Page 356 - nostromo-a-tale-of-the-seaboard

the treasure was of enormous importance. The mere knowl-
edge that it had been saved from the Monterists would be
a strong inducement for the Cayta troops to embrace the
cause of the new State.
The doctor turned round and contemplated his compan-
ion for some time.
‘This Decoud, I see, is a persuasive young beggar,’ he re-
marked at last. ‘And pray is it for this, then, that Charles
Gould has let the whole lot of ingots go out to sea in charge
of that Nostromo?’
‘Charles Gould,’ said the engineer-in-chief, ‘has said no
more about his motive than usual. You know, he doesn’t
talk. But we all here know his motive, and he has only
one—the safety of the San Tome mine with the preserva-
tion of the Gould Concession in the spirit of his compact
with Holroyd. Holroyd is another uncommon man. They
understand each other’s imaginative side. One is thirty, the
other nearly sixty, and they have been made for each other.
To be a millionaire, and such a millionaire as Holroyd, is
like being eternally young. The audacity of youth reckons
upon what it fancies an unlimited time at its disposal; but a
millionaire has unlimited means in his hand—which is bet-
ter. One’s time on earth is an uncertain quantity, but about
the long reach of millions there is no doubt. The introduc-
tion of a pure form of Christianity into this continent is a
dream for a youthful enthusiast, and I have been trying to
explain to you why Holroyd at fifty-eight is like a man on
the threshold of life, and better, too. He’s not a missionary,
but the San Tome mine holds just that for him. I assure you,