In oppressive silence we consumed the roast and boiled meat set
before us; for I dared not hazard even the most commonplace remark for
fear of rousing my volcanic host into a mad eruption. When we had
finished eating, Demetria rose and brought her father a cigarette. It
was the signal that supper was over; and immediately afterwards she
left the room, followed by the two servants. Don Hilario politely
offered me a cigarette and lit one for himself. For some minutes we
smoked in silence, until the old man gradually dropped to sleep in his
chair, after which we rose and went back to the kitchen. Even that
sombre retreat now seemed cheerful after the silence and gloom of the
dining-room. Presently Don Hilario got up, and, with many apologies
for leaving me, explaining that he had been invited to assist at a
dance at a neighbouring _estancia_, took himself off. Soon
afterwards, though it was only about nine o'clock, I was shown to a
room where a bed had been prepared for me. It was a large,
musty-smelling apartment, almost empty, there being only my bed and
a few tall, upright chairs bound with leather and black with age. The
floor was tiled, and the ceiling was covered with a dusty canopy of
cobwebs, on which flourished a numerous colony of long-legged
house-spiders. I had no disposition to sleep at that early hour, and
even envied Don Hilario, away enjoying himself with the Rocha beauties.
Pages:
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287