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

shouts and imprecations, looking for Father Corbelan; buttowards the evening, still lying on his face in the bushes, hethought he would die from the fear of silence. He was notvery clear as to what had induced him to leave the place, butevidently he had got out and slunk successfully out of townalong the deserted back lanes. He wandered in the darknessnear the railway, so maddened by apprehension thathe dared not even approach the fires of the pickets of Italianworkmen guarding the line. He had a vague idea evidentlyof finding refuge in the railway yards, but the dogs rushedupon him, barking; men began to shout; a shot was firedat random. He fled away from the gates. By the merest accident,as it happened, he took the direction of the O.S.N.Company’s offices. Twice he stumbled upon the bodies ofmen killed during the day. But everything living frightenedhim much more. He crouched, crept, crawled, made dashes,guided by a sort of animal instinct, keeping away from everylight and from every sound of voices. His idea was tothrow himself at the feet of Captain Mitchell and beg forshelter in the Company’s offices. It was all dark there as heapproached on his hands and knees, but suddenly someoneon guard challenged loudly, ‘Quien vive?’ There weremore dead men lying about, and he flattened himself downat once by the side of a cold corpse. He heard a voice saying,‘Here is one of those wounded rascals crawling about. ShallI go and finish him?’ And another voice objected that it wasnot safe to go out without a lantern upon such an errand;perhaps it was only some negro Liberal looking for a chanceto stick a knife into the stomach of an honest man. Hirsch