Поющие в терновнике

           Treessproutedcasuallyinthemiddleoftheroad,orhadhousesbuiltaroundthem,orperhapshadgrownupthroughthehouses.Itwasimpossibletotellwhichhadcomefirst,treesorhumanhabitations,fortheoverwhelmingimpressionwasoneofuncontrolled,hecticgrowthofvegetation.CoconutpalmstallerandstraighterthantheDroghedaghostgumswavedfrondsagainstadeep,swimmingbluesky;everywhereMeggielookedwasablazeofcolor.Nobrown-and-greyland,this.Everykindoftreeseemedtobeinflower—purple,orange,scarlet,pink,blue,white.

           ThereweremanyChineseinblacksilktrousers,tinyblack-and-whiteshoeswithwhitesocks,whiteMandarin-collaredshirts,pig-tailsdowntheirbacks.MalesandfemaleslookedsoalikeMeggiefounditdifficulttotellwhichwerewhich.AlmosttheentirecommerceofthetownseemedtobeinthehandsofChinese;alargedepartmentstore,farmoreopulentthananythingGillypossessed,boreaChinesename:AHWONG’S,saidthesign.

           Allthehouseswerebuiltontopofveryhighpiles,liketheoldheadstockman’sresidenceonDrogheda.Thiswastoachievemaximumaircirculation,Lukeexplained,andkeepthetermitesfromcausingthemtofalldownayearaftertheywerebuilt.Atthetopofeachpilewasatinplatewithturned-downedges;termitescouldn’tbendtheirbodiesinthemiddleandthuscouldn’tcrawloverthetinparapetintothewoodofthehouseitself.Ofcoursetheyfeastedonthepiles,butwhenapilerotteditwasremovedandreplacedbyanewone.