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It was impossible to judge the size of the cavern that housed the City of Gargoyles. The dim beams of the lantern, when swung about, only served to reveal a few abnormally steep gables or a grotesque bit of statuary or an empty street—never a complete picture. There were no echoes. The dark void was vast and silent.
Street after street of empty stone-carved houses lay around them. Tiny alleys with lopsided, overhanging dwellings could be found next to wide avenues with large town houses. Steep roofs and towers flashed through the lantern light. On every window and every chimney were the wide grins or subtle sneers and the glaring eyes of a thousand gargoyles.
Everything was empty inside. Whatever was there had rotted years before.
From The Game of Sunken Places by M.T. Anderson
Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tried old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square. Somehow, it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer's day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of live oaks on the square. Men's stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o'clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum.
From To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Characters
When the door opened, it was not the woman in white but another one wearing red, her hair cut so short it resembled a little gray, curlicue swim cap pulled tight over her scalp. Her face stared at us, suspicious and stern. I noticed she carried a musical bow tucked under her arm like a riding whip. It crossed my mind she might use it on us.
From The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Actions or Events
The words wouldn't come. Matt was horrified, and before he knew what he was doing he had thrown himself at Kelvin, hurling him into one of the shelves. Kelvin recovered quickly. He was bigger and stronger than Matt. He coiled forward, then lashed out with a fist, catching Matt on the side of the head. Matt fell back, dazed.
From Raven's Gate by Anthony Horowitz
Objects
Slowly, Mapes reached into the neck of her dress, brought out a dark sheath. A black handle with deep finger ridges protruded from it. She took sheath in one hand and handle in the other, withdrew a milk white blade, held it up. The blade seemed to shine and glitter with a light of its own. It was double-edged, perhaps twenty centimeters long.
From Dune by Frank Herbert
It was impossible to judge the size of the cavern that housed the City of Gargoyles. The dim beams of the lantern, when swung about, only served to reveal a few abnormally steep gables or a grotesque bit of statuary or an empty street—never a complete picture. There were no echoes. The dark void was vast and silent.
Street after street of empty stone-carved houses lay around them. Tiny alleys with lopsided, overhanging dwellings could be found next to wide avenues with large town houses. Steep roofs and towers flashed through the lantern light. On every window and every chimney were the wide grins or subtle sneers and the glaring eyes of a thousand gargoyles.
Everything was empty inside. Whatever was there had rotted years before.
From The Game of Sunken Places by M.T. Anderson
Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tried old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square. Somehow, it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer's day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of live oaks on the square. Men's stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o'clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum.
From To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Characters
When the door opened, it was not the woman in white but another one wearing red, her hair cut so short it resembled a little gray, curlicue swim cap pulled tight over her scalp. Her face stared at us, suspicious and stern. I noticed she carried a musical bow tucked under her arm like a riding whip. It crossed my mind she might use it on us.
From The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Actions or Events
The words wouldn't come. Matt was horrified, and before he knew what he was doing he had thrown himself at Kelvin, hurling him into one of the shelves. Kelvin recovered quickly. He was bigger and stronger than Matt. He coiled forward, then lashed out with a fist, catching Matt on the side of the head. Matt fell back, dazed.
From Raven's Gate by Anthony Horowitz
Objects
Slowly, Mapes reached into the neck of her dress, brought out a dark sheath. A black handle with deep finger ridges protruded from it. She took sheath in one hand and handle in the other, withdrew a milk white blade, held it up. The blade seemed to shine and glitter with a light of its own. It was double-edged, perhaps twenty centimeters long.
From Dune by Frank Herbert