Library / Literature & Fiction

Aaron's Rod
- Pages
- about 391
- Category
- Literature & Fiction
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 7.2 h at 250 wpm
From the opening
The war had killed the little market of the town. As he passed the
market place on the brow, Aaron noticed that there were only two
miserable stalls. But people crowded just the same. There was a loud
sound of voices, men's voices. Men pressed round the doorways of the
public-houses.
But he was going to a pub out of town. He descended the dark hill. A
street-lamp here and there shed parsimonious light. In the bottoms,
under the trees, it was very dark. But a lamp glimmered in front of
the “Royal Oak.” This was a low white house sunk three steps below the
highway. It was darkened, but sounded crowded.
Opening the door, Sisson found himself in the stone passage. Old Bob,
carrying three cans, stopped to see who had entered--then went on
into the public bar on the left. The bar itself was a sort of
little window-sill on the right: the pub was a small one. In this
window-opening stood the landlady, drawing and serving to her husband.
Behind the bar was a tiny parlour or den, the landlady's preserve.
“Oh, it's you,” she said, bobbing down to look at the newcomer. None
entered her bar-parlour unless invited.
“Come in,” said the landlady. There was a peculiar intonation in her
complacent voice, which showed she had been expecting him, a little
irritably.
He went across into her bar-parlour. It would not hold more than eight
or ten people, all told--just the benches along the walls, the fire
between--and two little round tables.
“I began to think you weren't coming,” said the landlady, bringing him a
whiskey.
She was a large, stout, high-coloured woman, with a fine profile,
probably Jewish. She had chestnut-coloured eyes, quick, intelligent. Her
movements were large and slow, her voice laconic.
“Yes, you are late, I should think.” She Looked up at the little clock.
“Close on nine.”
A short sample. Read the whole book
More to read
- "Captains Courageous": A Story of the Grand BanksRudyard KiplingLiterature & Fiction191 pages
- "Captains Courageous": A Story of the Grand BanksRudyard KiplingLiterature & Fiction191 pages
- "I Say No"Wilkie CollinsLiterature & Fiction428 pages
- "Miss Lou"Edward Payson RoeLiterature & Fiction409 pages
- "Speaking of Operations--"Irvin S. CobbLiterature & Fiction37 pages
Public-domain text from Project Gutenberg, Standard Ebooks or a similar open source. Copyright differs between countries. Rights holder? See our takedown process.