Other
Read books online Ā» Other Ā» Nostromo Joseph Conrad (best large ereader .TXT) šŸ“–

Book online Ā«Nostromo Joseph Conrad (best large ereader .TXT) šŸ“–Ā». Author Joseph Conrad



1 ... 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170
Go to page:
had disappeared she came out and sat down by her father.

The venerable Garibaldino felt, in his own words, ā€œa young man yet.ā€ In one way or another a good deal of talk about Ramirez had reached him of late; and his contempt and dislike of that man who obviously was not what his son would have been, had made him restless. He slept very little now; but for several nights past instead of readingā ā€”or only sitting, with Mrs. Gouldā€™s silver spectacles on his nose, before the open Bible, he had been prowling actively all about the island with his old gun, on watch over his honour.

Linda, laying her thin brown hand on his knee, tried to soothe his excitement. Ramirez was not in Sulaco. Nobody knew where he was. He was gone. His talk of what he would do meant nothing.

ā€œNo,ā€ the old man interrupted. ā€œBut son Gianā€™ Battista told meā ā€”quite of himselfā ā€”that the cowardly esclavo was drinking and gambling with the rascals of Zapiga, over there on the north side of the gulf. He may get some of the worst scoundrels of that scoundrelly town of negroes to help him in his attempt upon the little oneā ā€Šā ā€¦ But I am not so old. No!ā€

She argued earnestly against the probability of any attempt being made; and at last the old man fell silent, chewing his white moustache. Women had their obstinate notions which must be humouredā ā€”his poor wife was like that, and Linda resembled her mother. It was not seemly for a man to argue. ā€œMay be. May be,ā€ he mumbled.

She was by no means easy in her mind. She loved Nostromo. She turned her eyes upon Giselle, sitting at a distance, with something of maternal tenderness, and the jealous anguish of a rival outraged in her defeat. Then she rose and walked over to her.

ā€œListenā ā€”you,ā€ she said, roughly.

The invincible candour of the gaze, raised up all violet and dew, excited her rage and admiration. She had beautiful eyesā ā€”the chicaā ā€”this vile thing of white flesh and black deception. She did not know whether she wanted to tear them out with shouts of vengeance or cover up their mysterious and shameless innocence with kisses of pity and love. And suddenly they became empty, gazing blankly at her, except for a little fear not quite buried deep enough with all the other emotions in Giselleā€™s heart.

Linda said, ā€œRamirez is boasting in town that he will carry you off from the island.ā€

ā€œWhat folly!ā€ answered the other, and in a perversity born of long restraint, she added: ā€œHe is not the man,ā€ in a jesting tone with a trembling audacity.

ā€œNo?ā€ said Linda, through her clenched teeth. ā€œIs he not? Well, then, look to it; because father has been walking about with a loaded gun at night.ā€

ā€œIt is not good for him. You must tell him not to, Linda. He will not listen to me.ā€

ā€œI shall say nothingā ā€”never any moreā ā€”to anybody,ā€ cried Linda, passionately.

This could not last, thought Giselle. Giovanni must take her away soonā ā€”the very next time he came. She would not suffer these terrors for ever so much silver. To speak with her sister made her ill. But she was not uneasy at her fatherā€™s watchfulness. She had begged Nostromo not to come to the window that night. He had promised to keep away for this once. And she did not know, could not guess or imagine, that he had another reason for coming on the island.

Linda had gone straight to the tower. It was time to light up. She unlocked the little door, and went heavily up the spiral staircase, carrying her love for the magnificent capataz de cargadores like an ever-increasing load of shameful fetters. No; she could not throw it off. No; let heaven dispose of these two. And moving about the lantern, filled with twilight and the sheen of the moon, with careful movements she lighted the lamp. Then her arms fell along her body.

ā€œAnd with our mother looking on,ā€ she murmured. ā€œMy own sisterā ā€”the chica!ā€

The whole refracting apparatus, with its brass fittings and rings of prisms, glittered and sparkled like a domeshaped shrine of diamonds, containing not a lamp, but some sacred flame, dominating the sea. And Linda, the keeper, in black, with a pale face, drooped low in a wooden chair, alone with her jealousy, far above the shames and passions of the earth. A strange, dragging pain as if somebody were pulling her about brutally by her dark hair with bronze glints, made her put her hands up to her temples. They would meet. They would meet. And she knew where, too. At the window. The sweat of torture fell in drops on her cheeks, while the moonlight in the offing closed as if with a colossal bar of silver the entrance of the Placid Gulfā ā€”the sombre cavern of clouds and stillness in the surf-fretted seaboard.

Linda Viola stood up suddenly with a finger on her lip. He loved neither her nor her sister. The whole thing seemed so objectless as to frighten her, and also give her some hope. Why did he not carry her off? What prevented him? He was incomprehensible. What were they waiting for? For what end were these two lying and deceiving? Not for the ends of their love. There was no such thing. The hope of regaining him for herself made her break her vow of not leaving the tower that night. She must talk at once to her father, who was wise, and would understand. She ran down the spiral stairs. At the moment of opening the door at the bottom she heard the sound of the first shot ever fired on the Great Isabel.

She felt a shock, as though the bullet had struck her breast. She ran on without pausing. The cottage was dark. She cried at the door, ā€œGiselle! Giselle!ā€ then dashed round the corner and screamed her sisterā€™s name at the open window, without getting an answer; but as she was rushing,

1 ... 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170
Go to page:

Free ebook Ā«Nostromo Joseph Conrad (best large ereader .TXT) šŸ“–Ā» - read online now

Comments (0)

There are no comments yet. You can be the first!
Add a comment