Спрут: Калифорнийская история
Chapter VI
Billy,thestableman,wasgoingtheroundsofthewalls,puttingoutlightafterlight.Bydegrees,thevastinteriorwasgrowingdim.Upontheroofoverheadtheraindrummedincessantly,theeavesdripping.Thefloorwaslitteredwithpineneedles,bitsoforangepeel,endsandfragmentsoftornorgandiesandmuslinsandbitsoftissuepaperfromthe“PhrygianBonnets”and“LibertyCaps.”Thebuckskinmareinthestall,dozingonthreelegs,changedpositionwithalongsigh.Thesweatstiffeningthehairuponherbackandloins,asitdried,gaveoffapenetrating,ammoniacalodourthatmingledwiththestaleperfumeofsachetandwiltedflowers.
PresleyandVanameestoodlookingatthedesertedbarn.Therewasalongsilence.ThenPresleysaid:
“Well...whatdoyouthinkofitall?”
“Ithink,”answeredVanameeslowly,“IthinkthattherewasadanceinBrusselsthenightbeforeWaterloo.”
