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Soil and Environmental Chemistry
Soil and Environmental
Chemistry
William F. Bleam
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and
experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or
medical treatment may become necessary.
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in
evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In
using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of
others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.
To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors,
assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of product
liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products,
instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein.
The Earth, atmosphere, water, and living things abide intimately and insepar-
ably in a place we call the soil. Any attempt to describe the chemistry of this
peculiar corner of the environment inevitably sets boundaries. Hydrology sits
beyond the boundary for many soil chemists; but certain chemical processes
take decades to develop, making residence time an important variable, to
say nothing of belowground water transport. Again, soil microbiology may
lay “beyond the black stump” separating chemistry from its cousin biology;
yet respiratory processes drive redox chemistry wherever microbes are found
in nature. Is there sufficient chemistry in risk assessment to warrant its inclu-
sion despite differences in scientific dialect?
Moving the boundaries outward to include Soil Moisture & Hydrology and
Risk Assessment forces compensating choices. Herein Clay Mineralogy & Clay
Chemistry embraces layer silicates and swelling behavior, but demurs the
broader discussion of structural crystallography. Mineral weathering makes its
appearance in Acid-Base Chemistry as the ultimate source of basicity, but
detailed chemical mechanisms receive scant attention. Ion exchange is stripped
to its bare essentials—the exchange isotherm and the factors determining its
appearance. Natural Organic Matter & Humic Colloids adds content related to
carbon turnover and colloidal behavior, but does not take on the humification
process or the primary structure of humic molecules. Water Chemistry down-
plays algebraic methods in favor of model validation, reflecting my experience
that students attain more success applying their chemical knowledge to validat-
ing simulation results than slogging through mathematically complex and sym-
bolically unfamiliar coupled equilibrium expressions. The hallmark of Acid-
Base Chemistry is integration—pulling together water chemistry, ion exchange,
and fundamental acid-base principles to develop an understanding of two chem-
ically complex topics: exchangeable acidity and sodicity.
Each chapter includes insofar as possible: actual experimental data plotted
in graphic form, one or more simple models designed to explain the chemical
behavior manifest in experimental data, and quantitative examples designed to
develop problem-solving skills. Examples and problems rely on actual exper-
imental data when available, supplemented by data gleaned from the USDA
Natural Resources Conservation Service Soil Data Mart, the United States
Environmental Protection Agency PBT Profiler and Integrated Risk Infor-
mation System, and the National Atmospheric Deposition Program, to name
a few. These examples are designed to develop key problem-solving skills
xv
xvi Preface
and to demonstrate methods for making sound estimates and predictions using
basic chemistry principles, proven chemical models, and readily accessible
soil, environmental, and chemical data.
I wish to acknowledge several individuals who contributed to the planning,
writing, and completion of this book. Philip Helmke and Phillip Barak, my
chemistry colleagues at Madison, influenced uncounted choices of content
and emphasis. Birl Lowery, John Norman, and Bill Bland, my soil physics
colleagues, guided my choice to include hydrology. Robin Harris and Bill
Hickey fed my interest and passion in environmental microbiology. Dr. Beat
Müller of EAWAG (Das Schweizer Eidgenössischen Technischen Hochschulen
und Forschung) was most helpful on all questions regarding ChemEQL. Robert
W. Taylor, a friend dating from my Philadelphia days, exemplified encourage-
ment. My graduate advisors—Roscoe Ellis, Murray B. McBride, and Roald
Hoffman—guided my development as a young scientist, setting me on a course
that ultimately led to writing this book. Edna J. Cash, a dear friend, diligently
edited final drafts and proofs. Sharon—my wife—was always patient, always
supportive.
William F. “Will” Bleam,
October 2010
Chapter 1
Chapter Outline
1.1 Introduction 1 the Logarithmic
1.2 A Brief History of the Solar Transformation 18
System and Planet Earth 2 1.13 Summary 21
1.3 The Composition of Earth’s Appendix 1A.
Crust and Soils 3 Factors Governing Nuclear
1.4 The Abundance of Elements Stability and Isotope
in the Solar System, Earth’s Abundance 22
Crust, and Soils 3 Appendix 1B.
1.5 Elements and Isotopes 4 Nucleosynthesis 25
1.6 Nuclear Binding Energy 6 Appendix 1C. Thermonuclear
1.7 Enrichment and Depletion Fusion Cycles 32
during Planetary Formation 8 Appendix 1D. Neutron-Emitting
1.8 Planetary Accretion 9 Reactions that Sustain the
1.9 The Rock Cycle 12 S-Process 34
1.10 Soil Formation 13 Appendix 1E. Random Sequential
1.11 Concentration Frequency Dilutions and the Law of
Distributions of the Proportionate Effect 35
Elements 16 Appendix 1F. The Estimate of
1.12 Estimating the Most Probable Central Tendency and
Concentration and Variation of a Log-Normal
Concentration Range Using Distribution 37
1.1. INTRODUCTION
Popular Science published an electronic version of the Periodic Table of the
Elements in November 2006 (http://www.popsci.com/files/periodic_popup.
html) that contained pictures of virtually all of the elements in pure form. Nota-
bly absent are the radioactive elements: promethium Pm, astatine At, radon Rn,
francium Fr, actinium Ac, protactinium Pa, and elements beyond uranium U.
There is a reason images of these elements are absent: every one of them is unsta-
ble and, therefore, extremely rare. The Periodic Table of the Elements asserts that
all elements exist in principle, but this particular table correctly implies that all of
the elements from hydrogen to uranium exist on planet Earth. In fact, every sam-
ple of water, rock, sediment, and soil contains every stable element—and proba-
bly most of the unstable elements—from hydrogen to uranium.
The Environmental Working Group published an article in October 2008
entitled “Bottled Water Quality Investigation: 10 Major Brands, 38 Pollutants”
(Naidenko, Leiba et al., 2008). Among the contaminants found in bottled water
sold in the United States were the radioactive strontium isotope Sr-90 (0.02
Bq L1 ), radioactive radium (isotopes Ra-286 plus Ra-288; 0.02 Bq L1 ), boron
(60–90 mg L1 ), and arsenic (1 mg L1 ). These concentrations, combined with a
commentary listing the potential and actual toxicity of these substances, can be
alarming. The important question is not whether drinking water, food, air, soil,
or dust contains toxic elements; it most certainly does! The important question
is: is the level of any toxic element in drinking water, food, or soils harmful?
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has estab-
lished a maximum contaminant level (MCL) for beta emitters—such as stron-
tium-90 or radium—in public drinking water: 0.296 Bq L1 (8 pCi L1 ). The
current USEPA drinking water MCL for arsenic is 10 mg L1 ; the mean arse-
nic concentration in U.S. groundwater (based on over 20,000 samples) is
2 mg L1 . The USEPA does not have a drinking water standard for boron,
but the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends boron levels in
drinking water less than 500 mg L1 , and in 1998 the European Union
adopted a drinking water standard of 100 mg L1 . Typical boron concentra-
tions in U.S. groundwater fall below 100 mg L1 and 90% below 40
mg L1 . Evaluated in context, the contaminants found in bottled water are
less threatening and raise the question of whether it is reasonable to entirely
eliminate trace elements from water and food.
Throughout its entire history, planet Earth has experienced continual trans-
formation as plate tectonics generate new inner (oceanic) crust and shift plates
of outer (continental) crust around like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Plate tecton-
ics and the hydrologic cycle drive a rock cycle that reworks portions of the
outer crust through weathering, erosion, and sedimentation. The rock cycle
imposes a new round of geochemical separation processes that alters the com-
position of the terrestrial land surface relative to the outer crust from which it
derives. The rock cycle and soil development, much like planetary formation
and segregation early in Earth’s history scale, impose additional variability in
the composition of each element. Transformations in the overall composition
of planet Earth and the imposition of composition variability relative to the
primordial gas cloud are the central themes of this chapter.
FIGURE 1.1 Elemental abundance of the Solar System, Earth’s crust, and soil decreases expo-
nentially with atomic number Z (Shacklette, 1984; Lide, 2005).
FIGURE 1.2 Elemental abundance of the Solar System, Earth’s crust, and soil from calcium
(atomic number Z ¼ 20) to zirconium (atomic number Z ¼ 40), showing the even-odd effect
(Shacklette, 1984; Lide, 2005).
6 Soil and Environmental Chemistry
FIGURE 1.3 Periodic Table of the Elements: the abundance of each element in the bulk silicate
Earth (i.e., mantle plus crust) plotted on the vertical scale in logarithmic units. Source: Repro-
duced with permission from Anders, E., and N. Grevesse, 1989. Abundance of the elements: mete-
oric and solar. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 53, 197–214.
The Periodic Table of the Elements always lists the symbol, and usually
the atomic number Z and atomic weight, of each element. The atomic number
Z is an integer equal to the number of positively charged protons in the
nucleus of that element. The atomic weight, unlike Z, is not an integer but a
decimal number larger than Z. The atomic weight is the mass of one mole
of the pure element and accounts for the relative abundance of the stable
and long-lived radioactive isotopes for that element (see Appendix 1A).
Figure 1.3 is an unusual Periodic Table of the Elements because it plots the
relative abundance of each element in the Earth’s outermost layers—the mantle
and the crust—on a logarithmic vertical scale. We will have more to say about
the segregation of the Earth later, but for now we are most concerned with the
processes that determine why some elements are more abundant than others.
You will notice that the abundance of elements in a given period—say, period
4—fluctuate; Ca is more abundant than K or Sc, and Ti is more abundant than
Sc or V. This is the even-odd effect mentioned earlier and results from the
nuclear stability of each element, a topic discussed further in Appendix 1A.
FIGURE 1.4 Binding energy per nucleon of each isotope as a function of the mass number A.
greatest binding energy per nucleon. The fusion of lighter nuclei to form
heavier nuclei is exothermic when the product has a mass number A 56
but is endothermic for all heavier isotopes. You will also notice that the
energy release from fusion reactions diminishes rapidly as the mass number
increases to 20 and then gradually in the range from 20 to 56.
The mass of an electron (0.000549 unified atomic mass units u) is negligi-
ble compared to that of protons (1.007276 u) and neutrons (1.008665 u). The
mass number A of each isotope is an integral sum of protons Z and neutrons N
in the nucleus, while the isotope mass is the mass of one mole of pure isotope.
The mass of an isotope with mass number A is always lower than the mass of Z-
independent protons and N-independent neutrons. The nuclear binding energy
of hydrogen isotope 21 H (Example 1.1) illustrates the so-called mass defect.
Exothermic fusion reactions are the source of the energy output from stars,
beginning with 11 H nuclei and other nuclei produced during the early stages
of the universe following the Big Bang. Figure 1.4 shows that exothermic
fusion becomes increasingly inefficient as an energy source. Simply put: a
star’s nuclear fuel is depleted during its lifetime and is eventually exhausted.
Appendix 1B describes the nuclear processes that formed every isotope found
in our Solar System and the Earth today. Some of those processes occurred
during the early moments of the universe under conditions that no longer
exist. Other processes continue to occur throughout the universe because the
necessary conditions exist in active stars or in the interstellar medium.
Nucleosynthesis is an accumulation process that gradually produces heavier
nuclides from lighter nuclides, principally by exothermic fusion or neutron
capture. Lighter nuclides are generally more abundant than heavier nuclides.
The extraordinary energies required for exothermic nuclear fusion and the
complex interplay of neutron-capture and radioactive decay, the principal
nucleosynthesis processes, translate into an abundance profile (see Figure 1.1)
that embodies the relative stability of each nuclide.
FIGURE 1.5 The frequency of concentrations from a sample population (bar graph) closely
approximates a normal probability density function (line). The mean (or central tendency) for a
normal probability distribution equals the arithmetic mean for the sample population. Source:
Image generated using “Sample versus Theoretical Distribution” (Wolfram Demonstration Project)
using 40 bins and a sample size n ¼ 4118.
FIGURE 1.6 Planetesimal formation in the accretion disc of a protosun (left) and the present
Solar System (right) resulted in the differentiation and segregation of the primordial gas cloud.
10 Soil and Environmental Chemistry
FIGURE 1.7 Segregation of the Earth’s crust relative to the Solar System: atmophilic elements
(crosses), ferromagnetic metals (diamonds), noble metals (triangles), chalcophilic elements (filled
circles), and lithophilic elements (open circles). Ferromagnetic transition metals and noble metals
are grouped as siderophilic elements (Goldschmidt, 1937; Lide, 2005).
Chapter 1 Elements 11
molten mantle and crust of crystalline silicate rock (Figure 1.8). The silicate-
rich crust is further segregated into an inner or oceanic crust and an outer or
continental crust. The inner crust has a composition and density very similar
to the mantle, while the outer crust is less dense, thicker, and far more rigid
than the inner crust. The composition of the outer crust reflects the effect of
segregation on the planetary scale but bears little imprint from the rock cycle
because the mean age of the outer crust is roughly the same as the age of
planet Earth.
The ferromagnetic elements comprise four transition metals from the
fourth period: manganese Mn, iron Fe, cobalt Co, and nickel Ni. These four
metals are depleted in Earth’s crust (see Figure 1.7), having become major
components of the Earth’s metallic core. The noble metals—ruthenium Ru,
rhodium Rh, palladium Pd, silver Ag, rhenium Re, osmium Os, iridium Ir,
platinum Pt, and gold Au—have little tendency to react with either oxygen
or sulfur. These elements are depleted from the basic silicate Earth, enriching
the metallic core. Goldschmidt (1937) grouped the ferromagnetic transition
metals and noble metals together as siderophilic metals.
The lithophilic elements (Goldschmidt, 1937) consist of all elements in the
periodic table characterized by their strong tendency to react with oxygen.
The chalcophilic elements—which include sulfur and the elements from per-
iods 4 (copper through selenium), 5 (silver through tellurium), and 6 (mercury
through polonium)—combine strongly with sulfur. The chalcophilic and litho-
philic elements would be enriched in basic silicate Earth after the segregation
of the metallic core.
Given the atomic mass of oxygen and sulfur and the relative atomic mass
of lithophilic chalcophilic elements in the same period; it should not be
Chapter 1 Elements 23
Z = 82
N = 126
Z = 50
N = 82
Z = 28
Z = 20 N = 50
Z=8
N = 28
N = 20
N=8
FIGURE 1A.1 The Table of Isotopes, with each square representing a known isotope and the
shade representing stability. Source: Reproduced with permission from NDDC, 2009. Interactive
Chart of Nuclides. Retrieved August 26, 2009, from http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/chart/.
designated s, p, d, and f. Chemists noticed that when elements react, they tend
to lose, gain, or share a certain number of electrons. The Octet Rule associates
unusual chemical stability with the sharing or transfer of electrons that result
in completely filled s and p electronic shells. The preferred oxidation states of
an element or charge of an ion can usually be explained by stability conferred
by a filled electron shell. A filled electron shell and covalent chemical bonds
increment by two spin-paired electrons.
Completely filled nuclear shells contain a magic number (2, 8, 20, 28, 50,
82, and 126) of nucleons. Nucleons are either protons or neutrons. The
filling of proton nuclear shells is independent of the filling of neutron nuclear
shells. Isotopes with completely filled nuclear shells have significantly greater
stability—and greater abundance—than isotopes with partially filled nuclear
shells. Isotopes with half-filled nuclear shells or shells with an even number
of spin-paired nucleons represent stable nuclear configurations and explain
the even-odd effect seen so clearly in the composition of the Solar System
(Figure 1A.2) and, to a lesser degree in the Earth’s crust and soil
(Figure 1A.3), and in the number of stable isotopes for each element.
Let’s make this very clear: atomic number Z or proton count determines
the identity of each element, while neutron count N identifies each isotope.
A magic atomic number Z or a half-filled nuclear proton shell (an atomic
number Z of 1, 4, 10, 14, etc.) or an even number of protons confers added
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[Inhoud]
ZEVENDE HOOFDSTUK.
Al ’n half uur zat vrouw Hassel, stom-suf op punt van d’r stoel haar
rokken los te frommelen, die wegzakten slap onder haar beenen uit,
toen ze opstond op de vraag van Guurt. Ze hoorde wel, maar
begrijpen deed ze niks, niks vanavond. Er was allemaal zwarte
dofnis in ’r kop, stil gegil, gesuis en gedruk. Maar besef had ze d’r
niet veel van. Alleen angst, jagende angst, angst als ze’r naam maar
hoorde. Dan duizelde ontzetting in d’r, waarop onmiddellijk weer
dofte plofte, grauwig-zwart alles voor d’r oogen, zonder besef.
Gerrit gromde en vloekte uit z’n hoek, dat ie ’t licht weer op z’n snoet
kreeg. Ze hoorde en grabbelde door, niet merkend dat ze d’r
slaapmuts al opgezet had.
—Kristis moeder wa’ stink je.… Is d’r weer.… hai je weer fuil dàan?
Vrouw Hassel was weer vergeten waarvoor d’r dochter zoo dreigde.
Uit het kastje slierde Guurt ’r ’n hemd en broek toe, die ze rillend
over ’r goor lijf liet zakken, in kakenbibbering.
Moeder Hassel hoorde niet meer, staarde besefloos voor zich uit,
krabbend ’r hoofd, onder smalle schuifbanden van ’r puntige
kromgekreukte slaapmuts.
Guurt had de heele pan op ’n stoel gesmeten, alleen het vuile stank-
walmende hemd naar het achterend geschopt, grommend en
vloekend op ’r moeder, dat se puur daas leek. Vrouw Hassel stond
verschoond, beef-grienerig, goorder in ’r schoon wit hemd en broek,
sjokte huil-schokkend nog, op bedderandje, in langzame onzekere
tasting verdwijnend in donker, naast den Ouë, in d’r slaapkuil. In eng
ruimtetje lagen stille oogen van twee menschen te turen in het
duister, klaar wakker. Op ’r peluw snikte ze dóór, lang niet meer
beseffend waarom, uitkroppend ’n kramp van smart die door d’r
borst en beenen schokte.
—Koest.… koest! dreigde stem van Piet die thuis kwam, wat vroeger
dan Dirk na de paar weken gedwongen rust met z’n beenen. De
hond buiten bromde nog zacht.
—Waa’n meelsak, nou weer bikke, driftte Guurt uit ’r bed stappend.
—Wa’ f’r werk he’ jai doar an je hemmitje hange? potdikke Abram.…
Prikkie!
Met z’n hand wees ie naar Guurt’s borst waar strikjes om laag-
uitgesneden kantbaan pronkten.
—F’r jou ’n froag f’r main ’n weut,—bitste ze terug, met één hand ’r
borsten bedekkend en gauw op ’r slaapstoel onder de dekens
woelend. Piet bromde nog wat in zichzelf, van ’n luiwammes.… wat
’n maid-meroàkel.… niks van bloed-beuling had, draaide ook
langzaam uit naar z’n bed.
[Inhoud]
II.
Doodstil lag ie, toch hartebons hamerde raak door z’n lijf. Z’n kop en
handen gloeiden en binnen-in zanikte weer ’n lekker angstig gevoel
rond, dat ie altijd had als ie bang was betrapt te worden.…
Moar fe’nacht most et.… Sachies an moar Ouë.… soo aa’s je sain
dâ altaid lapt.… sekuur an.… fain werk.…—Zacht had ie zich
overeind gewurmd. Plots rammelden uit den stal, stooten van koe-
ringen tegen het rem, dof-bonzend. [186]En klagelijk vanuit stemme-
diepte loeide koegeschrei òp, akelig in de starende nacht-stilte.
Ouë Gerrit schrok, wurmde weer even onhandig terug en keek in het
donker of ie z’n vrouw’s oogen kon zien.… Da’ f’rfloekte beest!.…
daa’s nou puur de heule weuk, dattie skreeuwt ’s nachts.… aa’s tie
hullie wakker moakt goan ’t weer nie.… gòan ’t weèr nie.…
Zacht nu woelde ie op, òver z’n vrouw heen. Boe! wa’ stank.… wa’
donker.… dondersjin, ’t skol nie veul of ie trapte ’t waif op d’r
beene.… soo.… kràk!.…
Het lampje had ie in z’n hand genomen en zacht afgedraaid, dat het
vlam-spetterde, dood-strijd van ’t pitje. Even spiesten bleeke
lichtpijltjes op het slaapgezicht van Guurt, dat zwàklijk oplichtte en
weer wegdoezelde in de duisternis. Het lampje eerst uit, dat wou ie
nou eenmaal, zoodat ie niemand zien kon. Dan voelde hij zich ook
zekerder.… Nou had ie ’t.… nou zacht.… zacht ’t achterend
inschuifelend, precies tast-wetend hoe ie langs het beschot te gaan
had. Daar ’n drempeltje, daar ’n stoel.… dan ’n inham, nou de
dorsch, d’r achter langs.. sachies an, mooi.… da’ gong, da’ gong.
[188]
Er begon weer wilde jubeling en ijl-drang door z’n lijf te gloeien, maar
hij dwong zich kalm te zijn, kalm. Nou stond ie voor het luik.… Doar
had ie f’navend al ’n blokkie hout onder set.… ’t kroakte aêrs aastie
ophieuw!.… Soo.… soo.… heere! wa’ donker.… stikke,
stikkedonker.….. Wacht!.… gong da’ nies?.… hoorde ie doar nies in
de bedstee?.… neenet.… hoho! de jonges ronkte aas varkes, konne
’t huis omhakke, hoorde sullie nog nies.
Juist stram-bukte ie naar het blokje hout vóór het kelderluik, tast-
schurend met z’n hand langs den grond, toen diepe koeien-loei door
den nacht schreien kwam, uit den donkeren stal, met ’n onderdrukt-
bang nagehuil, dat hangen bleef in het duister. Bonk-stooten van
ringen tegen ’t rem klonken nà.
Nou skrok ie nie meer.… loa moar skreeuwe.… ronke tùg deur.…
tjonge, tjonge woar da blokkie tug sit?.… o joa hardstikke
middenin.… Ouë paa’s op, Ouë! paa’s op.… ’t lampie.… f’r wa’ hat ie
self tùg nie ’n lampie kocht?.… bài s’n rommel,.… nee gong nie.…
gong nie.… rooit na’ niks.… most ie fulle en weer fulle en dan ruike
sullie.… neenet da’ gong nie.
Daar was ie nou bij al z’n rijkdom, en niemand die ’t wist, hij.… hij.…
alleen.… van hem.… van hem.…
Met ’t lampje, èven voor zich uit, boven z’n grijzen kop, die nu strak
stond en wit van hevigen hartstocht, in fellen gloed, schoof ie langs
de groezelende stil-morrende kelder-dingen, die schuw in
voortkruipende glanzing òplichtten in stilte-angst, uit hun vuilen,
zwarten slaap van eeuwig-vunzen nacht. Voort schoof ie, tusschen
vaten, touw, manden en turfstapels, lijf-ingebukt, met z’n hoofd de
zoldering rakend, overal rondom, rossige adem verdampend. Zacht
stapvoets vooruit, verdrong ie den huivernacht in den diepen kelder,
met z’n licht, z’n bloedrood ondergoed, met z’n zware haararmen, uit
opgestroopte mouwen fel beschenen, tot ie eindelijk pal bij z’n
spullen stond.
Nou, nou.… nou sou ie ’t sien.… sien!.… Waa’s d’r? waa’s d’r?.…
allegoar?.…
Even ’t lampje op den grond. Wild nu joeg licht om z’n eerst donkere
beenen over killen vloer. Fel bloedde pijpenrood van z’n broek en
smerig z’n plompe voeten lichtten òp, in vervuiling van de lange
roetige nagels. In donkeren val zwenkte ’t licht van de wanden op
groezelgrond en lage rommel-stapels, dreig-schaduws tuimelden,
trillende lichtkringen boorden zoldering in. En angstig, de dingen
stonden in nieuwen lichtglans weer. Groot-zwaar verdeukt, reuzigde
’t schaduw-lijf van Gerrit in donkere vlakken tusschen vaten en
mandjes, afgebroken, met gekneusde beenen, verplet hoofd en
verminkte armen.… Dreigend silhouetteerde één reuzige arm en
kabballistische schaduw-hand, in woest gebaar tegen de stomme
dingen [191]van kelder in. Plots was Ouë Gerrit ingehurkt, graaiden
z’n belichte handen en haar-armen in de laagte, op de steenen. En
z’n kop, gloeide vlak bij de lamp-vlam, dat z’n baard in zilveren brand
stond, z’n rooie schonken bloedden, z’n vingers grabbelden in beef-
gretigen hartstocht, tusschen molm-vuil, boven z’n gestolen rommel
rondgestrooid.
Weer beef-greep ie naar z’n lampje, zette ’t neer op den vloer, lichtte
bij, pal op den rommel, dat ie àlles, alles zien kon.
—F’rjenne.… wa’ waa’s tie nou moei.… dood op.… en roar in s’n
kop.… moar nou terug.… godskristis Ouë!.… f’rsichtig.
Zacht schoof ie de kamer in, vóór Guurtjes bed.… Even gleed licht
over z’n slaapholletje.… Nou zou ie ’t lampie neersette in ’t
vochtkringetje, woar ’t stoàn had, op vloer.… En nou d’r in.… d’r
in.… aa’s ’n aisklomp sain bast.… en nou effe nog denke.… an.…
alles.… alles.…
Plots schrok ie òp.… Nou zag ie eerst dat ie de deurtjes van z’n
bedstee had laten openstaan. Godskristis.… da’ ha je’t!.…
—Komp hier Ouë.… rauwde Dirk, met z’n grooten, wreeden kop de
bedstee uitgedraaid naar Gerrit toe,—sai begin weer strak-en àn!.…