olsson2039

@@@@@It was already upsetting her, and they weren't even out of the harbor and into the Ashley River yet Mercifully, the commentator ran out of things to say and for a long while the only sound was the thunk-thunk of the pistons and the splash of water as it fell from the wheelMarsh grass was green and gold on both sides with wide moss-hung oaks on the riverbank behind it Dragonflies darted through the midge-dancing air above the grass; occasionally a fish leapt from the water, then flopped back in Scarlett sat quietly, removed from the other passengers, nursing her rancorRhett's plantation was ruined, and he was doing nothing to save itCamellias! At Ballyhara, she had hundreds of acres of healthy crops where she had found rank weeds And she had rebuilt an entire town, while he just sat and stared at his burnt chimneysThat's why she had come on the paddleboat, she told herselfIt would make her feel good to see how far she was outstripping himScarlett tensed before each bend, relaxed when it was past and Rhett's house had not appearedShe'd forgotten Ashley BaronyJulia Ashley's big square brick house looked magnificently forbidding in the center of its unadorned lawn"This is the only plantation the heroic Union forces did not destroy," bawled the man in the absurd hat"It was not in the tender heart of their commander to injure the frail spinster woman who lay ill inside Scarlett laughed aloud"Frail spinster," indeed! Miss Julia must have scared the pants off him! The other passengers looked at her curiously, but Scarlett was unaware of their scrutinyThe Landing would be next Yes, there was the phosphate mineSo much bigger! There were five barges being loadedShe searched under the wide-brimmed hat of the man on the dockIt was that white-trash soldier-she couldn't remember his name, something like Hawkins-no matter, around that bend, past that big live oak The angle of the sunlight sculpted the great grass terraces of Dunmore Landing into green velvet giant steps and scattered sequins on the butterfly lakes beside the riverScarlett's involuntary cry was lost in the exclamations of the Yankees crowded around her along the railAt the top of the terraces the scorched chimneys were tall sentinels against the painfully bright blue sky; an alligator was sunning itself on the grass between the l