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a word, had gone up the narrow stairs, he said—‘Why, Capataz! I thought you could never fail in anything.’Nostromo, glancing contemptuously at the doctor, lingeredin the doorway rolling a cigarette, then struck a match,and, after lighting it, held the burning piece of wood abovehis head till the flame nearly touched his fingers.‘No wind!’ he muttered to himself. ‘Look here, senor—doyou know the nature of my undertaking?’Dr. Monygham nodded sourly.‘It is as if I were taking up a curse upon me, senor doctor.A man with a treasure on this coast will have every kniferaised against him in every place upon the shore. You seethat, senor doctor? I shall float along with a spell upon mylife till I meet somewhere the north-bound steamer of theCompany, and then indeed they will talk about the Capatazof the Sulaco Cargadores from one end of America toanother.’Dr. Monygham laughed his short, throaty laugh. Nostromoturned round in the doorway.‘But if your worship can find any other man ready and fitfor such business I will stand back. I am not exactly tired ofmy life, though I am so poor that I can carry all I have withmyself on my horse’s back.’‘You gamble too much, and never say ‘no’ to a pretty face,Capataz,’ said Dr. Monygham, with sly simplicity. ‘That’snot the way to make a fortune. But nobody that I know eversuspected you of being poor. I hope you have made a goodbargain in case you come back safe from this adventure.’
‘What bargain would your worship have made?’ askedNostromo, blowing the smoke out of his lips through thedoorway.Dr. Monygham listened up the staircase for a momentbefore he answered, with another of his short, abruptlaughs—‘Illustrious Capataz, for taking the curse of death uponmy back, as you call it, nothing else but the whole treasurewould do.’Nostromo vanished out of the doorway with a grunt ofdiscontent at this jeering answer. Dr. Monygham heardhim gallop away. Nostromo rode furiously in the dark.There were lights in the buildings of the O.S.N. Companynear the wharf, but before he got there he met the Gouldcarriage. The horseman preceded it with the torch, whoselight showed the white mules trotting, the portly Ignaciodriving, and Basilio with the carbine on the box. From thedark body of the landau Mrs. Gould’s voice cried, ‘They arewaiting for you, Capataz!’ She was returning, chilly and excited,with Decoud’s pocket-book still held in her hand. Hehad confided it to her to send to his sister. ‘Perhaps my lastwords to her,’ he had said, pressing Mrs. Gould’s hand.The Capataz never checked his speed. At the head of thewharf vague figures with rifles leapt to the head of his horse;others closed upon him—cargadores of the company postedby Captain Mitchell on the watch. At a word from himthey fell back with subservient murmurs, recognizing hisvoice. At the other end of the jetty, near a cargo crane, in adark group with glowing cigars, his name was pronounced
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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
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at the end of his rule (which had k
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were badly wanted for this great de
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Chief of the State Costaguana had e
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which I, having been in my time acc
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Going ashore in the same boat with
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carriage, who returned smiles and f
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murs of recognition and obsequious
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‘Is that true?’ she cooed, joyo
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Nostromo, the Mediterranean sailor
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PART SECONDThe Isabels
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The harbour was busy, too, with the
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ing company of nearly naked skeleto
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It was the rule for all the women o
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cific mandate to establish the pros
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much of the ignominy of the situati
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could unsettle the public opinion i
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in Tonoro. They had come to offer h
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otic send-off. It was not his part
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of a lover ensconced in a doorway o
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tion to become a poet like that oth
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‘It’s like a tile falling on my
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formed that she ventured to treat s
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‘I am inexpressibly grateful for
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French language. The big black lett
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thick stick. No! He had earned enou
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costume caused by the anxious lende
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ars of a strong wooden cage. Si, se
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The carriage rolled noiselessly on
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‘Yes,’ muttered old Viola, sava
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‘I shall want a horse presently,
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shriek, and Decoud, from his back s
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ciple is old.’He ruminated his di
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of feminine and intimate delicacy.D
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aising her hand. After a time he wh
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Decoud talking publicly with Antoni
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make war you may retreat, but not w
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and all his Negro Liberals hanging
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She made an energetic gesture of ne
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have ploughed the sea.’ He did no
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first pause. Their comparative isol
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Jose Avellanos. Don Jose, lifting u
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have carried so far, though there w
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something unlawful behind his pries
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for reparation from a penitent coun
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‘Very well,’ he agreed with the
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the skirt of his soutane at each en
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confirmatory word, a grunt of assen
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sign, made no sound. The impenetrab
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so.’ And now he was going. It was
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stairs, where the Madonna with the
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there was to say a long time ago. T
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upon the great bare wall. ‘It is
Page 241 and 242: Decoud affected suddenly the utmost
Page 243 and 244: country, whatever Father Corbelan m
Page 245 and 246: ceptibilities, and at the present m
Page 247 and 248: do no harm. And it was quite possib
Page 249 and 250: sentimentalists to deal with.’‘
Page 251 and 252: iously.‘Upon the whole,’ he con
Page 253 and 254: CHAPTER SEVENIT WAS part of what De
Page 255 and 256: death. That man seems to have a par
Page 257 and 258: for that, senor?’ Then it dawned
Page 259 and 260: dismantled houses acquired by the C
Page 261 and 262: vaguely about him, then dropped int
Page 263 and 264: man or beast,’ said the girl, pas
Page 265 and 266: holding a bottle, and sobbing gentl
Page 267 and 268: handfuls of type, blown in the wind
Page 269 and 270: it were to an assembly of trained m
Page 271 and 272: clothed in the fair robes of an ide
Page 273 and 274: emaining forces had melted away dur
Page 275 and 276: ‘Never mind, there is no lack of
Page 277 and 278: holds to it as some men hold to the
Page 279 and 280: humanity.‘He joined me on the har
Page 281 and 282: the paper was going through the pre
Page 283 and 284: ‘Teresa wants to see you, Nostrom
Page 285 and 286: for the glow of a heap of charcoal
Page 287 and 288: and hopes, had a great regard for h
Page 289 and 290: the one which they say is guarded b
Page 291: the stairs backwards, with the usua
Page 295 and 296: ‘We are out in the gulf now,’ s
Page 297 and 298: In the featureless night Nostromo w
Page 299 and 300: and years to come. And yet, the day
Page 301 and 302: er. No, senor; there is no rest til
Page 303 and 304: the sensations awaked by what he ha
Page 305 and 306: was limp—lifeless.The light of th
Page 307 and 308: shouts and imprecations, looking fo
Page 309 and 310: angry and threatening voice, ordere
Page 311 and 312: had been making use of him, had tri
Page 313 and 314: ‘They are trying to make out wher
Page 315 and 316: a naked mast. I will do it now, bef
Page 317 and 318: windows of the houses, and showing
Page 319 and 320: mism. In comparison to it, the chan
Page 321 and 322: daylight? He began to think that th
Page 323 and 324: him, and Barrios, with a rude and j
Page 325 and 326: intoxicated, and proceeded on their
Page 327 and 328: This was the first time Nostromo an
Page 329 and 330: would have passed on, leaving the l
Page 331 and 332: the breast of Senor Hirsch, who sim
Page 333 and 334: in aim, in view, in character, and
Page 335 and 336: I was in love with. Poor Teresa cou
Page 337 and 338: one of the two spades which belonge
Page 339 and 340: Nostromo detected the ironic tone.
Page 341 and 342: 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
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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
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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
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ought never to have left the mounta
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pest in his ears in time to hear th
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‘Am I to understand, senor,’ No
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such a fool as when I started. I ha
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CHAPTER NINEDISTRACTED between doub
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that treasure, for that wealth of s
Page 495 and 496:
come entangled in a perfect welter
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Complete silence. He quaked. It was
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whose one end was fastened to Senor
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its mouth closed askew. The colonel
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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
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no divers, but he has a ship, boats
Page 515 and 516:
Custom House, before he managed to
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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
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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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