interlopers

Julie S. (United States of America)
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  1. interloper
    someone who intrudes on the privacy or property of another
    The Interlopers
    In a forest of mixed growth somewhere on the eastern spurs of the Karpathians, a man stood one winter night watching and listening, as though he waited for some beast of the woods to come within the range of his vision, and, later, of his rifle.
  2. skirl
    make a shrill, wailing sound
    He strayed away by himself from the watchers whom he had placed in ambush on the crest of the hill, and wandered far down the steep slopes amid the wild tangle of undergrowth, peering through the tree trunks and listening through the whistling and skirling of the wind and the restless beating of the branches for sight and sound of the marauders.
  3. pinion
    wing of a bird
    At his side, so near that under ordinary circumstances he could almost have touched him, lay Georg Znaeym, alive and struggling, but obviously as helplessly pinioned down as himself.
  4. feud
    a bitter quarrel between two parties
    The neighbour feud had grown into a personal one since Ulrich had come to be head of his family; if there was a man in the world whom he detested and wished ill to it was Georg Znaeym, the inheritor of the quarrel and the tireless game-snatcher and raider of the disputed border-forest.
  5. pestilential
    likely to spread and cause an epidemic disease
    "I heard nothing but the pestilential wind," said Georg hoarsely.
  6. strew
    spread by scattering
    All round them lay a thick- strewn wreckage of splintered branches and broken twigs.
  7. tangle
    twist together or entwine into a confusing mass
    He strayed away by himself from the watchers whom he had placed in ambush on the crest of the hill, and wandered far down the steep slopes amid the wild tangle of undergrowth, peering through the tree trunks and listening through the whistling and skirling of the wind and the restless beating of the branches for sight and sound of the marauders.
  8. wrest
    obtain by seizing forcibly or violently, also metaphorically
    A famous law suit, in the days of his grandfather, had wrested it from the illegal possession of a neighbouring family of petty landowners; the dispossessed party had never acquiesced in the judgment of the Courts, and a long series of poaching affrays and similar scandals had embittered the relationships between the families for three generations.
  9. acquiesce
    agree or express agreement
    A famous law suit, in the days of his grandfather, had wrested it from the illegal possession of a neighbouring family of petty landowners; the dispossessed party had never acquiesced in the judgment of the Courts, and a long series of poaching affrays and similar scandals had embittered the relationships between the families for three generations.
  10. plight
    a situation from which extrication is difficult
    Relief at being alive and exasperation at his captive plight brought a strange medley of pious thank-offerings and sharp curses to Ulrich's lips.
  11. medley
    a musical composition consisting of a series of songs
    Relief at being alive and exasperation at his captive plight brought a strange medley of pious thank-offerings and sharp curses to Ulrich's lips.
  12. detest
    dislike intensely
    The neighbour feud had grown into a personal one since Ulrich had come to be head of his family; if there was a man in the world whom he detested and wished ill to it was Georg Znaeym, the inheritor of the quarrel and the tireless game-snatcher and raider of the disputed border-forest.
  13. overwhelm
    overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli
    And before the moment of hesitation had given way to action a deed of Nature's own violence overwhelmed them both.
  14. languor
    inactivity; showing an unusual lack of energy
    In the pain and languor that Ulrich himself was feeling the old fierce hatred seemed to be dying down.
  15. trunk
    the main stem of a tree
    He strayed away by himself from the watchers whom he had placed in ambush on the crest of the hill, and wandered far down the steep slopes amid the wild tangle of undergrowth, peering through the tree trunks and listening through the whistling and skirling of the wind and the restless beating of the branches for sight and sound of the marauders.
  16. release
    grant freedom to; free from confinement
    His heavy shooting-boots had saved his feet from being crushed to pieces, but if his fractures were not as serious as they might have been, at least it was evident that he could not move from his present position till some one came to release him.
  17. marsh
    low-lying wet land with grassy vegetation
    I would never fire a shot on your land, save when you invited me as a guest; and you should come and shoot with me down in the marshes where the wildfowl are.
  18. fracture
    breaking of hard tissue such as bone
    His heavy shooting-boots had saved his feet from being crushed to pieces, but if his fractures were not as serious as they might have been, at least it was evident that he could not move from his present position till some one came to release him.
  19. fitful
    occurring in spells and often abruptly
    In the cold, gloomy forest, with the wind tearing in fitful gusts through the naked branches and whistling round the tree-trunks, they lay and waited for the help that would now bring release and succour to both parties.
  20. releasing
    emotionally purging (of e.g. art)
    I have men, too, in the forest to-night, close behind me, and THEY will be here first and do the releasing.
  21. gust
    a strong current of air
    In the cold, gloomy forest, with the wind tearing in fitful gusts through the naked branches and whistling round the tree-trunks, they lay and waited for the help that would now bring release and succour to both parties.
  22. precipitous
    extremely steep
    The forest lands of Gradwitz were of wide extent and well stocked with game; the narrow strip of precipitous woodland that lay on its outskirt was not remarkable for the game it harboured or the shooting it afforded, but it was the most jealously guarded of all its owner's territorial possessions.
  23. prolong
    lengthen in time; cause to be or last longer
    The two raised their voices in a prolonged hunting call.
  24. branch
    a division of a stem arising from the main stem of a plant
    He strayed away by himself from the watchers whom he had placed in ambush on the crest of the hill, and wandered far down the steep slopes amid the wild tangle of undergrowth, peering through the tree trunks and listening through the whistling and skirling of the wind and the restless beating of the branches for sight and sound of the marauders.
  25. lull
    make calm or still
    "Let's shout for help," he said; he said; "in this lull our voices may carry a little way."
  26. retort
    a quick reply to a question or remark
    "I'm caught in my own forest-land," retorted Ulrich.
  27. scourge
    something causing misery or death
    The feud might, perhaps, have died down or been compromised if the personal ill-will of the two men had not stood in the way; as boys they had thirsted for one another's blood, as men each prayed that misfortune might fall on the other, and this wind-scourged winter night Ulrich had banded together his foresters to watch the dark forest, not in quest of four-footed quarry, but to keep a look-out for the prowling thieves whom he suspected of being afoot from across the land boundary.
  28. captive
    a person who is confined; especially a prisoner of war
    Relief at being alive and exasperation at his captive plight brought a strange medley of pious thank-offerings and sharp curses to Ulrich's lips.
  29. quest
    the act of searching for something
    But the game for whose presence he kept so keen an outlook was none that figured in the sportsman's calendar as lawful and proper for the chase; Ulrich von Gradwitz patrolled the dark forest in quest of a human enemy.
  30. quarry
    animal hunted or caught for food
    The feud might, perhaps, have died down or been compromised if the personal ill-will of the two men had not stood in the way; as boys they had thirsted for one another's blood, as men each prayed that misfortune might fall on the other, and this wind-scourged winter night Ulrich had banded together his foresters to watch the dark forest, not in quest of four-footed quarry, but to keep a look-out for the prowling thieves whom he suspected of being afoot from across the land boundary.
  31. muster
    summon up, call forth, or bring together
    Both men raised their voices in as loud a shout as they could muster.
  32. wind
    air moving from high pressure to low pressure
    The feud might, perhaps, have died down or been compromised if the personal ill-will of the two men had not stood in the way; as boys they had thirsted for one another's blood, as men each prayed that misfortune might fall on the other, and this wind-scourged winter night Ulrich had banded together his foresters to watch the dark forest, not in quest of four-footed quarry, but to keep a look-out for the prowling thieves whom he suspected of being afoot from across the land boundary.
  33. glaring
    shining intensely
    The two enemies stood glaring at one another for a long silent moment.
  34. revive
    cause to regain consciousness
    It was an open winter, and little snow had fallen as yet, hence the captives suffered less from the cold than might have been the case at that season of the year; nevertheless, the wine was warming and reviving to the wounded man, and he looked across with something like a throb of pity to where his enemy lay, just keeping the groans of pain and weariness from crossing his lips.
  35. hint
    an indirect suggestion
    "It is a useful hint," said Ulrich fiercely.
  36. peer
    look searchingly
    He strayed away by himself from the watchers whom he had placed in ambush on the crest of the hill, and wandered far down the steep slopes amid the wild tangle of undergrowth, peering through the tree trunks and listening through the whistling and skirling of the wind and the restless beating of the branches for sight and sound of the marauders.
  37. dispute
    the act of coming into conflict
    The neighbour feud had grown into a personal one since Ulrich had come to be head of his family; if there was a man in the world whom he detested and wished ill to it was Georg Znaeym, the inheritor of the quarrel and the tireless game-snatcher and raider of the disputed border-forest.
  38. arrive
    reach a destination
    Both men spoke with the bitterness of possible defeat before them, for each knew that it might be long before his men would seek him out or find him; it was a bare matter of chance which party would arrive first on the scene.
  39. assuredly
    without a doubt
    Assuredly there was a disturbing element in the forest, and Ulrich could guess the quarter from whence it came.
  40. restrain
    hold back
    But a man who has been brought up under the code of a restraining civilisation cannot easily nerve himself to shoot down his neighbour in cold blood and without word spoken, except for an offence against his hearth and honour.
  41. calendar
    a system of timekeeping that defines divisions of the year
    But the game for whose presence he kept so keen an outlook was none that figured in the sportsman's calendar as lawful and proper for the chase; Ulrich von Gradwitz patrolled the dark forest in quest of a human enemy.
  42. glare
    be sharply reflected
    The two enemies stood glaring at one another for a long silent moment.
  43. minute
    a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
    "My men had orders to follow in ten minutes time, seven of which must have gone by already, and when they get me out - I will remember the hint.
  44. wander
    move or cause to move in a sinuous or circular course
    He strayed away by himself from the watchers whom he had placed in ambush on the crest of the hill, and wandered far down the steep slopes amid the wild tangle of undergrowth, peering through the tree trunks and listening through the whistling and skirling of the wind and the restless beating of the branches for sight and sound of the marauders.
  45. struggle
    strenuous effort
    At his side, so near that under ordinary circumstances he could almost have touched him, lay Georg Znaeym, alive and struggling, but obviously as helplessly pinioned down as himself.
  46. compact
    closely and firmly united or packed together
    It was a fair compact.
  47. stare
    look at with fixed eyes
    "How the whole region would stare and gabble if we rode into the market-square together.
  48. illegal
    prohibited by law or by official or accepted rules
    A famous law suit, in the days of his grandfather, had wrested it from the illegal possession of a neighbouring family of petty landowners; the dispossessed party had never acquiesced in the judgment of the Courts, and a long series of poaching affrays and similar scandals had embittered the relationships between the families for three generations.
  49. fierce
    marked by extreme and violent energy
    A fierce shriek of the storm had been answered by a splitting crash over their heads, and ere they could leap aside a mass of falling beech tree had thundered down on them.
  50. descend
    move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
    The descending twig had slashed the skin of his face, and he had to wink away some drops of blood from his eyelashes before he could take in a general view of the disaster.
  51. petty
    small and of little importance
    A famous law suit, in the days of his grandfather, had wrested it from the illegal possession of a neighbouring family of petty landowners; the dispossessed party had never acquiesced in the judgment of the Courts, and a long series of poaching affrays and similar scandals had embittered the relationships between the families for three generations.
  52. split
    separate into parts or portions
    A fierce shriek of the storm had been answered by a splitting crash over their heads, and ere they could leap aside a mass of falling beech tree had thundered down on them.
  53. compromise
    an accommodation in which both sides make concessions
    The feud might, perhaps, have died down or been compromised if the personal ill-will of the two men had not stood in the way; as boys they had thirsted for one another's blood, as men each prayed that misfortune might fall on the other, and this wind-scourged winter night Ulrich had banded together his foresters to watch the dark forest, not in quest of four-footed quarry, but to keep a look-out for the prowling thieves whom he suspected of being afoot from across the land boundary.
  54. wont
    an established custom
    The roebuck, which usually kept in the sheltered hollows during a storm-wind, were running like driven things to-night, and there was movement and unrest among the creatures that were wont to sleep through the dark hours.
  55. liquid
    fluid matter having no fixed shape but a fixed volume
    Even when he had accomplished that operation it was long before he could manage the unscrewing of the stopper or get any of the liquid down his throat.
  56. accomplish
    achieve with effort
    Even when he had accomplished that operation it was long before he could manage the unscrewing of the stopper or get any of the liquid down his throat.
  57. leap
    move forward by bounds
    A fierce shriek of the storm had been answered by a splitting crash over their heads, and ere they could leap aside a mass of falling beech tree had thundered down on them.
  58. pious
    having or showing or expressing reverence for a deity
    Relief at being alive and exasperation at his captive plight brought a strange medley of pious thank-offerings and sharp curses to Ulrich's lips.
  59. crash
    break violently or noisily
    A fierce shriek of the storm had been answered by a splitting crash over their heads, and ere they could leap aside a mass of falling beech tree had thundered down on them.
  60. raise
    move upwards
    The two raised their voices in a prolonged hunting call.
  61. slope
    be at an angle
    He strayed away by himself from the watchers whom he had placed in ambush on the crest of the hill, and wandered far down the steep slopes amid the wild tangle of undergrowth, peering through the tree trunks and listening through the whistling and skirling of the wind and the restless beating of the branches for sight and sound of the marauders.
  62. misfortune
    a state resulting from unfavorable outcomes
    The feud might, perhaps, have died down or been compromised if the personal ill-will of the two men had not stood in the way; as boys they had thirsted for one another's blood, as men each prayed that misfortune might fall on the other, and this wind-scourged winter night Ulrich had banded together his foresters to watch the dark forest, not in quest of four-footed quarry, but to keep a look-out for the prowling thieves whom he suspected of being afoot from across the land boundary.
  63. jest
    activity characterized by good humor
    Ho, what a jest, Ulrich von Gradwitz snared in his stolen forest.
  64. stretch
    extend one's limbs or muscles, or the entire body
    Ulrich von Gradwitz found himself stretched on the ground, one arm numb beneath him and the other held almost as helplessly in a tight tangle of forked branches, while both legs were pinned beneath the fallen mass.
  65. disaster
    an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
    The descending twig had slashed the skin of his face, and he had to wink away some drops of blood from his eyelashes before he could take in a general view of the disaster.
  66. code
    a set of rules or principles or laws
    But a man who has been brought up under the code of a restraining civilisation cannot easily nerve himself to shoot down his neighbour in cold blood and without word spoken, except for an offence against his hearth and honour.
  67. steep
    having a sharp inclination
    He strayed away by himself from the watchers whom he had placed in ambush on the crest of the hill, and wandered far down the steep slopes amid the wild tangle of undergrowth, peering through the tree trunks and listening through the whistling and skirling of the wind and the restless beating of the branches for sight and sound of the marauders.
  68. limit
    as far as something can go
    Both had now given up the useless struggle to free themselves from the mass of wood that held them down; Ulrich limited his endeavours to an effort to bring his one partially free arm near enough to his outer coat-pocket to draw out his wine-flask.
  69. deed
    a legal document to effect a transfer of property
    And before the moment of hesitation had given way to action a deed of Nature's own violence overwhelmed them both.
  70. dramatic
    characteristic of a stage performance
    For a space both men were silent, turning over in their minds the wonderful changes that this dramatic reconciliation would bring about.
  71. suspect
    regard as untrustworthy
    The feud might, perhaps, have died down or been compromised if the personal ill-will of the two men had not stood in the way; as boys they had thirsted for one another's blood, as men each prayed that misfortune might fall on the other, and this wind-scourged winter night Ulrich had banded together his foresters to watch the dark forest, not in quest of four-footed quarry, but to keep a look-out for the prowling thieves whom he suspected of being afoot from across the land boundary.
  72. repeat
    say or state again
    "Are they your men?" he repeated impatiently as Ulrich did not answer.
  73. hollow
    not solid; having a space or gap or cavity
    The roebuck, which usually kept in the sheltered hollows during a storm-wind, were running like driven things to-night, and there was movement and unrest among the creatures that were wont to sleep through the dark hours.
  74. element
    a substance that cannot be separated into simpler substances
    Assuredly there was a disturbing element in the forest, and Ulrich could guess the quarter from whence it came.
  75. useless
    having no beneficial utility
    Both had now given up the useless struggle to free themselves from the mass of wood that held them down; Ulrich limited his endeavours to an effort to bring his one partially free arm near enough to his outer coat-pocket to draw out his wine-flask.
  76. shelter
    covering that provides protection from the weather
    The roebuck, which usually kept in the sheltered hollows during a storm-wind, were running like driven things to-night, and there was movement and unrest among the creatures that were wont to sleep through the dark hours.
  77. border
    the boundary of a surface
    The neighbour feud had grown into a personal one since Ulrich had come to be head of his family; if there was a man in the world whom he detested and wished ill to it was Georg Znaeym, the inheritor of the quarrel and the tireless game-snatcher and raider of the disputed border-forest.
  78. injury
    physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident
    Georg Znaeym was silent for so long that Ulrich thought, perhaps, he had fainted with the pain of his injuries.
  79. moment
    an indefinitely short time
    The two enemies stood glaring at one another for a long silent moment.
  80. keen
    intense or sharp
    But the game for whose presence he kept so keen an outlook was none that figured in the sportsman's calendar as lawful and proper for the chase; Ulrich von Gradwitz patrolled the dark forest in quest of a human enemy.
  81. generation
    group of genetically related organisms in a line of descent
    A famous law suit, in the days of his grandfather, had wrested it from the illegal possession of a neighbouring family of petty landowners; the dispossessed party had never acquiesced in the judgment of the Courts, and a long series of poaching affrays and similar scandals had embittered the relationships between the families for three generations.
  82. afford
    have the financial means to do something or buy something
    The forest lands of Gradwitz were of wide extent and well stocked with game; the narrow strip of precipitous woodland that lay on its outskirt was not remarkable for the game it harboured or the shooting it afforded, but it was the most jealously guarded of all its owner's territorial possessions.
  83. figure
    alternate name for the body of a human being
    But the game for whose presence he kept so keen an outlook was none that figured in the sportsman's calendar as lawful and proper for the chase; Ulrich von Gradwitz patrolled the dark forest in quest of a human enemy.
  84. evident
    clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
    His heavy shooting-boots had saved his feet from being crushed to pieces, but if his fractures were not as serious as they might have been, at least it was evident that he could not move from his present position till some one came to release him.
  85. wild
    wild, free, and not controlled or touched by humans
    He strayed away by himself from the watchers whom he had placed in ambush on the crest of the hill, and wandered far down the steep slopes amid the wild tangle of undergrowth, peering through the tree trunks and listening through the whistling and skirling of the wind and the restless beating of the branches for sight and sound of the marauders.
  86. vision
    the ability to see
    The Interlopers
    In a forest of mixed growth somewhere on the eastern spurs of the Karpathians, a man stood one winter night watching and listening, as though he waited for some beast of the woods to come within the range of his vision, and, later, of his rifle.
  87. region
    the extended spatial location of something
    "How the whole region would stare and gabble if we rode into the market-square together.
  88. nevertheless
    despite anything to the contrary
    It was an open winter, and little snow had fallen as yet, hence the captives suffered less from the cold than might have been the case at that season of the year; nevertheless, the wine was warming and reviving to the wounded man, and he looked across with something like a throb of pity to where his enemy lay, just keeping the groans of pain and weariness from crossing his lips.
  89. range
    a variety of different things or activities
    The Interlopers
    In a forest of mixed growth somewhere on the eastern spurs of the Karpathians, a man stood one winter night watching and listening, as though he waited for some beast of the woods to come within the range of his vision, and, later, of his rifle.
  90. hence
    from that fact or reason or as a result
    It was an open winter, and little snow had fallen as yet, hence the captives suffered less from the cold than might have been the case at that season of the year; nevertheless, the wine was warming and reviving to the wounded man, and he looked across with something like a throb of pity to where his enemy lay, just keeping the groans of pain and weariness from crossing his lips.
  91. brain
    the organ that is the center of the nervous system
    An idea was slowly forming and growing in his brain, an idea that gained strength every time that he looked across at the man who was fighting so grimly against pain and exhaustion.
  92. brave
    possessing or displaying courage
    "They are making all the speed they can, brave lads," said Ulrich gladly.
  93. message
    a communication that is written or spoken or signaled
    Only as you will have met your death poaching on my lands I don't think I can decently send any message of condolence to your family."
  94. thick
    not thin
    All round them lay a thick- strewn wreckage of splintered branches and broken twigs.
  95. seek
    try to locate, discover, or establish the existence of
    Both men spoke with the bitterness of possible defeat before them, for each knew that it might be long before his men would seek him out or find him; it was a bare matter of chance which party would arrive first on the scene.
  96. vain
    having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
    "Together again," said Ulrich a few minutes later, after listening in vain for an answering halloo.
  97. sought
    that is looked for
    And as he stepped round the trunk of a huge beech he came face to face with the man he sought.
  98. narrow
    not wide
    The forest lands of Gradwitz were of wide extent and well stocked with game; the narrow strip of precipitous woodland that lay on its outskirt was not remarkable for the game it harboured or the shooting it afforded, but it was the most jealously guarded of all its owner's territorial possessions.
  99. repeated
    recurring again and again
    "Are they your men?" he repeated impatiently as Ulrich did not answer.
  100. stock
    a supply of something available for future use
    The forest lands of Gradwitz were of wide extent and well stocked with game; the narrow strip of precipitous woodland that lay on its outskirt was not remarkable for the game it harboured or the shooting it afforded, but it was the most jealously guarded of all its owner's territorial possessions.
  101. touch
    make physical contact with, come in contact with
    At his side, so near that under ordinary circumstances he could almost have touched him, lay Georg Znaeym, alive and struggling, but obviously as helplessly pinioned down as himself.
  102. series
    similar things placed in order or one after another
    A famous law suit, in the days of his grandfather, had wrested it from the illegal possession of a neighbouring family of petty landowners; the dispossessed party had never acquiesced in the judgment of the Courts, and a long series of poaching affrays and similar scandals had embittered the relationships between the families for three generations.
  103. similar
    having the same or nearly the same characteristics
    A famous law suit, in the days of his grandfather, had wrested it from the illegal possession of a neighbouring family of petty landowners; the dispossessed party had never acquiesced in the judgment of the Courts, and a long series of poaching affrays and similar scandals had embittered the relationships between the families for three generations.
  104. circumstances
    one's overall condition in life
    At his side, so near that under ordinary circumstances he could almost have touched him, lay Georg Znaeym, alive and struggling, but obviously as helplessly pinioned down as himself.
  105. attention
    the act of concentrating on something
    And each prayed a private prayer that his men might be the first to arrive, so that he might be the first to show honourable attention to the enemy that had become a friend.
  106. action
    something done (usually as opposed to something said)
    And before the moment of hesitation had given way to action a deed of Nature's own violence overwhelmed them both.
Created on Fri Sep 16 18:19:28 EDT 2011

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