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

‘We are out in the gulf now,’ said the calm voice of Nostromo.A moment after he added, ‘Senor Mitchell haslowered the light.’‘Yes,’ said Decoud; ‘nobody can find us now.’A great recrudescence of obscurity embraced the boat.The sea in the gulf was as black as the clouds above. Nostromo,after striking a couple of matches to get a glimpse ofthe boat-compass he had with him in the lighter, steered bythe feel of the wind on his cheek.It was a new experience for Decoud, this mysteriousnessof the great waters spread out strangely smooth, as if theirrestlessness had been crushed by the weight of that densenight. The Placido was sleeping profoundly under its blackponcho.The main thing now for success was to get away fromthe coast and gain the middle of the gulf before day broke.The Isabels were somewhere at hand. ‘On your left as youlook forward, senor,’ said Nostromo, suddenly. When hisvoice ceased, the enormous stillness, without light or sound,seemed to affect Decoud’s senses like a powerful drug. Hedidn’t even know at times whether he were asleep or awake.Like a man lost in slumber, he heard nothing, he saw nothing.Even his hand held before his face did not exist for hiseyes. The change from the agitation, the passions and thedangers, from the sights and sounds of the shore, was socomplete that it would have resembled death had it not beenfor the survival of his thoughts. In this foretaste of eternalpeace they floated vivid and light, like unearthly cleardreams of earthly things that may haunt the souls freed by