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

attle upon some recondite pretext. The whole lot of ingotsmight have been concealed somewhere where they couldhave been got at for the purpose of staving off the dangerswhich were menacing the security of the Gould Concession.The Administrador had acted as if the immense and powerfulprosperity of the mine had been founded on methods ofprobity, on the sense of usefulness. And it was nothing ofthe kind. The method followed had been the only one possible.The Gould Concession had ransomed its way throughall those years. It was a nauseous process. He quite understoodthat Charles Gould had got sick of it and had left theold path to back up that hopeless attempt at reform. Thedoctor did not believe in the reform of Costaguana. Andnow the mine was back again in its old path, with the disadvantagethat henceforth it had to deal not only with thegreed provoked by its wealth, but with the resentmentawakened by the attempt to free itself from its bondage tomoral corruption. That was the penalty of failure. Whatmade him uneasy was that Charles Gould seemed to himto have weakened at the decisive moment when a frank returnto the old methods was the only chance. Listening toDecoud’s wild scheme had been a weakness.The doctor flung up his arms, exclaiming, ‘Decoud! Decoud!’He hobbled about the room with slight, angry laughs.Many years ago both his ankles had been seriously damagedin the course of a certain investigation conducted in thecastle of Sta. Marta by a commission composed of militarymen. Their nomination had been signified to them unexpectedlyat the dead of night, with scowling brow, flashing