Page 483 - nostromo-a-tale-of-the-seaboard

established reputation. Trumpeted by Captain Mitchell,
grown in repetition, and fixed in general assent, Nostromo’s
faithfulness had never been questioned by Dr. Monygham
as a fact. It was not likely to be questioned now he stood in
desperate need of it himself. Dr. Monygham was human; he
accepted the popular conception of the Capataz’s incorrupt-
ibility simply because no word or fact had ever contradicted
a mere affirmation. It seemed to be a part of the man, like
his whiskers or his teeth. It was impossible to conceive him
otherwise. The question was whether he would consent to
go on such a dangerous and desperate errand. The doc-
tor was observant enough to have become aware from the
first of something peculiar in the man’s temper. He was no
doubt sore about the loss of the silver.
‘It will be necessary to take him into my fullest confi-
dence,’ he said to himself, with a certain acuteness of insight
into the nature he had to deal with.
On Nostromo’s side the silence had been full of black ir-
resolution, anger, and mistrust. He was the first to break it,
however.
‘The swimming was no great matter,’ he said. ‘It is what
went before—and what comes after that—‘
He did not quite finish what he meant to say, breaking
off short, as though his thought had butted against a solid
obstacle. The doctor’s mind pursued its own schemes with
Machiavellian subtlety. He said as sympathetically as he
was able—
‘It is unfortunate, Capataz. But no one would think of
blaming you. Very unfortunate. To begin with, the treasure

Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard