the path. What did matter than?
What was the meaning of it all?
Chapter XXVII
All that evening the clouds gathered, until they closed entirely over
the blue of the sky. They seemed to narrow the space between earth and
heaven, so that there was no room for the air to move in freely; and
the waves, too, lay flat, and yet rigid, as if they were restrained. The
leaves on the bushes and trees in the garden hung closely together,
and the feeling of pressure and restraint was increased by the short
chirping sounds which came from birds and insects.
So strange were the lights and the silence that the busy hum of voices
which usually filled the dining-room at meal times had distinct gaps
in it, and during these silences the clatter of the knives upon plates
became audible. The first roll of thunder and the first heavy drop
striking the pane caused a little stir.
"It's coming!" was said simultaneously in many different languages.
There was then a profound silence, as if the thunder had withdrawn into
itself. People had just begun to eat again, when a gust of cold air
came through the open windows, lifting tablecloths and skirts, a light
flashed, and was instantly followed by a clap of thunder right over the
hotel. The rain swished with it, and immediately there were all
those sounds of windows being shut and doors slamming violently which
accompany a storm.
The room grew suddenly several degrees darker, for the wind seemed to be
driving waves of darkness across the earth. No one attempted to eat for
a time, but sat looking out at the garden, with their forks in the air.
The flashes now came frequently, lighting up faces as if they were going
to be photographed, surprising them in tense and unnatural expressions.
The clap followed close and violently upon them. Several women half
rose from their chairs and then sat down again, but dinner was continued
uneasily with eyes upon the garden. The bushes outside were ruffled and
whitened, and the wind pressed upon them so that they seemed to stoop to
the ground. The waiters had to press dishes upon the diners' notice;
and the diners had to draw the attention of waiters, for they were all
absorbed in looking at the storm. As the thunder showed no signs of
withdrawing, but seemed massed right overhead, while the lightning aimed
straight at the garden every time, an uneasy gloom replaced the first
excitement.
Finishing the meal very quickly, people congregated in t
|