Спрут: Калифорнийская история

           Hooven—Minnastillatherheels—proceeded,guidedbyaninstinctbornoftheoccasion.Thoseintheoutsideroom,sayingnoword,madewayforthem.Theyentered,closingthedoorbehindthem,andthroughalltherestofthatterribleday,nosoundnorsightofthemwashadbythosewhocrowdedintoandaboutthathouseofdeath.Ofallthemainactorsofthetragedyofthefightintheditch,theyremainedtheleastnoted,obtrudedthemselvestheleastupontheworld’sobservation.Theywere,forthemoment,forgotten.

           ButbynowHooven’shousewasthecentreofanenormouscrowd.AvastconcourseofpeoplefromBonneville,fromGuadalajara,fromtheranches,swelledbythethousandswhohadthatmorningparticipatedintherabbitdrive,surgedabouttheplace;menandwomen,youngboys,younggirls,farmhands,villagers,townspeople,ranchers,railroademployees,Mexicans,Spaniards,Portuguese.Presley,returningfromthesearchforDelaney’sbody,hadtofighthiswaytothehouseagain.

           Andfromallthismultitudethereroseanindefinablemurmur.Asyet,therewasnomenaceinit,noanger.Itwasconfusionmerely,bewilderment,thefirstlong-drawn“oh!”thatgreetsthenewsofsomegreattragedy.Thepeoplehadtakennothoughtasyet.Curiositywastheirdominantimpulse.Everyonewantedtoseewhathadbeendone;failingthat,tohearofit,andfailingthat,tobenearthesceneoftheaffair.Thecrowdofpeoplepackedtheroadinfrontofthehousefornearlyaquarterofamileineitherdirection.