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- Джозеф Конрад
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"
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
different
--
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
irresistible
power
of
his
personal
advantages
.
But
that
was
so
firm
that
even
Decoud
's
appearance
in
Sulaco
,
and
his
intimacy
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
Esmeralda
garrison
.
That
small
seaport
had
its
importance
as
the
station
of
the
main
submarine
cable
connecting
the
Occidental
Provinces
with
the
outer
world
,
and
the
junction
with
it
of
the
Sulaco
branch
.
Don
Jose
Avellanos
proposed
him
,
and
Barrios
,
with
a
rude
and
jeering
guffaw
,
had
said
,
"
Oh
,
let
Sotillo
go
.
He
is
a
very
good
man
to
keep
guard
over
the
cable
,
and
the
ladies
of
Esmeralda
ought
to
have
their
turn
.
"
Barrios
,
an
indubitably
brave
man
,
had
no
great
opinion
of
Sotillo
.
It
was
through
the
Esmeralda
cable
alone
that
the
San
Tome
mine
could
be
kept
in
constant
touch
with
the
great
financier
,
whose
tacit
approval
made
the
strength
of
the
Ribierist
movement
.
This
movement
had
its
adversaries
even
there
.
Sotillo
governed
Esmeralda
with
repressive
severity
till
the
adverse
course
of
events
upon
the
distant
theatre
of
civil
war
forced
upon
him
the
reflection
that
,
after
all
,
the
great
silver
mine
was
fated
to
become
the
spoil
of
the
victors
.
But
caution
was
necessary
.
He
began
by
assuming
a
dark
and
mysterious
attitude
towards
the
faithful
Ribierist
municipality
of
Esmeralda
.
Later
on
,
the
information
that
the
commandant
was
holding
assemblies
of
officers
in
the
dead
of
night
(
which
had
leaked
out
somehow
)
caused
those
gentlemen
to
neglect
their
civil
duties
altogether
,
and
remain
shut
up
in
their
houses
.
Suddenly
one
day
all
the
letters
from
Sulaco
by
the
overland
courier
were
carried
off
by
a
file
of
soldiers
from
the
post
office
to
the
Commandancia
,
without
disguise
,
concealment
,
or
apology
.
Sotillo
had
heard
through
Cayta
of
the
final
defeat
of
Ribiera
.
This
was
the
first
open
sign
of
the
change
in
his
convictions
.
Presently
notorious
democrats
,
who
had
been
living
till
then
in
constant
fear
of
arrest
,
leg
irons
,
and
even
floggings
,
could
be
observed
going
in
and
out
at
the
great
door
of
the
Commandancia
,
where
the
horses
of
the
orderlies
doze
under
their
heavy
saddles
,
while
the
men
,
in
ragged
uniforms
and
pointed
straw
hats
,
lounge
on
a
bench
,
with
their
naked
feet
stuck
out
beyond
the
strip
of
shade
;
and
a
sentry
,
in
a
red
baize
coat
with
holes
at
the
elbows
,
stands
at
the
top
of
the
steps
glaring
haughtily
at
the
common
people
,
who
uncover
their
heads
to
him
as
they
pass
.
Sotillo
's
ideas
did
not
soar
above
the
care
for
his
personal
safety
and
the
chance
of
plundering
the
town
in
his
charge
,
but
he
feared
that
such
a
late
adhesion
would
earn
but
scant
gratitude
from
the
victors
.
He
had
believed
just
a
little
too
long
in
the
power
of
the
San
Tome
mine
.
The
seized
correspondence
had
confirmed
his
previous
information
of
a
large
amount
of
silver
ingots
lying
in
the
Sulaco
Custom
House
.
To
gain
possession
of
it
would
be
a
clear
Monterist
move
;
a
sort
of
service
that
would
have
to
be
rewarded
.
With
the
silver
in
his
hands
he
could
make
terms
for
himself
and
his
soldiers
.
He
was
aware
neither
of
the
riots
,
nor
of
the
President
's
escape
to
Sulaco
and
the
close
pursuit
led
by
Montero
's
brother
,
the
guerrillero
.
The
game
seemed
in
his
own
hands
.
The
initial
moves
were
the
seizure
of
the
cable
telegraph
office
and
the
securing
of
the
Government
steamer
lying
in
the
narrow
creek
which
is
the
harbour
of
Esmeralda
.
The
last
was
effected
without
difficulty
by
a
company
of
soldiers
swarming
with
a
rush
over
the
gangways
as
she
lay
alongside
the
quay
;
but
the
lieutenant
charged
with
the
duty
of
arresting
the
telegraphist
halted
on
the
way
before
the
only
cafe
in
Esmeralda
,
where
he
distributed
some
brandy
to
his
men
,
and
refreshed
himself
at
the
expense
of
the
owner
,
a
known
Ribierist
.
The
whole
party
became
intoxicated
,
and
proceeded
on
their
mission
up
the
street
yelling
and
firing
random
shots
at
the
windows
.
This
little
festivity
,
which
might
have
turned
out
dangerous
to
the
telegraphist
's
life
,
enabled
him
in
the
end
to
send
his
warning
to
Sulaco
.
The
lieutenant
,
staggering
upstairs
with
a
drawn
sabre
,
was
before
long
kissing
him
on
both
cheeks
in
one
of
those
swift
changes
of
mood
peculiar
to
a
state
of
drunkenness
.
He
clasped
the
telegraphist
close
round
the
neck
,
assuring
him
that
all
the
officers
of
the
Esmeralda
garrison
were
going
to
be
made
colonels
,
while
tears
of
happiness
streamed
down
his
sodden
face
.
Thus
it
came
about
that
the
town
major
,
coming
along
later
,
found
the
whole
party
sleeping
on
the
stairs
and
in
passages
,
and
the
telegraphist
(
who
scorned
this
chance
of
escape
)
very
busy
clicking
the
key
of
the
transmitter
.
The
major
led
him
away
bareheaded
,
with
his
hands
tied
behind
his
back
,
but
concealed
the
truth
from
Sotillo
,
who
remained
in
ignorance
of
the
warning
despatched
to
Sulaco
.
