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

mism. In comparison to it, the chance of being left floatingin a boat, exposed to thirst, hunger, discovery, imprisonment,execution, presented itself with an aspect of amenityworth securing even at the cost of some self-contempt. Hedid not accept Nostromo’s proposal that he should get intothe boat at once. ‘Something sudden may overwhelm us,senor,’ the Capataz remarked promising faithfully, at thesame time, to let go the painter at the moment when the necessitybecame manifest.But Decoud assured him lightly that he did not mean totake to the boat till the very last moment, and that then hemeant the Capataz to come along, too. The darkness of thegulf was no longer for him the end of all things. It was partof a living world since, pervading it, failure and death couldbe felt at your elbow. And at the same time it was a shelter.He exulted in its impenetrable obscurity. ‘Like a wall, like awall,’ he muttered to himself.The only thing which checked his confidence was thethought of Senor Hirsch. Not to have bound and gaggedhim seemed to Decoud now the height of improvident folly.As long as the miserable creature had the power to raise ayell he was a constant danger. His abject terror was mutenow, but there was no saying from what cause it might suddenlyfind vent in shrieks.This very madness of fear which both Decoud and Nostromohad seen in the wild and irrational glances, and inthe continuous twitchings of his mouth, protected SenorHirsch from the cruel necessities of this desperate affair.The moment of silencing him for ever had passed. As Nos-