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

He stood there, rugged and unstirring, like a statue of anold man guarding the honour of his house. Linda removedher trembling hand from his arm, firm and steady like anarm of stone, and, without a word, entered the blackness ofthe shade. She saw a stir of formless shapes on the ground,and stopped short. A murmur of despair and tears grewlouder to her strained hearing.‘I entreated you not to come to-night. Oh, my Giovanni!And you promised. Oh! Why—why did you come, Giovanni?’It was her sister’s voice. It broke on a heartrending sob.And the voice of the resourceful Capataz de Cargadores,master and slave of the San Tome treasure, who had beencaught unawares by old Giorgio while stealing across theopen towards the ravine to get some more silver, answeredcareless and cool, but sounding startlingly weak from theground.‘It seemed as though I could not live through the nightwithout seeing thee once more—my star, my little flower.’*****The brilliant tertulia was just over, the last guests had departed,and the Senor Administrador had gone to his roomalready, when Dr. Monygham, who had been expected inthe evening but had not turned up, arrived driving alongthe wood-block pavement under the electric-lamps of thedeserted Calle de la Constitucion, and found the great gatewayof the Casa still open.He limped in, stumped up the stairs, and found the fatand sleek Basilio on the point of turning off the lights in the