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The women of that class especially seemed positively fascinatedby the long drooping nose, the peaked chin, theheavy lower lip, the black silk eyepatch and band slantingrakishly over the forehead. His high rank always procuredan audience of Caballeros for his sporting stories, which hedetailed very well with a simple, grave enjoyment. As to thesociety of ladies, it was irksome by the restraints it imposedwithout any equivalent, as far as he could see. He had not,perhaps, spoken three times on the whole to Mrs. Gouldsince he had taken up his high command; but he had observedher frequently riding with the Senor Administrador,and had pronounced that there was more sense in her littlebridle-hand than in all the female heads in Sulaco. His impulsehad been to be very civil on parting to a woman whodid not wobble in the saddle, and happened to be the wifeof a personality very important to a man always short ofmoney. He even pushed his attentions so far as to desire theaide-de-camp at his side (a thick-set, short captain with aTartar physiognomy) to bring along a corporal with a file ofmen in front of the carriage, lest the crowd in its backwardsurges should ‘incommode the mules of the senora.’ Then,turning to the small knot of silent Europeans looking onwithin earshot, he raised his voice protectingly—‘Senores, have no apprehension. Go on quietly makingyour Ferro Carril—your railways, your telegraphs.Your—There’s enough wealth in Costaguana to pay for everything—orelse you would not be here. Ha! ha! Don’tmind this little picardia of my friend Montero. In a littlewhile you shall behold his dyed moustaches through the
ars of a strong wooden cage. Si, senores! Fear nothing, developthe country, work, work!’The little group of engineers received this exhortationwithout a word, and after waving his hand at them loftily,he addressed himself again to Mrs. Gould—‘That is what Don Jose says we must do. Be enterprising!Work! Grow rich! To put Montero in a cage is my work; andwhen that insignificant piece of business is done, then, asDon Jose wishes us, we shall grow rich, one and all, like somany Englishmen, because it is money that saves a country,and—‘But a young officer in a very new uniform, hurryingup from the direction of the jetty, interrupted his interpretationof Senor Avellanos’s ideals. The general made amovement of impatience; the other went on talking to himinsistently, with an air of respect. The horses of the Staffhad been embarked, the steamer’s gig was awaiting the generalat the boat steps; and Barrios, after a fierce stare of hisone eye, began to take leave. Don Jose roused himself for anappropriate phrase pronounced mechanically. The terriblestrain of hope and fear was telling on him, and he seemedto husband the last sparks of his fire for those oratoricalefforts of which even the distant Europe was to hear. Antonia,her red lips firmly closed, averted her head behind theraised fan; and young Decoud, though he felt the girl’s eyesupon him, gazed away persistently, hooked on his elbow,with a scornful and complete detachment. Mrs. Gould heroicallyconcealed her dismay at the appearance of men andevents so remote from her racial conventions, dismay too
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Nostromo: A Taleof the SeaboardBy J
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AUTHOR’S NOTE‘NOSTROMO’ is th
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him: ‘What’s to prevent me repo
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Misrule.’ That work was never pub
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ter the usual exordium of his remor
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invective. She did not quite unders
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CHAPTER ONEIN THE time of Spanish r
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the sky above a razor-backed ridge
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At night the body of clouds advanci
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CHAPTER TWOTHE only sign of commerc
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ject with studied negligence.‘Smi
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against the rushes of the rabble, t
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Mitchell, after directing the comma
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CHAPTER THREEIT MIGHT have been sai
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ing fowls, pounding corn in wooden
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It was trying to the nerves. Old Vi
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The children kneeling on the floor
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Linda raised her eyes to her face f
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fumes floated upwards in sunshine,
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while the negro brakesmen sat carel
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ters of her hair, and the eyelashes
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Italian—the publication of the Br
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Giorgio’s old age. It cast a gloo
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CHAPTER FIVEIN THIS way only was th
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out-of-the-way place Sulaco is!—a
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aristocratic old Spanish families,
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showed some talent as guerilla chie
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could set in motion mighty machines
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face, a pair of eyes gazing straigh
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not connected with Nostromo, and in
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here. And I suppose they are homesi
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swift pasotrote, straight out of so
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Perhaps he had just dismounted on h
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Worked in the early days mostly by
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with many arguments and entreaties,
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a votre bonhomme—entendez-vous?
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teen, a matter of prime importance
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a personal point of view, too, as o
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‘That’s different. I’ve been
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and generosity, had the fastidious
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with that girl, and his mind of the
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aspect of the world.The latest phas
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fat coachman sat muffled up on the
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mine by the hour with her husband w
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face, and his whole, long-limbed, l
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thought that no one could know her
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there was an implication of calm an
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on facts; and Charles Gould, whose
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lip is what you’ll want; and you
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inaccessible to profane eyes. Some
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me whether his talk is the voice of
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stairs, and before he gave her the
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the heat of the day, she rode on a
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of lust between bands of absurd dev
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ents must have been great, after al
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tercourse was to strike as offensiv
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When in Sulaco it was his practice
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enclosures within the old ramparts,
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Thus professionally spoke Don Pepe,
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sword and in a shabby uniform with
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first, in a pointed straw hat, then
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dying on hillsides, in the long gra
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and weight, would be caught up by t
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ment. From the heavy family coaches
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had been fitted out; a price had be
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fore she had settled in her town-ho
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gling spurs and riding-whip under h
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the white gleam of ranging eyes; an
Page 137 and 138: at the end of his rule (which had k
Page 139 and 140: were badly wanted for this great de
Page 141 and 142: Chief of the State Costaguana had e
Page 143 and 144: which I, having been in my time acc
Page 145 and 146: Going ashore in the same boat with
Page 147 and 148: carriage, who returned smiles and f
Page 149 and 150: murs of recognition and obsequious
Page 151 and 152: ‘Is that true?’ she cooed, joyo
Page 153 and 154: Nostromo, the Mediterranean sailor
Page 155 and 156: PART SECONDThe Isabels
Page 157 and 158: The harbour was busy, too, with the
Page 159 and 160: ing company of nearly naked skeleto
Page 161 and 162: It was the rule for all the women o
Page 163 and 164: cific mandate to establish the pros
Page 165 and 166: much of the ignominy of the situati
Page 167 and 168: could unsettle the public opinion i
Page 169 and 170: in Tonoro. They had come to offer h
Page 171 and 172: otic send-off. It was not his part
Page 173 and 174: of a lover ensconced in a doorway o
Page 175 and 176: tion to become a poet like that oth
Page 177 and 178: ‘It’s like a tile falling on my
Page 179 and 180: formed that she ventured to treat s
Page 181 and 182: ‘I am inexpressibly grateful for
Page 183 and 184: French language. The big black lett
Page 185 and 186: thick stick. No! He had earned enou
Page 187: costume caused by the anxious lende
Page 191 and 192: The carriage rolled noiselessly on
Page 193 and 194: ‘Yes,’ muttered old Viola, sava
Page 195 and 196: ‘I shall want a horse presently,
Page 197 and 198: shriek, and Decoud, from his back s
Page 199 and 200: ciple is old.’He ruminated his di
Page 201 and 202: of feminine and intimate delicacy.D
Page 203 and 204: aising her hand. After a time he wh
Page 205 and 206: Decoud talking publicly with Antoni
Page 207 and 208: make war you may retreat, but not w
Page 209 and 210: and all his Negro Liberals hanging
Page 211 and 212: She made an energetic gesture of ne
Page 213 and 214: have ploughed the sea.’ He did no
Page 215 and 216: first pause. Their comparative isol
Page 217 and 218: Jose Avellanos. Don Jose, lifting u
Page 219 and 220: have carried so far, though there w
Page 221 and 222: something unlawful behind his pries
Page 223 and 224: for reparation from a penitent coun
Page 225 and 226: ‘Very well,’ he agreed with the
Page 227 and 228: the skirt of his soutane at each en
Page 229 and 230: confirmatory word, a grunt of assen
Page 231 and 232: sign, made no sound. The impenetrab
Page 233 and 234: so.’ And now he was going. It was
Page 235 and 236: stairs, where the Madonna with the
Page 237 and 238: there was to say a long time ago. T
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upon the great bare wall. ‘It is
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Decoud affected suddenly the utmost
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country, whatever Father Corbelan m
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ceptibilities, and at the present m
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do no harm. And it was quite possib
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sentimentalists to deal with.’‘
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iously.‘Upon the whole,’ he con
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CHAPTER SEVENIT WAS part of what De
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death. That man seems to have a par
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for that, senor?’ Then it dawned
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dismantled houses acquired by the C
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vaguely about him, then dropped int
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man or beast,’ said the girl, pas
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holding a bottle, and sobbing gentl
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handfuls of type, blown in the wind
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it were to an assembly of trained m
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clothed in the fair robes of an ide
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emaining forces had melted away dur
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‘Never mind, there is no lack of
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holds to it as some men hold to the
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humanity.‘He joined me on the har
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the paper was going through the pre
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‘Teresa wants to see you, Nostrom
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for the glow of a heap of charcoal
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and hopes, had a great regard for h
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the one which they say is guarded b
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the stairs backwards, with the usua
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‘What bargain would your worship
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‘We are out in the gulf now,’ s
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In the featureless night Nostromo w
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and years to come. And yet, the day
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er. No, senor; there is no rest til
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the sensations awaked by what he ha
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was limp—lifeless.The light of th
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shouts and imprecations, looking fo
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angry and threatening voice, ordere
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had been making use of him, had tri
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‘They are trying to make out wher
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a naked mast. I will do it now, bef
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windows of the houses, and showing
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mism. In comparison to it, the chan
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daylight? He began to think that th
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him, and Barrios, with a rude and j
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intoxicated, and proceeded on their
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This was the first time Nostromo an
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would have passed on, leaving the l
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the breast of Senor Hirsch, who sim
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in aim, in view, in character, and
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I was in love with. Poor Teresa cou
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one of the two spades which belonge
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Nostromo detected the ironic tone.
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certainly before noon Sotillo would
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PART THIRDTHE LIGHTHOUSE
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of those imported workmen with the
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losing party. But I did not tell th
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of the far interior where the great
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ing by himself. I shall be sorry.
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story that will never grow old. Tha
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the treasure was of enormous import
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the wall, and narrow enough to be d
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the engineer. ‘When this question
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CHAPTER TWOCAPTAIN MITCHELL, pacing
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ecome the prey in person and fortun
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infuriated. Captain Mitchell, howev
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The long building was surrounded by
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ing half a hundred-weight of sand.
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and had been dragged along for some
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es, wanting in the misty idealism o
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tain Mitchell could meet the realit
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with his chin on his breast and his
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founded fellow get wind of the affa
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was sitting at the foot of the bed,
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their eyes on the doctor. But at th
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dark.‘Yes, that is exactly what I
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friend’s character is not my idea
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Only the slight limping shuffle cou
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tance.’Captain Mitchell was very
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creased. The guerrillero brother of
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saw the irony of it. Father Corbela
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drowning man catches at a straw. Fa
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over his shoulder.‘Drive carefull
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with the sergeant’s stripes on th
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day to join the democrats. We are g
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to turn, where the only chance of s
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his back against the rim of the fou
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had planned revolutions, who had be
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efusing, almost touched by the anxi
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senora had given into her charge th
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eyes, and in a tempestuous voice, b
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make a full confession, Father Bero
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fetters were struck off by the ligh
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of account the safety of her husban
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cident had brought to a point all t
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‘Antonia will kill herself!’ sh
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the cathedral. Three single strokes
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CHAPTER FIVEDURING the night the ex
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duplicity and cunning, together wit
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court, and had conceived the idea o
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and the bullet-speckled walls of th
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‘The brute!’ observed his Excel
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cho howled with conviction, was the
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patrol duty, strolling, carbine in
Page 443 and 444:
Don Pepe, in a mild and humorous vo
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the hammock. With less confidence,
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ecause whatever happened his honour
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CHAPTER SEVENAT ABOUT that time, in
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(which were accessible to His Excel
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as a great captain of industry and
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on the table.‘You will have to ta
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gadores could have been employed wi
Page 459 and 460:
the Custom House, appeared lonely,
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CHAPTER EIGHTAFTER landing from his
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the cupolas, towers, and miradors r
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as a boy on one of these feluccas b
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made a few steps, then stopped agai
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Sharing in the anti-priestly freeth
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sensible his profound isolation. Hi
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meditating—or, perhaps, reading a
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ing his lips slightly, and not look
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der-blades. From there his eyes tra
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membered that much. What do you wan
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where he would be of the greatest u
Page 483 and 484:
ought never to have left the mounta
Page 485 and 486:
pest in his ears in time to hear th
Page 487 and 488:
‘Am I to understand, senor,’ No
Page 489 and 490:
such a fool as when I started. I ha
Page 491 and 492:
CHAPTER NINEDISTRACTED between doub
Page 493 and 494:
that treasure, for that wealth of s
Page 495 and 496:
come entangled in a perfect welter
Page 497 and 498:
Complete silence. He quaked. It was
Page 499 and 500:
whose one end was fastened to Senor
Page 501 and 502:
its mouth closed askew. The colonel
Page 503 and 504:
any future treacheries of that scou
Page 505 and 506:
He was absolutely the only one. The
Page 507 and 508:
You are safe because you are needed
Page 509 and 510:
‘I don’t know,’ burst out the
Page 511 and 512:
Sotillo.’And Dr. Monygham stopped
Page 513 and 514:
no divers, but he has a ship, boats
Page 515 and 516:
Custom House, before he managed to
Page 517 and 518:
laying about you with a stick among
Page 519 and 520:
had left it twenty-four hours befor
Page 521 and 522:
keen blade piercing his breast.The
Page 523 and 524:
decaying strength.He extended his h
Page 525 and 526:
The Capataz drank greedily. A sligh
Page 527 and 528:
CHAPTER TENTHE next day was quiet i
Page 529 and 530:
lish, French, Italians, all sorts
Page 531 and 532:
of his safe. It was even for that s
Page 533 and 534:
priest, everlastingly worrying the
Page 535 and 536:
ticle to him and the force he has o
Page 537 and 538:
see framed under glass in the Munic
Page 539 and 540:
the land gate, was not able to oppo
Page 541 and 542:
do?’ ‘You know very well I was,
Page 543 and 544:
confines of waking and sleep with r
Page 545 and 546:
they thought up to the last on that
Page 547 and 548:
Ha! ha! ha! He wants me to admit th
Page 549 and 550:
without loss of time and undetected
Page 551 and 552:
ments and barren tasks for the peop
Page 553 and 554:
endary treasure.At the end of his f
Page 555 and 556:
universe as a succession of incompr
Page 557 and 558:
dark, he ceased rowing and flung th
Page 559 and 560:
He had made up his mind that nothin
Page 561 and 562:
CHAPTER ELEVENSULACO outstripped No
Page 563 and 564:
ing tenderness.‘Don’t expect to
Page 565 and 566:
the Bolson de Tonoro. And the heroi
Page 567 and 568:
Gould. She had brought her uncle ov
Page 569 and 570:
him that position? Who can say? Gen
Page 571 and 572:
know how really good you are. You w
Page 573 and 574:
that incorruptible Capataz. Moreove
Page 575 and 576:
the Violas. As late as midnight at
Page 577 and 578:
an old negro, who had been sitting
Page 579 and 580:
Gould added to the grace of her sea
Page 581 and 582:
success for the last of the Goulds.
Page 583 and 584:
qualities was destroyed. He felt it
Page 585 and 586:
ed and feared Captain Fidanza, the
Page 587 and 588:
made for himself, under his rightfu
Page 589 and 590:
He went to see his friend Captain M
Page 591 and 592:
A sudden dread came upon the fearle
Page 593 and 594:
you for the earth to become empty t
Page 595 and 596:
her raised eyes remained fixed on n
Page 597 and 598:
‘Be allowed to listen to your Ram
Page 599 and 600:
his little flower.It had grown dark
Page 601 and 602:
and the triumphant excitement of hi
Page 603 and 604:
‘Where is it? Where? Tell me that
Page 605 and 606:
There was something in that immobil
Page 607 and 608:
CHAPTER THIRTEENON THE day Mrs. Gou
Page 609 and 610:
hills, for which we are starving ou
Page 611 and 612:
Linda had a good share of the Viola
Page 613 and 614:
ious and shameless innocence with k
Page 615 and 616:
stairs. At the moment of opening th
Page 617 and 618:
sala. The prosperous majordomo rema
Page 619 and 620:
has something to say to you alone.
Page 621 and 622:
aim. I myself could have done no be
Page 623 and 624:
lost for ever.’After hearing thes
Page 625 and 626:
photographer, small, frail, bloodth
Page 627:
‘You have killed Gian’ Battista
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