Page 327 - nostromo-a-tale-of-the-seaboard

so much wealth made them absurdly foolhardy, and, at the
same time, extremely anxious. The old major of the battal-
ion, a stupid, suspicious man, who had never been afloat in
his life, distinguished himself by putting out suddenly the
binnacle light, the only one allowed on board for the neces-
sities of navigation. He could not understand of what use it
could be for finding the way. To the vehement protestations
of the ship’s captain, he stamped his foot and tapped the
handle of his sword. ‘Aha! I have unmasked you,’ he cried,
triumphantly. ‘You are tearing your hair from despair at my
acuteness. Am I a child to believe that a light in that brass
box can show you where the harbour is? I am an old sol-
dier, I am. I can smell a traitor a league off. You wanted that
gleam to betray our approach to your friend the English-
man. A thing like that show you the way! What a miserable
lie! Que picardia! You Sulaco people are all in the pay of
those foreigners. You deserve to be run through the body
with my sword.’ Other officers, crowding round, tried to
calm his indignation, repeating persuasively, ‘No, no! This
is an appliance of the mariners, major. This is no treachery.’
The captain of the transport flung himself face downwards
on the bridge, and refused to rise. ‘Put an end to me at once,’
he repeated in a stifled voice. Sotillo had to interfere.
The uproar and confusion on the bridge became so great
that the helmsman fled from the wheel. He took refuge in
the engine-room, and alarmed the engineers, who, disre-
garding the threats of the soldiers set on guard over them,
stopped the engines, protesting that they would rather be
shot than run the risk of being drowned down below.

Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard