"Hush!" said her companion; and there was something in the tone with which
the word was uttered that thrilled and rather shook my spirits. It seemed
to breathe from a bosom laboring under the deadliest terror; I have never
heard another syllable so expressive; and I still hear it again when I am
feverish at night, and my mind runs upon old times. The man turned toward
the girl as he spoke; I had a glimpse of much red beard and a nose which
seemed to have been broken in youth; and his light eyes seemed shining in
his face with some strong and unpleasant emotion.
But these two passed on and were admitted in their turn to the pavilion.
One by one, or in groups, the seamen returned to the beach. The wind
brought me the sound of a rough voice crying, "Shove off!" Then, after a
pause, another lantern drew near. It was Northmour alone.
My wife and I, a man and a woman, have often agreed to wonder how a person
could be, at the same time, so handsome and so repulsive as Northmour. He
had the appearance of a finished gentleman; his face bore every mark of
intelligence and courage; but you had only to look at him, even in his
most amiable moment, to see that he had the temper of a slaver captain. I
never knew a character that was both explosive and revengeful to the same
degree; he combined the vivacity of the south with the sustained and
deadly hatreds of the north; and both traits were plainly written on his
face, which was a sort of danger signal.
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