Argosy, September 1955 — page 37: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

oles ore =". Zi a > ae rs ‘ Y ff - ks i SUMMER IN SALANDAR 35 ** Not when the ships come in? Don’t you ever suddenly feel, hell, for God’s sake let me get away—don’t you ever feel like that? ” = “I can’t say I do.” a ** T think it might do you good to get away.” 3 For a second he was touched, and then bewildered, by her con- cern. He was disturbed too because she had, as he now noticed, no coffee to drink. ‘‘ Didn’t you have any coffee? ”’ ‘** T had orange instead,” she said. “ It’s cooler.” a ‘‘ I suppose I ought to have done that,” he said. “ But I always have coffee. I can’t get out of the habit of it- somehow—’”’ g ‘“ Would you come on this trip to the hills?” she said. _--—-**‘T honestly don’t know.” : *T shall go,” she said. ‘“‘ Ill fix it up. I like fixing things. Would you come if I fixed it?” ‘** It’s awfully difficult for me to say,” he said. ‘‘ You see, every- body’s on leave. Charlton, my chief, is on leave. The only really good local clerk has gone to Lisbon for a week. It’s very doubtful if I could leave the office in any case—”’ ** You’ve got the weekend.”’ ‘“T know, but—’’ He found himself being helplessly absorbed, as his breath had been absorbed in the stifling purser’s cabin on the ship, by her enlarged diffused eyes, almost pure white, their true colour extinguished until they gave out a curious impression of nakedness in the dark morning shadow. “‘ And apart from any- thing else there’s the leste—”’ ‘If we wait till the deste is over?”’ she said. “If it blows for two or three days it ought to be over by the weekend, oughtn’t it? ”’ ** Well, you can’t tell—”’ ** Shall we chance it?’ she said. ‘“* Shall I fix it up?” ** Will it do if I decide this evening? ”’ he said. — - * Pm going to fix it during the day,” she said. “ If the A/acantra comes next week I haven’t much time.” **-All right,” he said. “ I'll come.” As she got up from the table she smiled and touched his arm, telling him to drink his coffee. Her body was held forward to him, the partially transparent inset of her dress exposing her breast. ‘He was aware of the falling discoloured band of yellow in her intense black hair and it disturbed him again more than anything she had done or said, and as he stared at it she smiled. ‘* Do I look so awful?” she said. ‘‘ I haven’t combed my hair since I went down to the harbour. I must go and do it now.” He called after her to ask what she was going to do with herself all day. “‘ You must take it easy. Don’t go and exhaust yourself.” “ Tll probably swim,” she called back from the stairs. “Be careful of the swell,” he said. “It’s terribly deceptive. It can sometimes be twenty or thirty feet even on the calmest days.” After all, he had a certain responsibility for her now. “Don’t go out too far.” The road to the central ridge of mountains wound up through ComiclOoks.cOmhn