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

A sudden dread came upon the fearless and incorruptibleNostromo. He dared not utter the name in his mind.The slight pause only imparted a marked weight and solemnityto the changed end of the phrase.‘For my wife!’ … His heart was beating fast.’ It is timeyou——‘The Garibaldino arrested him with an extended arm.‘That was left for you to judge.’He got up slowly. His beard, unclipped since Teresa’sdeath, thick, snow-white, covered his powerful chest. Heturned his head to the door, and called out in his strongvoice—‘Linda.’Her answer came sharp and faint from within; and theappalled Nostromo stood up, too, but remained mute, gazingat the door. He was afraid. He was not afraid of beingrefused the girl he loved—no mere refusal could standbetween him and a woman he desired—but the shiningspectre of the treasure rose before him, claiming his allegiancein a silence that could not be gainsaid. He was afraid,because, neither dead nor alive, like the Gringos on Azuera,he belonged body and soul to the unlawfulness of his audacity.He was afraid of being forbidden the island. He wasafraid, and said nothing.Seeing the two men standing up side by side to awaither, Linda stopped in the doorway. Nothing could alter thepassionate dead whiteness of her face; but her black eyesseemed to catch and concentrate all the light of the low sunin a flaming spark within the black depths, covered at once