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

the treasure was of enormous importance. The mere knowledgethat it had been saved from the Monterists would bea strong inducement for the Cayta troops to embrace thecause of the new State.The doctor turned round and contemplated his companionfor some time.‘This Decoud, I see, is a persuasive young beggar,’ he remarkedat last. ‘And pray is it for this, then, that CharlesGould has let the whole lot of ingots go out to sea in chargeof that Nostromo?’‘Charles Gould,’ said the engineer-in-chief, ‘has said nomore about his motive than usual. You know, he doesn’ttalk. But we all here know his motive, and he has onlyone—the safety of the San Tome mine with the preservationof the Gould Concession in the spirit of his compactwith Holroyd. Holroyd is another uncommon man. Theyunderstand each other’s imaginative side. One is thirty, theother nearly sixty, and they have been made for each other.To be a millionaire, and such a millionaire as Holroyd, islike being eternally young. The audacity of youth reckonsupon what it fancies an unlimited time at its disposal; but amillionaire has unlimited means in his hand—which is better.One’s time on earth is an uncertain quantity, but aboutthe long reach of millions there is no doubt. The introductionof a pure form of Christianity into this continent is adream for a youthful enthusiast, and I have been trying toexplain to you why Holroyd at fifty-eight is like a man onthe threshold of life, and better, too. He’s not a missionary,but the San Tome mine holds just that for him. I assure you,