Page 323 - nostromo-a-tale-of-the-seaboard

was like a sister to the Englishwoman. He would advance
one leg and put his arms akimbo, posing for Anzani’s in-
spection, and fixing him with a haughty stare.
‘Look, miserable shopkeeper! How can a man like me
fail with any woman, let alone an emancipated girl living in
scandalous freedom?’ he seemed to say.
His manner in the Casa Gould was, of course, very dif-
ferent—devoid of all truculence, and even slightly mournful.
Like most of his countrymen, he was carried away by the
sound of fine words, especially if uttered by himself. He had
no convictions of any sort upon anything except as to the ir-
resistible power of his personal advantages. But that was so
firm that even Decoud’s appearance in Sulaco, and his in-
timacy with the Goulds and the Avellanos, did not disquiet
him. On the contrary, he tried to make friends with that
rich Costaguanero from Europe in the hope of borrowing
a large sum by-and-by. The only guiding motive of his life
was to get money for the satisfaction of his expensive tastes,
which he indulged recklessly, having no self-control. He
imagined himself a master of intrigue, but his corruption
was as simple as an animal instinct. At times, in solitude,
he had his moments of ferocity, and also on such occasions
as, for instance, when alone in a room with Anzani trying
to get a loan.
He had talked himself into the command of the Esmer-
alda garrison. That small seaport had its importance as the
station of the main submarine cable connecting the Oc-
cidental Provinces with the outer world, and the junction
with it of the Sulaco branch. Don Jose Avellanos proposed

Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard