Complete Works of Joseph Conrad (Illustrated) by Joseph Conrad Page B

below.  The hum of voices, the occasional cry of a child, the rapid and abruptly interrupted roll of a wooden drum, together with some distant hailing in the darkness by the returning fishermen, reached her over the broad expanse of the river.  She hesitated a little before crossing, the sight of such an unusual object as an European-rigged vessel causing her some uneasiness, but the river in its wide expansion was dark enough to render a small canoe invisible.  She urged her small craft with swift strokes of her paddle, kneeling in the bottom and bending forward to catch any suspicious sound while she steered towards the little jetty of Lingard and Co., to which the strong light of the paraffin lamp shining on the whitewashed verandah of Almayer’s bungalow served as a convenient guide.  The jetty itself, under the shadow of the bank overgrown by drooping bushes, was hidden in darkness.  Before even she could see it she heard the hollow bumping of a large boat against its rotten posts, and heard also the murmur of whispered conversation in that boat whose white paint and great dimensions, faintly visible on nearer approach, made her rightly guess that it belonged to the brig just anchored.  Stopping her course by a rapid motion of her paddle, with another swift stroke she sent it whirling away from the wharf and steered for a little rivulet which gave access to the back courtyard of the house.  She landed at the muddy head of the creek and made her way towards the house over the trodden grass of the courtyard.  To the left, from the cooking shed, shone a red glare through the banana plantation she skirted, and the noise of feminine laughter reached her from there in the silent evening.  She rightly judged her mother was not near, laughter and Mrs. Almayer not being close neighbours.  She must be in the house, thought Nina, as she ran lightly up the inclined plane of shaky planks leading to the back door of the narrow passage dividing the house in two.  Outside the doorway, in the black shadow, stood the faithful Ali.
    “Who is there?” asked Nina.
    “A great Malay man has come,” answered Ali, in a tone of suppressed excitement.  “He is a rich man.  There are six men with lances.  Real Soldat, you understand.  And his dress is very brave.  I have seen his dress.  It shines!  What jewels!  Don’t go there, Mem Nina.  Tuan said not; but the old Mem is gone.  Tuan will be angry.  Merciful Allah! what jewels that man has got!”
    Nina slipped past the outstretched hand of the slave into the dark passage where, in the crimson glow of the hanging curtain, close by its other end, she could see a small dark form crouching near the wall.  Her mother was feasting her eyes and ears with what was taking place on the front verandah, and Nina approached to take her share in the rare pleasure of some novelty.  She was met by her mother’s extended arm and by a low murmured warning not to make a noise.
    “Have you seen them, mother?” asked Nina, in a breathless whisper.
    Mrs. Almayer turned her face towards the girl, and her sunken eyes shone strangely in the red half-light of the passage.
    “I saw him,” she said, in an almost inaudible tone, pressing her daughter’s hand with her bony fingers.  “A great Rajah has come to Sambir — a Son of Heaven,” muttered the old woman to herself.  “Go away, girl!”
    The two women stood close to the curtain, Nina wishing to approach the rent in the stuff, and her mother defending the position with angry obstinacy.  On the other side there was a lull in the conversation, but the breathing of several men, the occasional light tinkling of some ornaments, the clink of metal scabbards, or of brass siri-vessels passed from hand to hand, was audible during the short pause.  The women struggled silently, when there was a shuffling noise and the shadow of Almayer’s burly form fell on the curtain.
    The women ceased struggling and remained motionless.  Almayer