Лорд Джим

Chapter 39

           Theycouldn’tseemorethanafewyardsbeforethem,andnotreacherycouldmaketheirpositionworse.By-and-byCornelius,inhisweek-dayattireofaraggeddirtyshirtandpants,barefooted,withabroken-rimmedpithhatonhishead,wasmadeoutvaguely,sidlinguptothedefences,hesitating,stoppingtolisteninapeeringposture.“Comealong!Youaresafe,”yelledBrown,whilehismenstared.Alltheirhopesoflifebecamesuddenlycentredinthatdilapidated,meannewcomer,whoinprofoundsilenceclamberedclumsilyoverafelledtree-trunk,andshivering,withhissour,mistrustfulface,lookedaboutattheknotofbearded,anxious,sleeplessdesperadoes.

           ‘Halfanhour’sconfidentialtalkwithCorneliusopenedBrown’seyesastothehomeaffairsofPatusan.Hewasonthealertatonce.Therewerepossibilities,immensepossibilities;butbeforehewouldtalkoverCornelius’sproposalshedemandedthatsomefoodshouldbesentupasaguaranteeofgoodfaith.Corneliuswentoff,creepingsluggishlydownthehillonthesideoftheRajah’spalace,andaftersomedelayafewofTunkuAllang’smencameup,bringingascantysupplyofrice,chillies,anddriedfish.Thiswasimmeasurablybetterthannothing.LateronCorneliusreturnedaccompanyingKassim,whosteppedoutwithanairofperfectgood-humouredtrustfulness,insandals,andmuffledupfromnecktoanklesindark-bluesheeting.HeshookhandswithBrowndiscreetly,andthethreedrewasideforaconference.

Налаштування
Фон сторінки
Розмір шрифту
Міжрядковий інтервал
Фразові дієслова
Показати / Приховати меню
Шрифт
Roboto Lora
Уведомления
Сторінка 440 з 504