Ностромо
Chapter 7
Meantime,theJuntaoftheNotablesinthegreatsalawasstilldeliberating;only,oneofthemhadrunoutinthecorredortoasktheservantwhethersomethingtoeatcouldn’tbesentin.Thefirstwordstheengineer-in-chiefsaidashecameintotheboudoirwere,‘Whatisyourhouse,dearMrs.Gould?Awarhospitalbelow,andapparentlyarestaurantabove.Isawthemcarryingtraysfullofgoodthingsintothesala.’
“‘Andhere,inthisboudoir,’Isaid,‘youbeholdtheinnercabinetoftheOccidentalRepublicthatistobe.’
“Hewassopreoccupiedthathedidn’tsmileatthat,hedidn’tevenlooksurprised.
“Hetoldusthathewasattendingtothegeneraldispositionsforthedefenceoftherailwaypropertyattherailwayyardswhenhewassentfortogointotherailwaytelegraphoffice.Theengineeroftherailhead,atthefootofthemountains,wantedtotalktohimfromhisendofthewire.Therewasnobodyintheofficebuthimselfandtheoperatoroftherailwaytelegraph,whoreadofftheclicksaloudasthetapecoileditslengthuponthefloor.Andthepurportofthattalk,clickednervouslyfromawoodenshedinthedepthsoftheforests,hadinformedthechiefthatPresidentRibierahadbeen,orwasbeing,pursued.Thiswasnews,indeed,toallofusinSulaco.Ribierahimself,whenrescued,revived,andsoothedbyus,hadbeeninclinedtothinkthathehadnotbeenpursued.
