Page 57 - nostromo-a-tale-of-the-seaboard

Sir John had heard much of Charles Gould in Sta. Marta,
and wanted to know more. The engineer-in-chief assured
him that the administrator of the San Tome silver mine had
an immense influence over all these Spanish Dons. He had
also one of the best houses in Sulaco, and the Gould hospi-
tality was beyond all praise.
‘They received me as if they had known me for years,’ he
said. ‘The little lady is kindness personified. I stayed with
them for a month. He helped me to organize the survey-
ing parties. His practical ownership of the San Tome silver
mine gives him a special position. He seems to have the ear
of every provincial authority apparently, and, as I said, he
can wind all the hidalgos of the province round his little
finger. If you follow his advice the difficulties will fall away,
because he wants the railway. Of course, you must be care-
ful in what you say. He’s English, and besides he must be
immensely wealthy. The Holroyd house is in with him in
that mine, so you may imagine—‘
He interrupted himself as, from before one of the little
fires burning outside the low wall of the corral, arose the
figure of a man wrapped in a poncho up to the neck. The
saddle which he had been using for a pillow made a dark
patch on the ground against the red glow of embers.
‘I shall see Holroyd himself on my way back through the
States,’ said Sir John. ‘I’ve ascertained that he, too, wants
the railway.’
The man who, perhaps disturbed by the proximity of the
voices, had arisen from the ground, struck a match to light
a cigarette. The flame showed a bronzed, black-whiskered

Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard