Its light reflected on the waters and spread a gleaming
sheen over them, and projected on the sand, giving it a brownish tinge
and making it glitter like steel.
Half a mile to the south, the coast is covered by a line of rocks that
extends to the sea. In order to reach them, we should have been
compelled to tramp as we had already done that morning. We were tired,
and it was far; but a temptation seemed to push us forward. The breeze
played in the cracks of the rocks and wrinkled the surface of the pools;
the sea-weed, cleaving to the sides of the cliff, shook in the wind, and
from the part of the sky where the moon was to rise, a pale light spread
over the waters. It was the hour when the shadows lengthen. The rocks
appeared larger, and the breakers a deeper green. The sky seemed to
expand, and all nature assumed a different appearance.
So we started, without giving a thought to the incoming tide or whether
or not we should find later a way to get back to land. We wished to
enjoy our pleasure to the fullest extent. We seemed lighter than in the
morning, and ran and jumped without the slightest feeling of fatigue. An
abundance of animal spirits impelled us onward and we felt a peculiarly
robust twitching in our muscles.
Pages:
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68