Its slightly sloping roof, already warped and
shrunken into long fissures that permitted glimpses of the steel-blue
sky above, was evidently intended only as a shelter from the cloudless
sun in those two months of rainless days and dewless nights when it was
inhabited. Through the open doors and windows she could see a row of
"bunks," or rude sleeping berths against the walls, furnished with
coarse mattresses and blankets. As the young girl halted, the man
with an instinct of delicacy hurried forward, entered the shanty, and
dragging a rude bench to the doorway, placed it so that she could sit
beneath the shade of the roof, yet with her back to these domestic
revelations. Two or three men, who had been apparently lounging there,
rose quietly, and unobtrusively withdrew. Her guide brought her a tin
cup of deliciously cool water, exchanged a few hurried words with his
companions, and then disappeared with them, leaving her alone.
Her first sense of relief from their company was, I fear, stronger than
any other feeling.
Pages:
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