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

‘It will be worse for him than thirst at sea or hunger ina town full of people. Do you know what that is? He shallsuffer greater torments than he inflicted upon that terrifiedwretch who had no invention. None! none! Not like me. Icould have told Sotillo a deadly tale for very little pain.’He laughed wildly and turned in the doorway towardsthe body of the late Senor Hirsch, an opaque long blotchin the semi-transparent obscurity of the room between thetwo tall parallelograms of the windows full of stars.‘You man of fear!’ he cried. ‘You shall be avenged by me—Nostromo. Out of my way, doctor! Stand aside—or, by thesuffering soul of a woman dead without confession, I willstrangle you with my two hands.’He bounded downwards into the black, smoky hall.With a grunt of astonishment, Dr. Monygham threw himselfrecklessly into the pursuit. At the bottom of the charredstairs he had a fall, pitching forward on his face with a forcethat would have stunned a spirit less intent upon a task oflove and devotion. He was up in a moment, jarred, shaken,with a queer impression of the terrestrial globe havingbeen flung at his head in the dark. But it wanted more thanthat to stop Dr. Monygham’s body, possessed by the exaltationof self-sacrifice; a reasonable exaltation, determinednot to lose whatever advantage chance put into its way. Heran with headlong, tottering swiftness, his arms going likea windmill in his effort to keep his balance on his crippledfeet. He lost his hat; the tails of his open gaberdine flewbehind him. He had no mind to lose sight of the indispensableman. But it was a long time, and a long way from the