-
Главная
-
- Книги
-
- Авторы
-
- Колин Маккалоу
-
- Поющие в терновнике
-
- Стр. 244/535
Для того чтобы воспользоваться озвучкой предложений, необходимо
Войти или зарегистрироваться
Озвучка предложений доступна при наличии PRO-доступа
Купить PRO-доступ
Left
in
Dungloe
with
the
Muellers
,
Meggie
sweated
her
way
through
The
Wet
,
as
the
monsoon
season
was
called
.
The
Dry
lasted
from
March
to
November
and
in
this
part
of
the
continent
was
n't
exactly
dry
,
but
compared
to
The
Wet
it
was
heavenly
.
During
The
Wet
the
skies
just
opened
and
vomited
water
,
not
all
day
but
in
fits
and
starts
;
in
between
deluges
the
land
steamed
,
great
clouds
of
white
vapor
rising
from
the
cane
,
the
soil
,
the
jungle
,
the
mountains
.
And
as
time
went
on
Meggie
longed
for
home
more
and
more
.
North
Queensland
,
she
knew
now
,
could
never
become
home
to
her
.
For
one
thing
,
the
climate
did
n't
suit
her
,
perhaps
because
she
had
spent
most
of
her
life
in
dryness
.
And
she
hated
the
loneliness
,
the
unfriendliness
,
the
feeling
of
remorseless
lethargy
.
She
hated
the
prolific
insect
and
reptile
life
which
made
each
night
an
ordeal
of
giant
toads
,
tarantulas
,
cockroaches
,
rats
;
nothing
seemed
to
keep
them
out
of
the
house
,
and
she
was
terrified
of
them
.
They
were
so
huge
,
so
aggressive
,
so
hungry
.
Most
of
all
she
hated
the
dunny
,
which
was
not
only
the
local
patois
for
toilet
but
the
diminutive
for
Dungloe
,
much
to
the
delight
of
the
local
populace
,
who
punned
on
it
perpetually
.
But
a
Dunny
dunny
left
one
's
stomach
churning
in
revolt
,
for
in
this
seething
climate
holes
in
the
ground
were
out
of
the
question
because
of
typhoid
and
other
enteric
fevers
.
Instead
of
being
a
hole
in
the
ground
,
a
Dunny
dunny
was
a
tarred
tin
can
which
stank
,
and
as
it
filled
came
alive
with
noisome
maggots
and
worms
.
Once
a
week
the
can
was
removed
and
replaced
with
an
empty
one
,
but
once
a
week
was
n't
soon
enough
.
Meggie
's
whole
spirit
rebelled
against
the
casual
local
acceptance
of
such
things
as
normal
;
a
lifetime
in
North
Queensland
could
n't
reconcile
her
to
them
.
Yet
dismally
she
reflected
that
it
probably
would
be
a
whole
lifetime
,
or
at
least
until
Luke
was
too
old
to
cut
the
sugar
.
Much
as
she
longed
for
and
dreamed
of
Drogheda
,
she
was
far
too
proud
to
admit
to
her
family
that
her
husband
neglected
her
;
sooner
than
admit
that
,
she
'd
take
the
lifetime
sentence
,
she
told
herself
fiercely
.
*
*
*
Months
went
by
,
then
a
year
,
and
time
crept
toward
the
second
year
's
end
.
Only
the
constant
kindness
of
the
Muellers
kept
Meggie
in
residence
at
Himmelhoch
,
trying
to
resolve
her
dilemma
.
Had
she
written
to
ask
Bob
for
the
fare
home
he
would
have
sent
it
by
return
telegram
,
but
poor
Meggie
could
n't
face
telling
her
family
that
Luke
kept
her
without
a
penny
in
her
purse
.
The
day
she
did
tell
them
was
the
day
she
would
leave
Luke
,
never
to
go
back
to
him
,
and
she
had
n't
made
up
her
mind
yet
to
take
such
a
step
.
Everything
in
her
up-bringing
conspired
to
prevent
her
leaving
Luke
:
the
sacredness
of
her
marriage
vows
,
the
hope
she
might
have
a
baby
one
day
,
the
position
Luke
occupied
as
husband
and
master
of
her
destiny
.
Then
there
were
the
things
which
sprang
from
her
own
nature
:
that
stubborn
,
stiff-necked
pride
,
and
the
niggling
conviction
that
the
situation
was
as
much
her
fault
as
Luke
's
.
If
there
was
n't
something
wrong
with
her
,
Luke
might
have
behaved
far
differently
.
She
had
seen
him
six
times
in
the
eighteen
months
of
her
exile
,
and
often
thought
,
quite
unaware
such
a
thing
as
homosexuality
existed
,
that
by
rights
Luke
should
have
married
Arne
,
because
he
certainly
lived
with
Arne
and
much
preferred
his
company
.
They
had
gone
into
full
partnership
and
drifted
up
and
down
the
thousand-mile
coast
following
the
sugar
harvest
,
living
,
it
seemed
,
only
to
work
.
When
Luke
did
come
to
see
her
he
did
n't
attempt
any
kind
of
intimacy
,
just
sat
around
for
an
hour
or
two
yarning
to
Luddie
and
Anne
,
took
his
wife
for
a
walk
,
gave
her
a
friendly
kiss
,
and
was
off
again
.
The
three
of
them
,
Luddie
,
Anne
and
Meggie
,
spent
all
their
spare
time
reading
.
Himmelhoch
had
a
library
far
larger
than
Drogheda
's
few
shelves
,
more
erudite
and
more
salacious
by
far
,
and
Meggie
learned
a
great
deal
while
she
read
.
One
Sunday
in
June
of
1936
Luke
and
Arne
turned
up
together
,
very
pleased
with
themselves
.
They
had
come
,
they
said
,
to
give
Meggie
a
real
treat
,
for
they
were
taking
her
to
a
ceilidh
.
