Read Online Don't Stop the Carnival by Herman Wouk - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Herman Wouk
Ads: Link
what did you expect, turnpikes all your goddamn life?" This plunge probably lasted two minutes, then they were on level hard sand, purring through a grove of high coconut trees, where the only hazard was a scattering of rotted fallen nuts. Ahead was the sea.
"Whew! How do we get back up?" he said.
"Worry about that later."
The beach was a deserted wide sweep of snowy sand. Palm trees lined it all the way to its end, about half a mile away, in high rock. At the near end it trailed off in thickets of cactus. There were no waves in Pitt Bay. Clear water sloshed up and back on the sand, not breaking. Coral reefs made jagged dark patterns in the green shallows; farther out, the bay was blue. One large island, three or four miles off, hid much of the horizon. Beyond it to the right was the green knob of another island.
"Big Dog," Iris said, pointing, "Little Dog. Bob's out there by now, doing his warlike deeds. Like broiling fresh lobsters on a driftwood fire, and so forth."
The silence was extraordinary. The swooping and diving pelicans uttered no cries. So still was it that when one of the birds hit the blue water, far out, Paperman heard the splash. Meadows alone broke the peace, racing down the beach and barking at the pelicans.
"Housekeeping chores first, then swimming and stuff," Iris said, unzipping her flared orange frock, and stepping out in a snug black jersey swimsuit that sent a tingle of pleasure through Norman. He peeled down to red trunks, glad that at forty-nine he had no paunch. Iris, unpacking a hamper, gave him a lively look. "Well! Where'd you get that tan?"
"Fake. Sun lamp. Athletic club."
Soon she had the picnic set out on the sand in the shade of a low-slanting palm tree. Food, far too much of it, was arrayed on a card table. Beer was piled in a cooler, and charcoal smoldered in a portable grill.. "Okay." She brushed hair off her damp forehead. "Hot as hell even in the shade. Forty-five minutes for a swim and a drink."
The underwater* scenery here was stunning. The coral arched and twisted in baroque pillars and caverns, dusty green and pink, and dotted with bright plants. The fish were larger than at Gull Reef; the first parrot fish that went by must have been three feet long. Iris swam ahead, her scissoring pink thighs a fair sight; now and then she swished around to point out a fantastic growth of elkhorn, an octopus writhing along a coral ledge, a big grouper lurking under a rock. She led him to a sunken wreck, where yellow and purple fish were gliding through the ribs in schools. Paperman was hovering over the wreck, watching the play of living color with delight, when he felt Iris's finger poke his shoulder. He turned, and saw, not ten feet away in the water, a gray diamond-shaped flat thing as wide as a tent, with white spots, and a barbed black tail. It flapped by him, swirling water against his chest, and slowly passed from sight. This incident clouded his pleasure, and he was glad when Iris headed for the shore. On the beach she told him that he had seen a leopard ray. "They can't hurt you. Bob shoots rays all the time. Says there's nothing to it. How about a martini to quiet your nerves? Two to one, Bombay gin, Boissiere vermouth, lemon twist, chilled glass?"
"Don't torment me. Beer's fine."
"But it's right here." She drew glasses from the cooler, which frosted on striking warm air; produced a rattling shaker, and poured pale martinis.
"You're an amazing woman."
It was a spicy, beery picnic: frankfurters and hamburgers sizzling off the coals, beans and sauerkraut; Norman even broke down and wolfed potato salad, thinking, oh hell! They sat on straw back-rests on a broad Indian blanket, all zigzags of red, yellow, and blue. This bay was the loveliest, most peaceful place he had ever seen. They were utterly alone.
Iris tossed aside a beer can and yawned. "Take the blanket over in the sun,
"Whew! How do we get back up?" he said.
"Worry about that later."
The beach was a deserted wide sweep of snowy sand. Palm trees lined it all the way to its end, about half a mile away, in high rock. At the near end it trailed off in thickets of cactus. There were no waves in Pitt Bay. Clear water sloshed up and back on the sand, not breaking. Coral reefs made jagged dark patterns in the green shallows; farther out, the bay was blue. One large island, three or four miles off, hid much of the horizon. Beyond it to the right was the green knob of another island.
"Big Dog," Iris said, pointing, "Little Dog. Bob's out there by now, doing his warlike deeds. Like broiling fresh lobsters on a driftwood fire, and so forth."
The silence was extraordinary. The swooping and diving pelicans uttered no cries. So still was it that when one of the birds hit the blue water, far out, Paperman heard the splash. Meadows alone broke the peace, racing down the beach and barking at the pelicans.
"Housekeeping chores first, then swimming and stuff," Iris said, unzipping her flared orange frock, and stepping out in a snug black jersey swimsuit that sent a tingle of pleasure through Norman. He peeled down to red trunks, glad that at forty-nine he had no paunch. Iris, unpacking a hamper, gave him a lively look. "Well! Where'd you get that tan?"
"Fake. Sun lamp. Athletic club."
Soon she had the picnic set out on the sand in the shade of a low-slanting palm tree. Food, far too much of it, was arrayed on a card table. Beer was piled in a cooler, and charcoal smoldered in a portable grill.. "Okay." She brushed hair off her damp forehead. "Hot as hell even in the shade. Forty-five minutes for a swim and a drink."
The underwater* scenery here was stunning. The coral arched and twisted in baroque pillars and caverns, dusty green and pink, and dotted with bright plants. The fish were larger than at Gull Reef; the first parrot fish that went by must have been three feet long. Iris swam ahead, her scissoring pink thighs a fair sight; now and then she swished around to point out a fantastic growth of elkhorn, an octopus writhing along a coral ledge, a big grouper lurking under a rock. She led him to a sunken wreck, where yellow and purple fish were gliding through the ribs in schools. Paperman was hovering over the wreck, watching the play of living color with delight, when he felt Iris's finger poke his shoulder. He turned, and saw, not ten feet away in the water, a gray diamond-shaped flat thing as wide as a tent, with white spots, and a barbed black tail. It flapped by him, swirling water against his chest, and slowly passed from sight. This incident clouded his pleasure, and he was glad when Iris headed for the shore. On the beach she told him that he had seen a leopard ray. "They can't hurt you. Bob shoots rays all the time. Says there's nothing to it. How about a martini to quiet your nerves? Two to one, Bombay gin, Boissiere vermouth, lemon twist, chilled glass?"
"Don't torment me. Beer's fine."
"But it's right here." She drew glasses from the cooler, which frosted on striking warm air; produced a rattling shaker, and poured pale martinis.
"You're an amazing woman."
It was a spicy, beery picnic: frankfurters and hamburgers sizzling off the coals, beans and sauerkraut; Norman even broke down and wolfed potato salad, thinking, oh hell! They sat on straw back-rests on a broad Indian blanket, all zigzags of red, yellow, and blue. This bay was the loveliest, most peaceful place he had ever seen. They were utterly alone.
Iris tossed aside a beer can and yawned. "Take the blanket over in the sun,
Similar Books
