asked where it was.

"Twenty days towards the setting sun," I said. As he remained



silent I added: "I heard that I could find gold in the mountains

there. An old man told me, and we went to look for gold."



"What did you find?"

"Nothing."



"Ah!"

And so our conversation appeared to be at an end. But after a



few moments my intense desire to discover whether the savages

knew aught of Rima or not made me hazard a question.



"Do you live here in the forest now?" I asked.

He shook his head, and after a while said: "We come to kill



animals."

"You are like me now," I returned quickly; "you fear nothing."



He looked distrustfully at me, then came a little nearer and

said: "You are very brave. I should not have gone twenty days'



journey with no weapons and only an old man for companion. What

weapons did you have?"



I saw that he feared me and wished to make sure that I had it not

in my power to do him some injury. "No weapon except my knife,"



I replied, with assumed carelessness. With that I raised my

cloak so as to let him see for himself, turning my body round



before him. "Have you found my pistol?" I added.

He shook his head; but he appeared less suspicious now and came



close up to me. "How do you get food? Where are you going?" he

asked.



I answered boldly: "Food! I am nearly starving. I am going to

the village to see if the women have got any meat in the pot, and



to tell Runi all I have done since I left him."

He looked at me keenly, a little surprised at my confidence



perhaps, then said that he was also going back and would

accompany me One of the other men now advanced, blow-pipe in



hand, to join us, and, leaving the wood, we started to walk

across the savannah.



It was hateful to have to recross that savannah again, to leave

the woodland shadows where I had hoped to find Rima; but I was



powerless: I was a prisoner once more, the lost captive recovered

and not yet pardoned, probably never to be pardoned. Only by



means of my own cunning could I be saved, and Nuflo, poor old

man, must take his chance.



Again and again as we tramped over the barren ground, and when we

climbed the ridge, I was compelled to stand still to recover



breath, explaining to Piake that I had been travelling day and

night, with no meat during the last three days, so that I was



exhausted. This was an exaggeration, but it was necessary to

account in some way for the faintness I experienced during our



walk, caused less by fatigue and want of food than by anguish of

mind.



At intervals I talked to him, asking after all the other members

of the community by name. At last, thinking only of Rima, I



asked him if any other person or persons besides his people came

to the wood now or lived there.



He said no. "Once," I said, "there was a daughter of the Didi, a

girl you all feared: is she there now?"



He looked at me with suspicion and then shook his head. I dared

not press him with more questions; but after an interval he said



plainly: "She is not there now."

And I was forced to believe him; for had Rima been in the wood



they would not have been there. She was not there, this much I

had discovered. Had she, then, lost her way, or perished on that



long journey from Riolama? Or had she returned only to fall into

the hands of her cruel enemies? My heart was heavy in me; but if



these devils in human shape knew more than they had told me, I

must, I said, hide my anxiety and wait patiently to find it out,



should they spare my life. And if they spared me and had not

spared that other sacred life interwoven with mine, the time

• hunger [´hʌŋgə] n.饥饿；渴望 (初中英语单词)


• faithful [´feiθfəl] a.忠实的；可靠的 (初中英语单词)


• butcher [´butʃə] n.屠夫，刽子手 (初中英语单词)


• equally [´i:kwəli] ad.相等地；平等地 (初中英语单词)


• league [li:g] n.同盟；社团 (初中英语单词)


• definitely [´definitli] ad.明确地；绝对 (初中英语单词)


• imagination [i,mædʒi´neiʃən] n.想象(力) (初中英语单词)


• musical [´mju:zikəl] a.音乐的；悦耳的 (初中英语单词)


• beloved [bi´lʌvd] a.为….所爱的 n.爱人 (初中英语单词)


• valley [´væli] n.谷；河谷；流域 (初中英语单词)


• glimpse [glimps] n.&v.瞥见 (初中英语单词)


• weakness [´wi:knis] n.虚弱；弱点，缺点 (初中英语单词)


• universal [,ju:ni´və:səl] a.宇宙的；普遍的 (初中英语单词)


• uncertain [ʌn´sə:tn] a.不定的；不可靠的 (初中英语单词)


• standing [´stændiŋ] n.持续 a.直立的 (初中英语单词)


• dwelling [´dweliŋ] n.住所；寓所 (初中英语单词)


• absence [´æbsəns] n.不在，缺席；缺乏 (初中英语单词)


• waiting [´weitiŋ] n.等候；伺候 (初中英语单词)


• occasionally [ə´keiʒənəli] ad.偶然地；非经常地 (初中英语单词)


• opening [´əupəniŋ] n.开放；开端 a.开始的 (初中英语单词)


• hidden [´hid(ə)n] hide 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)


• thither [´ðiðə] ad.到那里 a.那边的 (初中英语单词)


• purple [´pə:pl] n.紫色 a.紫(红)的 (初中英语单词)


• strangely [´streindʒli] ad.奇怪地；陌生地 (初中英语单词)


• indian [´indiən] a.印度的 n.印度人 (初中英语单词)


• distinguish [di´stiŋgwiʃ] v.区分；识别；立功 (初中英语单词)


• pierce [piəs] v.刺穿；突破；洞察 (初中英语单词)


• flight [flait] n.逃走；飞行；班机 (初中英语单词)


• reflect [ri´flekt] v.反射；反响；表达 (初中英语单词)


• deadly [´dedli] a.致命的 ad.死一般地 (初中英语单词)


• weapon [´wepən] n.武器；斗争手段 (初中英语单词)


• invent [in´vent] vt.发明；捏造 (初中英语单词)


• account [ə´kaunt] vi.说明 vt.认为 n.帐目 (初中英语单词)


• silently [´sailəntli] ad.寂静地；沉默地 (初中英语单词)


• companion [kəm´pæniən] n.同伴；同事；伴侣 (初中英语单词)


• injury [´indʒəri] n.伤害；毁坏；侮辱 (初中英语单词)


• keenly [´ki:nli] ad.敏锐地；强烈地 (初中英语单词)


• advanced [əd´vɑ:nst] a.先进的；高级的 (初中英语单词)


• captive [´kæptiv] n.俘虏；捕获物 (初中英语单词)


• cunning [´kʌniŋ] a.&n.狡猾(诡诈)的 (初中英语单词)


• barren [´bærən] a.贫瘠的；不生育的 (初中英语单词)


• suspicion [sə´spiʃən] n.怀(猜)疑；嫌疑 (初中英语单词)


• interval [´intəvəl] n.间隙；(工间)休息 (初中英语单词)


• anxiety [æŋ´zaiəti] n.挂念；渴望；焦虑的事 (初中英语单词)


• sacred [´seikrid] a.神圣的；庄严的 (初中英语单词)


• apparently [ə´pærəntli] ad.显然，表面上地 (高中英语单词)


• extremity [ik´stremiti] n.末端；危机 (高中英语单词)


• passionate [´pæʃənit] a.易动情的；易怒的 (高中英语单词)


• longing [´lɔŋiŋ] n.&a.渴望(的) (高中英语单词)


• anguish [´æŋgwiʃ] n.(极度的)痛苦；苦恼 (高中英语单词)


• melancholy [´melənkəli] n.忧郁 a.忧郁的 (高中英语单词)


• foliage [´fəuli-idʒ] n.叶子，簇叶 (高中英语单词)


• random [´rændəm] n.偶然的行动 (高中英语单词)


• caution [´kɔ:ʃən] n.&vt.小心；告诫；警告 (高中英语单词)


• shadowy [´ʃædəui] a.有阴影的；模糊的 (高中英语单词)


• motionless [´məuʃənləs] a.静止的；固定的 (高中英语单词)


• deliberately [di´libərətli] ad.故意地；慎重地 (高中英语单词)


• secretly [´si:kritli] ad.秘密地；隐蔽地 (高中英语单词)


• regarding [ri´gɑ:diŋ] prep.关于 (高中英语单词)


• intense [in´tens] a.强烈的；紧张的 (高中英语单词)


• hazard [´hæzəd] n.危险 vt.冒…险 (高中英语单词)


• suspicious [sə´spiʃəs] a.可疑的，多疑的 (高中英语单词)


• boldly [´bəuldli] ad.大胆地；醒目地 (高中英语单词)


• woodland [´wudlənd] n.树林，林地 (高中英语单词)


• fatigue [fə´ti:g] n.&vt.(使)疲劳(劳累) (高中英语单词)


• community [kə´mju:niti] n.团体；社区；公众 (高中英语单词)


• patiently [´peiʃəntli] ad.有耐心地；坚韧地 (高中英语单词)


• hateful [´heitfəl] a.可恨的，可憎的 (英语四级单词)


• nightly [´naitli] a.&ad.每夜(的) (英语四级单词)


• voluntary [´vɔləntəri] a.自愿的；义务的 (英语四级单词)


• towering [´tauəriŋ] a.高耸的；强烈的 (英语四级单词)


• impatience [im´peiʃəns] n.不耐烦，急躁 (英语四级单词)


• cautious [´kɔ:ʃəs] a.小心的；谨慎的 (英语四级单词)


• upwards [´ʌpwədz] ad.=upward (英语四级单词)


• thatch [θætʃ] n.茅草屋顶 (英语四级单词)


• amidst [ə´midst] prep.=amid (英语四级单词)


• overtook [,əuvə´tuk] overtake的过去式 (英语四级单词)


• calamity [kə´læmiti] n.灾害，大灾难 (英语四级单词)


• impatiently [im´peiʃəntli] ad.不耐烦地，急躁地 (英语四级单词)


• sorrowful [´sɔrəuful] a.悲伤的，使人伤心的 (英语四级单词)


• setting [´setiŋ] n.安装；排字；布景 (英语四级单词)


• carelessness [kɛəlisnis] n.粗心；漫不经心 (英语四级单词)


• experienced [ik´spiəriənst] a.有经验的；熟练的 (英语四级单词)


• loathsome [´ləuðsəm] a.讨厌的，令人作呕的 (英语六级单词)


• unclean [ʌn´kli:n] a.不清洁的；讨厌的 (英语六级单词)


• angelic [æn´dʒelik] a.天使(般)的 (英语六级单词)


• forsook [fə´suk] forsake的过去式 (英语六级单词)


• piercing [´piəsiŋ] a.刺(贯)穿的；尖刻的 (英语六级单词)


• taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)


• exaggeration [ig,zædʒə´reiʃən] n.夸张，夸大 (英语六级单词)