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

fully eat the paper? The Capataz de Cargadores would havebeen just such a man. But the Capataz of the Cargadoreswas no more.And Charles Gould, withdrawing his eyes from the wall,said gently, ‘That Hirsch! What an extraordinary thing!Saved himself by clinging to the anchor, did he? I had noidea that he was still in Sulaco. I thought he had gone backoverland to Esmeralda more than a week ago. He came hereonce to talk to me about his hide business and some otherthings. I made it clear to him that nothing could be done.’‘He was afraid to start back on account of Hernandez beingabout,’ remarked the doctor.‘And but for him we might not have known anything ofwhat has happened,’ marvelled Charles Gould.Mrs. Gould cried out—‘Antonia must not know! She must not be told. Not now.’‘Nobody’s likely to carry the news,’ remarked the doctor.‘It’s no one’s interest. Moreover, the people here areafraid of Hernandez as if he were the devil.’ He turned toCharles Gould. ‘It’s even awkward, because if you wanted tocommunicate with the refugees you could find no messenger.When Hernandez was ranging hundreds of miles awayfrom here the Sulaco populace used to shudder at the talesof him roasting his prisoners alive.’‘Yes,’ murmured Charles Gould; ‘Captain Mitchell’sCapataz was the only man in the town who had seen Hernandezeye to eye. Father Corbelan employed him. Heopened the communications first. It is a pity that—‘His voice was covered by the booming of the great bell of