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

wife was lying down and had gone to sleep. The woman hadactually dropped off to sleep! ‘Senor Doctor,’ Viola whispersto me, ‘it looks as if her oppression was going to get better.’‘Yes,’ I said, very much surprised; ‘your wife is a wonderfulwoman, Giorgio.’ Just then a shot was fired in the kitchen,which made us jump and cower as if at a thunder-clap. Itseems that the party of soldiers had stolen quite close up,and one of them had crept up to the door. He looked in,thought there was no one there, and, holding his rifle ready,entered quietly. The chief told me that he had just closed hiseyes for a moment. When he opened them, he saw the manalready in the middle of the room peering into the darkcorners. The chief was so startled that, without thinking,he made one leap from the recess right out in front of thefireplace. The soldier, no less startled, up with his rifle andpulls the trigger, deafening and singeing the engineer, butin his flurry missing him completely. But, look what happens!At the noise of the report the sleeping woman sat up,as if moved by a spring, with a shriek, ‘The children, Gian’Battista! Save the children!’ I have it in my ears now. It wasthe truest cry of distress I ever heard. I stood as if paralyzed,but the old husband ran across to the bedside, stretchingout his hands. She clung to them! I could see her eyes goglazed; the old fellow lowered her down on the pillows andthen looked round at me. She was dead! All this took lessthan five minutes, and then I ran down to see what was thematter. It was no use thinking of any resistance. Nothingwe two could say availed with the officer, so I volunteered togo up with a couple of soldiers and fetch down old Viola. He