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

of light upon the water, the knitting of that brow had theemphasis of a powerful gesture. Nothing else budged for along time; then the Capataz shook his head and again surrenderedhimself to the universal repose of all visible things.Suddenly he seized the oars, and with one movement madethe dinghy spin round, head-on to the Great Isabel. Butbefore he began to pull he bent once more over the brownstain on the gunwale.‘I know that thing,’ he muttered to himself, with a sagaciousjerk of the head. ‘That’s blood.’His stroke was long, vigorous, and steady. Now and thenhe looked over his shoulder at the Great Isabel, presentingits low cliff to his anxious gaze like an impenetrableface. At last the stem touched the strand. He flung ratherthan dragged the boat up the little beach. At once, turninghis back upon the sunset, he plunged with long stridesinto the ravine, making the water of the stream spurt andfly upwards at every step, as if spurning its shallow, clear,murmuring spirit with his feet. He wanted to save everymoment of daylight.A mass of earth, grass, and smashed bushes had fallendown very naturally from above upon the cavity under theleaning tree. Decoud had attended to the concealment ofthe silver as instructed, using the spade with some intelligence.But Nostromo’s half-smile of approval changed intoa scornful curl of the lip by the sight of the spade itself flungthere in full view, as if in utter carelessness or sudden panic,giving away the whole thing. Ah! They were all alike in theirfolly, these hombres finos that invented laws and govern-