Nostromo - A Tale of the Seaboard.pdf - Planet eBook

make war you may retreat, but not when you spend yourtime in inciting poor ignorant fools to kill and to die.’His tone remained light, and as if unaware of his presenceshe stood motionless, her hands clasped lightly, the fanhanging down from her interlaced fingers. He waited for awhile, and then—‘I shall go to the wall,’ he said, with a sort of jocular desperation.Even that declaration did not make her look at him. Herhead remained still, her eyes fixed upon the house of theAvellanos, whose chipped pilasters, broken cornices, thewhole degradation of dignity was hidden now by the gatheringdusk of the street. In her whole figure her lips alonemoved, forming the words—‘Martin, you will make me cry.’He remained silent for a minute, startled, as if overwhelmedby a sort of awed happiness, with the lines of themocking smile still stiffened about his mouth, and increduloussurprise in his eyes. The value of a sentence is in thepersonality which utters it, for nothing new can be said byman or woman; and those were the last words, it seemed tohim, that could ever have been spoken by Antonia. He hadnever made it up with her so completely in all their intercourseof small encounters; but even before she had time toturn towards him, which she did slowly with a rigid grace,he had begun to plead—‘My sister is only waiting to embrace you. My father istransported with joy. I won’t say anything of my mother!Our mothers were like sisters. There is the mail-boat for the