He was obsessed with anxiety, for he had a dark fear that some ill had
happened to the two. His blood almost dried in his veins when he thought
of the fate which had followed the capture of ladies in other islands
like Haiti or Grenada.
It did not seem possible that these beautiful women should have fallen
into the outrageous hands of savages. He knew the girl was armed, and
that before harm might come to her she would end her own life and her
mother's also; but if she was caught from behind, and the opportunity of
suicide should not be hers--what then?
Yet he showed no agitation to his followers. His eyes were, however,
intensely busy, and every nerve was keen to feel. Life in the open had
developed in him the physical astuteness of the wild man, and he had all
the gifts that make a supreme open-air fighter. He sensed things; but
with him it was feeling, and not scent or hearing; his senses were such
perfect listeners. He had the intense perception of a delicate plant,
those wonderful warnings which only come to those who live close to
nature, who study from feeling the thousand moods and tenses of living
vegetables and animal life.
Pages:
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