The 1940 Under the Volcano by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Ottawa Press
Published: 2017-03-20T16:00:00+00:00

XI

The evening was very still. The smoke from charcoal fires hung in the air. The mountains in the distance, the ranges of massed clouds, the rush built huts and jacales,1 the corn in the fields, the organ cactus and maguey, the whole world, appeared stunned. Women wearing rebozos, with glowing faces and eyes firelit by the sunset, might have been walking in their sleep2 as they slipped by them. Yet their carriage was erect and proud. Footprints departed into the dusk.

Hugh and Yvonne had left by the back way and their path led through a yard attached to the restaurant. A large duck waddled slowly before them, followed by her little nestlings. One would wait for the other to make the first movement, then tumble after in a pathetic fashion, uttering tiny cries.

“Look,” said Hugh, abruptly and awkwardly, “Let’s get this over with. I don’t know what the old man wanted to devil you about. I’m sure it was all lies. But anyhow, what if you have had a few affairs? It’s none of my damn business after all. It would be very surprising if you hadn’t …. I don’t want to be noble, for Pete’s sake, I’m just telling you the truth.”

Yvonne was silent. Finally she said, without emotion:

“But it’s true, Hugh—what he said is sort of true, about the abortions. I was having one that time you came to see me in Paris. I was going to tell you—but not like this …”

Hugh took her arm.

“Jesus,” he said. “I don’t think I’m going to have such a simple time as this explaining away my past.”

“You take that attitude now. But will you always?”

They had paused by a cage and Hugh, self-consciously, was stroking a soft-nosed gazelle.3 Innocence seemed to brood here.

“I’d like to let her out,” he said, breaking the silence.

“No, it would be cruel. Somebody would be sure to shoot at her or harm her in some way.”

“Well, I’ve had my say,” said Hugh, “I’ve never had syphilis.” He gave the gazelle a final pat. “But few enough of my friends have ever passed me without my saying: there but for the grace of God goes me.” They walked on a little, pausing again where there was a hawk4 cowering at the bottom of its cage. “That’s not as courteous as it sounds, either. Forgive me—” The hawk looked ill fed and miserable, and appeared to withdraw from them in shame. Its eyes were hidden, to protect from them, perhaps, its last possession, the dream of clawing the cold air of the mountain tops, of resting among icy falls of rock, splashed with snow. “But we might let him out,” said Hugh.

“Yes! That little man obviously mistreats it!”

“We’ve left him the gazelle, hang it all, now we’ll give his hawk back to where it belongs.”

They looked around furtively. No one was watching. Their eyes met.

“I love you,” Hugh said.

“I love you.”

“Strange,” said Hugh. They were opening the cage. At first the hawk made no move, unable to believe its good fortune.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.