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

track of thick dust fenced by aloe hedges between the harbourand the town, where clumsy carts used to creak alongbehind slow yokes of oxen guided by boys on horseback.In a pause of stillness Giorgio cocked his gun. The ominoussound wrung a low moan from the rigid figure of thewoman sitting by his side. A sudden outbreak of defiantyelling quite near the house sank all at once to a confusedmurmur of growls. Somebody ran along; the loud catchingof his breath was heard for an instant passing the door;there were hoarse mutters and footsteps near the wall; ashoulder rubbed against the shutter, effacing the brightlines of sunshine pencilled across the whole breadth of theroom. Signora Teresa’s arms thrown about the kneelingforms of her daughters embraced them closer with a convulsivepressure.The mob, driven away from the Custom House, had brokenup into several bands, retreating across the plain inthe direction of the town. The subdued crash of irregularvolleys fired in the distance was answered by faint yells faraway. In the intervals the single shots rang feebly, and thelow, long, white building blinded in every window seemedto be the centre of a turmoil widening in a great circle aboutits closed-up silence. But the cautious movements andwhispers of a routed party seeking a momentary shelter behindthe wall made the darkness of the room, striped bythreads of quiet sunlight, alight with evil, stealthy sounds.The Violas had them in their ears as though invisible ghostshovering about their chairs had consulted in mutters as tothe advisability of setting fire to this foreigner’s casa.