Page 359 - nostromo-a-tale-of-the-seaboard

used to abuse him to me frequently, which, of course, is not
inconsistent with my idea. Not at all. It looked to me as if
she were always thinking of him. He was something impor-
tant in her life. You know, I have seen a lot of those people.
Whenever I came down from the mine Mrs. Gould used to
ask me to keep my eye on them. She likes Italians; she has
lived a long time in Italy, I believe, and she took a special
fancy to that old Garibaldino. A remarkable chap enough.
A rugged and dreamy character, living in the republicanism
of his young days as if in a cloud. He has encouraged much
of the Capataz’s confounded nonsense—the high-strung,
exalted old beggar!’
‘What sort of nonsense?’ wondered the chief engineer. ‘I
found the Capataz always a very shrewd and sensible fel-
low, absolutely fearless, and remarkably useful. A perfect
handy man. Sir John was greatly impressed by his resource-
fulness and attention when he made that overland journey
from Sta. Marta. Later on, as you might have heard, he ren-
dered us a service by disclosing to the then chief of police
the presence in the town of some professional thieves, who
came from a distance to wreck and rob our monthly pay
train. He has certainly organized the lighterage service of
the harbour for the O.S.N. Company with great ability. He
knows how to make himself obeyed, foreigner though he is.
It is true that the Cargadores are strangers here, too, for the
most part—immigrants, Islenos.’
‘His prestige is his fortune,’ muttered the doctor, sourly.
‘The man has proved his trustworthiness up to the hilt
on innumerable occasions and in all sorts of ways,’ argued

Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard