Page 592 - nostromo-a-tale-of-the-seaboard

A sudden dread came upon the fearless and incorrupt-
ible Nostromo. He dared not utter the name in his mind.
The slight pause only imparted a marked weight and solem-
nity to the changed end of the phrase.
‘For my wife!’ … His heart was beating fast.’ It is time
you——‘
The Garibaldino arrested him with an extended arm.
‘That was left for you to judge.’
He got up slowly. His beard, unclipped since Teresa’s
death, thick, snow-white, covered his powerful chest. He
turned his head to the door, and called out in his strong
voice—
‘Linda.’
Her answer came sharp and faint from within; and the
appalled Nostromo stood up, too, but remained mute, gaz-
ing at the door. He was afraid. He was not afraid of being
refused the girl he loved—no mere refusal could stand
between him and a woman he desired—but the shining
spectre of the treasure rose before him, claiming his alle-
giance in a silence that could not be gainsaid. He was afraid,
because, neither dead nor alive, like the Gringos on Azuera,
he belonged body and soul to the unlawfulness of his au-
dacity. He was afraid of being forbidden the island. He was
afraid, and said nothing.
Seeing the two men standing up side by side to await
her, Linda stopped in the doorway. Nothing could alter the
passionate dead whiteness of her face; but her black eyes
seemed to catch and concentrate all the light of the low sun
in a flaming spark within the black depths, covered at once

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