FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148  
149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   >>   >|  
lting downpour of rain. The boats could reach her in forty minutes, when their crews would take possession, shorten sail, and wait for us to join. I'll be bound there is sufficient `black ivory' aboard there to spare me the necessity to return to the coast and to make good all my losses." In my turn I too looked at the sky intently. "I hardly know what to make of it," I answered at length. "It may be, as you say, that there is nothing worse than thunder brewing up there; yet there is something in the look of those clouds that I do not altogether like; their colour, for instance, is too livid a purple for thunder alone, according to my idea, and I do not like the way in which they are working; why, they are as busy as a barrel of yeast; depend on it, senor, there is wind, and plenty of it, up there. As to how long it may be before the outburst comes, you have had more experience than I of this part of the world, and ought to know the weather better than I do." "Well, I dare say I do," he assented, with apparent relief, and again raised his eyes and anxiously scrutinised the clouds. "I'll risk it," he at length exclaimed, decisively, and forthwith turned and issued the necessary orders to his chief mate, who trundled away forward, bawling to the men as he went; and in a few minutes all was bustle and activity about our decks, the arm-chests being brought on deck, and the selected boats' crews coming aft and receiving their weapons from Mendouca himself, while the gunner served out the ammunition. The rascals were a smart, active lot--I will give them credit for so much--and in less than ten minutes from the announcement of Mendouca's decision, the boats, two of them, with ten men in each, were in the glassy water, and their crews stretching out lustily for the brig. It was perfectly evident to me that Mendouca was possessed by a feeling that his eagerness to acquire the brig's cargo of negroes had warped his judgment and egged him on to an unduly risky course of action in sending his boats and so many of his people away in the face of that threatening sky; the boats had no sooner shoved off than he became consumed by anxiety, and, oblivious of the suffocating heat and closeness of the atmosphere, proceeded to pace the deck to and fro with hasty, impatient strides, halting abruptly at frequent intervals to scrutinise the aspect of the sky, and, anon, to watch the progress of the boats. The crews of the latter
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148  
149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
minutes
 

Mendouca

 

clouds

 

length

 

thunder

 
glassy
 
decision
 

announcement

 
credit
 

receiving


weapons

 

coming

 
brought
 

chests

 
selected
 

bustle

 
active
 
rascals
 

activity

 

gunner


served

 

ammunition

 

atmosphere

 

closeness

 

proceeded

 

suffocating

 

consumed

 

anxiety

 

oblivious

 

impatient


aspect

 
progress
 

scrutinise

 

intervals

 

strides

 
halting
 

abruptly

 
frequent
 

shoved

 
sooner

acquire
 

negroes

 
warped
 
judgment
 

eagerness

 

feeling

 
lustily
 

perfectly

 
evident
 

possessed