The Marriage of Esther

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Boothby Guy. The Marriage of Esther

CHAPTER I. TWO MEN – A FIGHT – AND A SERIES OF CALAMITOUS CIRCUMSTANCES

CHAPTER II. A WOMAN – A RECOVERY – TRANSFORMATIONS AND TWO RESOLVES

CHAPTER III. THE WORLD, THE FLESH, AND THE DEVIL

CHAPTER IV. DESTINY – AN ACCIDENT – AND A BETROTHAL

CHAPTER V. A WEDDING – A CONVERSATION – AND AN EPISODE

CHAPTER VI. A TEMPTATION – A FALL – AND A SERIES OF EMOTIONS

CHAPTER VII. SATISFACTION – DISSATISFACTION – AND A CONTEMPLATED ARRIVAL

CHAPTER VIII. A VISION AND A REALITY

CHAPTER IX. HAPPINESS – UNHAPPINESS – AND A MAN OF THE WORLD

CHAPTER X. DELIRIUM – A RECOGNITION – A DEPARTURE AND A RETURN

CHAPTER XI. BATTLE AND MURDER

CHAPTER XII. CONCLUSION AND EPILOGUE

Отрывок из книги

When Ellison felt himself able to move again, he rose to his feet and looked about him. He discovered that they had landed on the shore of a little bay, bounded on one side by a miniature cliff and on the other by a dense tropical jungle; through this latter looked out the white roofs of the boat-sheds and houses of the pearling station of which they had come in search. Two columns of palest blue smoke rose above the palms, and after a glance at his still insensible companion he started towards them.

Leaving the white sandy foreshore of the bay, he entered the thicket by what was certainly a well-worn path. This circled round the headland, and eventually brought him out on the hill above the beach. Stepping clear of the undergrowth, he found himself confronted by a number of buildings of all sizes and descriptions. The nearest he settled in his own mind was a store-shed; that adjoining it, to the left, was the Kanakas' hut; that to the left, again, their kitchen; that to the right, rather higher on the hill, with its long low roof, the station house itself. As he approached it, two or three mongrel curs ran out and barked vociferous defiance, but he did not heed them. He passed the store, and made towards the veranda. As he came closer, a strange enough figure in his dripping rags, he saw that he was observed. A young woman, possibly not more than three-and-twenty, was standing on the steps awaiting him. She was, if one may judge by what the world usually denominates beauty, rather handsome than beautiful, but there was also something about her that was calculated to impress the mind far more than mere pink and white prettiness. Her figure was tall and shapely; her features pronounced, but regular; her eyes were the deepest shade of brown; and her wealth of nut-brown hair, upon which a struggling ray of sunlight fell, was carelessly rolled behind her head in a fashion that added to, rather than detracted from, her general appearance.

.....

"But, old man, there must be no hanky-panky over this. If we get the billets we must play fair by her – we must justify her confidence."

"As bad as all that, and in this short time, eh? Well, I suppose it's all right. Yes, we'll play fair."

.....