Further away, where the island ended in a low cliff,
rose a dark mass of buildings towering above the Malay structures.
Founded solidly on a firm ground with plenty of space, starred by many
lights burning strong and white, with a suggestion of paraffin and lamp-
glasses, stood the house and the godowns of Abdulla bin Selim, the great
trader of Sambir. To Almayer the sight was very distasteful, and he
shook his fist towards the buildings that in their evident prosperity
looked to him cold and insolent, and contemptuous of his own fallen
fortunes.
He mounted the steps of his house slowly.
In the middle of the verandah there was a round table. On it a paraffin
lamp without a globe shed a hard glare on the three inner sides. The
fourth side was open, and faced the river. Between the rough supports of
the high-pitched roof hung torn rattan screens. There was no ceiling,
and the harsh brilliance of the lamp was toned above into a soft half-
light that lost itself in the obscurity amongst the rafters. The front
wall was cut in two by the doorway of a central passage closed by a red
curtain. The women's room opened into that passage, which led to the
back courtyard and to the cooking shed. In one of the side walls there
was a doorway.
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