The place was no longer just an ordinary shack town that was gradually falling into ruin. The desolation seemed suddenly to have a menace of its own. It had become something alive and positive. The hardness of the mountains seemed to have moved in among the dark shapes crouched against the glimmer of the snow and as I negotiated the crumbling sidewalk, clutching the cardboard box under my arm, I felt fear creeping up my spine and prickling my scalp. I think something of this communicated itself to Pauline for she suddenly said, ‘How long will you be staying here?’ ‘I don’t know,’ I answered. Her hand tightened on my arm. ‘Do not forget the winters are long here.’ ‘How do you mean?’ We had reached The Golden Calf. Lights showed through the windows and there was a murmur of voices. She paused with her hand on the door. ‘Things that are small to you become big to us here at this time of the year.’ I remembered the Victorian drawing-room and the sharp grey eyes of Miss Garret avid for gossip, the sudden violence of Max Trevedian and the sullenness of James McClellan.
What do You think about Campbell's Kingdom (2013)?
