d'Alcacer, with a quick side glance at Mrs. Travers' uncovered and
attentive eyes, "as far as I can see he may get all the peace he wants
at once by driving us two, I mean Mr. Travers and myself, out of the
gate on to the spears of those other enraged barbarians. And there are
some of his counsellors who advise him to do that very thing no later
than the break of day I understand."
Lingard stood for a moment perfectly motionless.
"That's about it," he said in an unemotional tone, and went away with
a heavy step without giving another look at d'Alcacer and Mrs. Travers,
who after a moment faced each other.
"You have heard?" said d'Alcacer. "Of course that doesn't affect your
fate in any way, and as to him he is much too prestigious to be killed
light-heartedly. When all this is over you will walk triumphantly on his
arm out of this stockade; for there is nothing in all this to affect his
greatness, his absolute value in the eyes of those people--and indeed in
any other eyes." D'Alcacer kept his glance averted from Mrs. Travers and
as soon as he had finished speaking busied himself in dragging the bench
a little way further from the fire. When they sat down on it he kept his
distance from Mrs. Travers. She made no sign of unveiling herself and
her eyes without a face seemed to him strangely unknown and disquieting.
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