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

carefully looked at once.’ He spoke slowly, almost lazily, asif there had been a whole leisurely life before him, insteadof the scanty two hours before daylight. The existence ofthe treasure, barely concealed in this improbable spot, laida burden of secrecy upon every contemplated step, upon everyintention and plan of future conduct. He felt the partialfailure of this desperate affair entrusted to the great reputationhe had known how to make for himself. However, itwas also a partial success. His vanity was half appeased. Hisnervous irritation had subsided.‘You never know what may be of use,’ he pursued with hisusual quietness of tone and manner. ‘I spent a whole miserableSunday in exploring this crumb of land.’‘A misanthropic sort of occupation,’ muttered Decoud,viciously. ‘You had no money, I suppose, to gamble with,and to fling about amongst the girls in your usual haunts,Capataz.’‘e vero!’ exclaimed the Capataz, surprised into the useof his native tongue by so much perspicacity. ‘I had not!Therefore I did not want to go amongst those beggarly peopleaccustomed to my generosity. It is looked for from theCapataz of the Cargadores, who are the rich men, and, as itwere, the Caballeros amongst the common people. I don’tcare for cards but as a pastime; and as to those girls thatboast of having opened their doors to my knock, you knowI wouldn’t look at any one of them twice except for what thepeople would say. They are queer, the good people of Sulaco,and I have got much useful information simply by listeningpatiently to the talk of the women that everybody believed