16 The Wine-Dark Sea - Libro della tutto

Patrick O'Brian The Wine-Dark Sea
old ways here. He and his followers were no
doubt practising Catholics, but this did not
prevent them from dipping one finger in their
cup and holding it up to thank the sun before
drinking, as their ancestors had done time out
of mind; and there were other ceremonies of
the same nature. 'As you know,' said Eduardo,
'the chick cannot fly until his second year; so if
he is there, and if the light is what I could
wish, we may see him peering over the edge.'
'Could we not climb up and look down on
him?'
'Heavens, no,' cried Eduardo. 'We should
never get down before sunset; and it is terrible
to be caught by night on the puna. Do but
think of the terrible evening winds, the terrible
morning winds, and the wicked cold – nothing
to eat, nothing to drink, no shelter at all.'
Stephen was thinking of these things as they