SUSPENSE
A NAPOLEONIC NOVEL
BY
JOSEPH CONRAD
GARDEN CITY NEW YORK
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
1925
CONTENTS
PART I
SUSPENSE
I
A deep red glow flushed the fronts of marble palaces piled up on theslope of an arid mountain whose barren ridge traced high on thedarkening sky a ghostly and glimmering outline. The winter sun wassetting over the Gulf of Genoa. Behind the massive shore the sky to theeast was like darkening glass. The open water too had a glassy look witha purple sheen in which the evening light lingered as if clinging to thewater. The sails of, a few becalmed feluccas looked rosy and cheerful,motionless in the gathering gloom. Their heads were all pointing towardsthe superb city. Within the long jetty with the squat round tower at theend, the water of the harbour had turned black. A bigger vessel withsquare sails, issuing from it and arrested by the sudden descent of thecalm, faced the red disc of the sun. Her ensign hung down and itscolours were not to be made out; but a lank man in a shabby sailor'sjacket and wearing a strange cap with a tassel, who lounged with bothhis arms thrown over the black breech of an enormous piece of ordnancethat with three of its monstrous fellows squatted on the platform of thetower, seemed to have no doubt of her nationality; for to the questionof a young civilian in a long coat and Hessian boots and with aningenuous young countenance above the folds of a white neckcloth heanswered curtly, taking a short pipe out of his mouth but not turninghis head.
"She's Elban."
He replaced his pipe and preserved an unsociable air. The elegant youngman with the pleasant countenance, (who was Cosmo, the son of SirCharles Latham of Latham Hall, Yorkshire), repeated under his breath,"Elban," and remained wrapped up in still contemplation of the becalmedship with her undistinguishable flag.
It was not till the sun had sunk beneath the waters of the Mediterraneanand the undistinguishable flag had been hauled down on board themotionless ship that he stirred and turned his eyes towards the harbour.The nearest prominent object in it was the imposing shape of an Englishline-of-battle ship moored on the west side not far from the quay. Hertall spars overtopped the roofs of the houses and the English ensign ather flagstaff had been just hauled down and replaced by a lantern thatlooked strange in the clear twilight. The forms of shipping crowdedtowards the head of the harbour were merging into one another. Cosmo lethis eyes wander over the circular platform of the tower. The man leaningover the gun went on smoking with indifference.
"Are you the guardian of this tower?" asked the young man.
The other gave him a sidelong glance and made answer without changinghis attitude and more as if speaking to himself:
"This is now an unguarded spot. The wars are over."
"Do they close the door at the bottom of this tower at night?" enquiredCosmo.
"That is a matter worth consideration especially for those like you, forinstance, who have a soft bed to go to for the night."
The young than put his head on one side and looked at his interlocutorwith a faint smile.