Nostromo - A Tale of the Seaboard.pdf - Planet eBook

formed that she ventured to treat slightingly his pose of disabusedwisdom. On one occasion, as though she had lost allpatience, she flew out at him about the aimlessness of his lifeand the levity of his opinions. He was twenty then, an onlyson, spoiled by his adoring family. This attack disconcertedhim so greatly that he had faltered in his affectation ofamused superiority before that insignificant chit of a schoolgirl.But the impression left was so strong that ever since allthe girl friends of his sisters recalled to him Antonia Avellanosby some faint resemblance, or by the great force ofcontrast. It was, he told himself, like a ridiculous fatality.And, of course, in the news the Decouds received regularlyfrom Costaguana, the name of their friends, the Avellanos,cropped up frequently—the arrest and the abominabletreatment of the ex-Minister, the dangers and hardships enduredby the family, its withdrawal in poverty to Sulaco, thedeath of the mother.The Monterist pronunciamento had taken place beforeMartin Decoud reached Costaguana. He came out in aroundabout way, through Magellan’s Straits by the mainline and the West Coast Service of the O.S.N. Company.His precious consignment arrived just in time to convertthe first feelings of consternation into a mood of hope andresolution. Publicly he was made much of by the familiasprincipales. Privately Don Jose, still shaken and weak, embracedhim with tears in his eyes.‘You have come out yourself! No less could be expectedfrom a Decoud. Alas! our worst fears have been realized,’ hemoaned, affectionately. And again he hugged his god-son.