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

the Cargadores presently.’‘Senor,’ says he, looking at me in a slow, inquisitive manner,‘would it surprise you to hear that I am too tired towork just yet? And what work could I do now? How can Ilook my Cargadores in the face after losing a lighter?’‘I begged him not to think any more about the silver, andhe smiled. A smile that went to my heart, sir. ‘It was no mistake,’I told him. ‘It was a fatality. A thing that could not behelped.’ ‘Si, si!’ he said, and turned away. I thought it best toleave him alone for a bit to get over it. Sir, it took him yearsreally, to get over it. I was present at his interview with DonCarlos. I must say that Gould is rather a cold man. He hadto keep a tight hand on his feelings, dealing with thievesand rascals, in constant danger of ruin for himself and wifefor so many years, that it had become a second nature. Theylooked at each other for a long time. Don Carlos asked whathe could do for him, in his quiet, reserved way.‘My name is known from one end of Sulaco to the other,’he said, as quiet as the other. ‘What more can you do forme?’ That was all that passed on that occasion. Later, however,there was a very fine coasting schooner for sale, andMrs. Gould and I put our heads together to get her boughtand presented to him. It was done, but he paid all the priceback within the next three years. Business was booming allalong this seaboard, sir. Moreover, that man always succeededin everything except in saving the silver. Poor DonaAntonia, fresh from her terrible experiences in the woodsof Los Hatos, had an interview with him, too. Wanted tohear about Decoud: what they said, what they did, what