MARINE ANIMALS

His (running across the beach he stubbed his toe on the pail of broken shells half imbedded in the wet gray sand) sister (young Chinese girl fresh to America, already a woman not yet a man suffered from sex guilt ((thought mother father were watching her from heaven)), consequently found men repugnant, wore trousers) was blowing on a conch shell.

....................................................................................................................................................................................................nibbling (insects squashed between the pages of a book, trapped when the page turned, discovered when the volume reread) at the bitter tasting bark. Georges soon then a circle held aloft by twin tubes of water, no higher than the grass behind the lime-choked walls, no more visible either (back)

We were now climbing the last lap of the path to the top of the point. It was very steep, and the rocks, although dry, were gummy.” 

“I shan’t be at all sorry to get to the top,” panted Georges.

“There’s a rock that we can lie on up there.”

I must admit that I was glad myself to get there, for it certainly was very hot, and already to the west, above the dense foliage, clouds of locusts were darkening the tropical sky.

“There they are,” Georges said, pointing to three rocky islands just off the headland.

“I wonder if anybody’s ever managed to get on them?”

“Shouldn’t think so. In fact if I remember correctly, well, you know that Chinese girl, well she said that they’re almost impossible to get onto. I know for a fact that you can’t get a boat anywhere near them. I think she said though that there’s some sort of narrow beach on the biggest one.”

“I can’t see anything, can you?”

“No, it faces the sea. You can only see it if you go round by boat from the plantation.”

I looked at my watch. “It’s only a quarter to three. Let’s carry on to that point over there,” I said. “Yes, let’s. Then we can go back through the bean fields.”

We scrambled down a path that ran along the edge of the cliff for about fifty yards, until our way was blocked by a wall. There, through a wire-mesh screen, we watched the waves plane to placate the coming tide.