Argosy, September 1955 — page 46: what you’re looking at

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

44 H. E. BATES ‘* Of course we want to go farther, don’t we?” he said. ‘“‘ We want to do the whole thing.”’ “He says that’s up to us.”’ “* It?s amazing how people fold up when it comes to it,’” Manson said. ‘‘ Good God, you might think it was Everest or something.” *“ It’s probably as well he is coming,” she said. ‘‘ We’d only have to carry the lunch-baskets and it’s going to be awfully hot.” Manuel, who had not spoken, began to walk on ahead. Miss Vane followed him and Manson walked some paces behind her. The sunlight behind him was already so crystalline in its sub-— alpine transparence that it shone in Miss Vane’s hair with a remark- able effect of edging it with minute thorns of tawny gold. Presently, across the steep short valley, he could see the high edge of the central plateau. It surprised him, in that first moment, by having something domestic about it. It emerged as a vast and domestic piece of pumice-stone abandoned between two vaster shoulders of hungry rock. In the strong sunlight he could have sworn that these rocks, perpendicular and iron-grey and treeless to the foot, shot off a spark or two that flashed like signals across the lower valley. *'That’s where we’re going,” he said. ‘‘ See? Up there.”’ * It looks farther off than I thought,” she said. ‘“‘ We've got all day,” he said. “ After all it’s only Monday you don’t have to catch the Alacantra today.” : As he spoke of the Alacantra he remembered the town: Monday morning, the drawn sun-shutters of the office, the spiritless flat dustiness of rooms shut up for the weekend, the horrible Monday lassitude. A signal from the opposing rocks across the valley shot off with a trick of winking semaphore and expressed his astonished joy at being no longer part of that awful office, watching the cabs on the water-front, the listless boot-blacks rocking on the pave- ments, the funerals racing away up the hill. He realized, with a remarkable surge of confidence, that he was free. “* By the way, are you going to catch the Alacantra? Have you made up your mind? ” *“ Not quite.” ‘*T know her captain,” he said. ‘‘ I’d come aboard with you and see that he knew who you were.” She turned and held out her hand suddenly and said, ‘‘ There’s room for you to walk on the track with me. Come on. I hate walking alone.”’ A fragment of his hesitation came back. ““Come on,”’ she said. ‘‘ Come and walk with me. I hate the feeling of someone being just behind me.”’ She reached out and caught his hand and they walked abreast. “'That’s better,” she said. ‘‘ Now I feel you’re with me.” Sometimes the swaying coolie-like scales of Manuel’s baskets disappeared beyond dark shoulders of rock. Manson felt then that Manuel was not part of himself and Miss Vane. He looked up at the enlarging plateau, assuring himself of its unexciting commiclooks.conn